Ticket 2 Ride

I only discovered author Alexander McCall Smith a few years ago, after he had published his 10,000th book. Well, that’s a slight exaggeration, it was more like 9,947th book. He’s a remarkable writer, not only with his output, but the wry observations of everyday life and intriguing situations that his characters find themselves. If I could sum up his writing in one word, it would be: thoughtful.

From Scotland to Botswana to Sweden and many other points of the globe (or flat Earth if that’s your thing), Smith takes his readers into the customs, food and history of places I can only ponder. Smith has lived in places he writes of, bringing those cultures to the pages, screens or air-buds of his audience.

I’ve written about Smith before, discussing such book series as the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, the Swedish detective of sensitive cases and going’s on in the Scottish neighborhood. Now, I add to it the adventures of the Scottish food writer, the editor of the philosophical review magazine, and the matcher of difficult to match singles. These are three new Alexander McCall Smith book series for me, and I’m delight to have found them.

Describing Smith’s books to my wife, I realized that I failed miserably to describe what is special about his down-to-earth, rather plain characters, who navigate routine and often unremarkable problems and events. Maybe it is similar to why Seinfeld was such a success about nothing. The magic is in the insightful writing, the revelations of characters who see life just differently enough to invent a new color of the palette. One has to read an Alexander McCall Smith book to truly discover what is indescribable.

PAUL STUART SERIES

Recently, I enjoyed The Second Worst Restaurant in France, and My Italian Bulldozer, books from the food writer Paul Stuart series. Stuart is a Scottish writer who is challenged in love, but successful in finding new ways to present food and wine from the Continent to his readers. Of course, he must travel to those places, and when he does, he finds quirky adventures, or they find him. Of the two books, My Italian Bulldozer was the most inviting read, although I would recommend both.

In the first book, Stuart travels to France to finish his newest book, hoping the change of scenery will focus his mind on writing, and not the breakup with his girlfriend, who left him for someone else. His situation is complicated by his editor Gloria, who has a crush on him, and meeting a woman briefly in France, on who he develops a crush.

In the next book, Stewart goes to Italy, where his life resembles a Blake Edward’s 1960s movie farce. After a series of misadventures, the only mode of transport is a bulldozer, which he must use in place of a car. The Italy he visits is another world. He and Gloria are having trouble in their relationship, but thankfully he bounces back in good spirits as he finishes another book. My Italian Bulldozer might seem like a bit of fluff, but thats terribly misleading, as Smith’s skillful writing places many insightful observations and joyful nuggets right under the surface.

I’m no authority on France or Italy, the customs, food or social habits of either; that’s probably why I enjoyed these books, meeting the characters, without cliched behavior or overused plot devices.

THE PERFECT PASSION COMPANY

The Perfect Passion Company (2023, Vintage) may be the best book I’ve read by Smith. I had no idea about this book when I grabbed it from the library shelf, I was just looking for one of his books I had not read.

The Perfect Passion Company is an agency in Edinburgh, Scotland, that matches single people. The agency owner takes a year off to seek a new experience in Canada, somewhere she has never been, to seek adventure and perhaps a new life. She selects her cousin Katie to run the agency, who immediately jumps in, discovering that their clientele really are people difficult to find partners. Nonetheless, Katie takes up the challenge, aided by William, a business owner next door, who often assisted Ness, the owner who went to Canada. The book is about Ness, Katie and William as they navigate the world of love, personally and professionally.

While some of Smith’s books are more intriguing than others, this one had me wondering right to the end. I am amazed at how much Smith understands the human heart; he is ahead of most people. His writing is not gooey or sentimental, this is not a “romance” novel, although that is the main subject. Smith peels away the story in a most fascinating way and I was hooked early on.

“They looked at one another. There was so much to talk about—to question or to analyse— but all of them had other things to do. William had to deliver a set of designs to a prospective buyer; Katie had an appointment with the dental hygienist; Emma had to get back to the Hutton Hotel, where she was now helping George with the payroll and the tax returns. All of these things were important and relatively uncomplicated matters – rather less complex than the inner workings of the human heart. They took precedence.”

Each of Smith’s characters must untangle a business or personal issue(s). This is true of all of his books. Sometimes in solving the business issue, the personal issue becomes clearer, not that they are related, but the insight from one issue helps focus on the other.

Looking for You (2025, Vintage) is the latest book in this series, finding Ness still in Canada, enjoying her adult gap-year, and Katie trying to grow Ness’s business, while hoping for a sign of romantic interest from William.

Looking for You is a wonderful follow-up to the first novel. I look forward to additional books in this series.

ISABEL DALHOUSIE / THE SUNDAY PHILOSOPHY CLUB SERIES

There are 15 novels and three novellas thus far in the Isabel Dalhousie series.

The Conditions of Unconditional Love (2024, Pantheon) is the latest in the Isabel Dalhousie series. She edits a philosophy journal and also lives in Edinburgh, where her life is busy with her work, her family, a tenant, her book club and other pebbles in her shoe.

The Dalhousie series is one of Smith’s longest, and Isabel was evolved from amateur sleuth to sorting everyday mysteries of life. I found The Conditions of Unconditional Love to be a bit unfocused and meandering, I was never quite sure of which of her challenges was the main thrust of the book – all of her issues needed resolution. Then the book ended suddenly and everything was settled. That’s an issue I have with Smith, a lot of windup, then a fast resolution.

I went back in time to the second Dalhousie book in the series, Friends, Lovers, Chocolate (2005, Pantheon). Originally, the Dalhousie series was called The Sunday Philosophy Club and she solved crimes, as an amateur sleuth. In Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, there is a hit-and-run death, but it’s not the main focus of the story.

In Smith’s books, it’s less about the mystery and more about what people learn about themselves during the process of figuring out the answer. His books are not classic mysteries, and his structure is hardly a procedural of following clues. His books reverberate with life questions and challenges, each book unfolding with multiple issues faced by his characters. There is a lot of internal processing going on by Isabel, as Smith’s lead characters are known to do. Isabel is very bright, methodical and focused. As the editor of a publication, The Review of Applied Ethics.

For some inexplicable reason, I started reading this series in reverse order, The Sunday Philosophy Club (2004, Pantheon) is the first book in the series. Isabel is typical of Smith’s main characters, she reasons, avoids assumptions, highly intelligent, keen to explore unanswered questions, and unable to solve some of her own obstacles.

Isabel is very attracted to her niece’s former boyfriend, Jamie, a man more than a decade younger than her. They are best friends, yet she withholds her feelings for several books. A musician, Jamie still pines for niece Cat, who has clearly moved on, but he remains close to Isabel, helping her solve her mysteries.

In the first book, Isabel is witness to a man plunging to his death inside of a concert hall. The police are leaning towards the death being an accident, but Isabel feels it necessary to learn more about the dead man‘s life. She begins her own inquiry, which raises serious questions in her mind.

The Novel Habits of Happiness (2015, Pantheon) has Isabel agreeing to help a friend of a friend get to the bottom of her child’s insistence that he has another family. To figure out this mystery, Isabel offers to find the location of the house and locale described by the young boy. Isabel’s niece Cat, has a new boyfriend.

The Novel Habits of Happiness is a slow read, and meanders too much through the first half. Smith skillfully brings out the nuances of his characters, which is great when it advances the story, but here he takes too much leeway and slows down any forward momentum.

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Alexander McCall Smith has become one of my favorite writers. In a world of mystery books where the hero prevents mass destruction, an economic meltdown or other catastrophic event, it’s refreshing to settle down with a believable, quirky and thoughtful read.