The Careful Use of Compliments: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel

Good heavens, am I ever behind on this blog. Let me begin to make amends by talking about my latest Alexander McCall Smith book, The Careful Use of Compliments. This is the fourth novel in his Isabel Dalhousie series. Isabel is a single, independently wealthy scholar and editor of ethical phiosophy living in Edinburgh. Like the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series, which takes place in Botswana, the novels are as much about places as they are about the people who live in them, so the manners, history, and mores of Scotland and Ediburgh are constantly under observaiton. When the series started the subtitle was "An Isabel Dalhousie Mystery," but McCall wisely acknowledged early on that the "mysteries" Isabel confronts are very mild affairs, and only the barest pretexts for the real action: Isabel's thoughts on the world. Isabel is always thinking, mostly about her ties and obligations to other people, real and imagined. Lots actually happens in the books, but it's kind of easy to miss because so much more happens as Isabel thinks about stuff. McCall seems to prefer female protagonists, and while he gives them full relationships with men, he is really interested in the interchanges between women: Isabel bounces of her niece Cat and her housekeeper Grace; Mma Ramotswe (No. 1 LDA) spends most of her time sparring with her employee Mma Makutsi. It would be hard to overstate how much I like these books. I forgive them any and all novelistic faults because it is just such a pleasure to spend time with McCall and his insatiable curiosity about and empathy for the lives of others.