Alexander McCall Smith
The book is attempting to be a character driven mystery novel, in which the focus is on the detective, not on the mystery. For me, this meant that it was a less than satisfying mystery, since the reader was not given clues or any sort of thing that would help them solve the mystery. Instead, it was a journey with Isabel Dalhousie. If you like her character, then you will probably like the book.
It is simple to guess that the author has a deep and abiding interest in the world of philosophy. Many references will be over the reader's head, but if you are a philosopher, then you will enjoy the issues that are raised and the references that are made.
It is not one of those deeply satisfying mysteries, where the perpetrator is discovered, decried, and justly punished. A neat ending is avoided - perhaps because life, in reality, does not have the kind of tidiness that is too often present in works of fiction. Morality triumphs over legality - an ending not without its moral implications. But perhaps that is the goal of the author, to force his readers to ponder their ideas of right and wrong and to make their own decisions without any kind of authoritative hand-holding.
Length - a little less than three hundred pages
Age Range - definitely adult
Genre - mystery
Additional Notes: Not the book for me, but not a book without merit.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
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