What Book to Read?

This is the first in the series of McCall Smith’s books about the residents of a block of flats in Edinburgh. I say block of flats, but Iain McIntosh’s illustrations suggest a rather charming Georgian house, once lived in by one family, now with flats on each floor.

McCall Smith explains in a preface that the book arose from an invitation to him in 2003 from The Scotsman to revive the art of the serialised novel that had been popular in the nineteenth century, though he was asked to write daily instalments – weekdays for six months. This posed considerable challenges; each segment had to be short, but interesting enough to draw readers away from what they normally read in a newspaper. There had to be a story, but it couldn’t be too complicated and it had to be light. And McCall smith wanted it to ‘say something about life in Edinburgh’.

In a book made up of daily instalments, the characters are all important in holding the story line together. The central ones all live at 44 Scotland Street, on the edge of ‘the bohemian part’ of Edinburgh New Town. There is Pat, a pleasant but rather shy young woman who is in her second gap year and works for Matthew in a nearby gallery. She shares a flat with Bruce, a good looking and vain young man who assumes all women will fall in love with him. Domenica, the voice of wisdom, is an anthropologist who describes herself as ‘a bit of a dilettante’.  And then there is the Pollock family – the ineffectual Stuart, the truly frightening Irene and their five year old son Bertie, who Irene is convinced is a genius – or can be made into one. She is giving him ‘the gift of freedom from gender roles’. There is a second tier of characters including Matthew, Bruce’s boss Todd and his wife and daughter, Big Lou who runs a coffee shop and Angus Lordie, a portrait painter. McCall Smith says the characters represent ‘human types’ he has met while living in Edinburgh and most of them act out their particular type, rather than being fully rounded. But their particular types are interesting, so this isn’t really a problem. Edinburgh itself can almost be considered a character: ‘Hypocrisy is built into the stonework here.’

The plot, such as it is, centres on the interactions between the characters, and the question of whether a painting in the gallery is by the Scottish Post- Impressionist painter, Samuel Peploe.  In the relative absence of a story, the thoughts and insights of the characters become even more important. McCall Smith’s intense humanity, and his gentle wit, show up here as he explores people’s motivation and actions – ‘so weak, and ordinary, and human as we all are.’  

Many people like this book very much. Reviewers talk about how comfortable and friendly the story is, and how likeable the characters. Charm, empathy and elegance are the sort of words often used. And as McCall Smith says in the preface, it is possible to use a small canvass to highlight larger issues like the meaning of friendship, trust and honour, the importance of childhood and the challenges of parenthood. And certainly he has succeeded in bringing Edinburgh to life.  

And yet despite all the good things, I felt there was something lacking. Perhaps it is just that McCall Smith is simply too nice, his humour too gentle; the book lacks bite. Or maybe the ‘human types’ are a bit too stereotypical. I wasn’t convinced by Pat’s relationship with Bruce, Irene is over-the-top terrible and Bertie – even given the time and attention put into his education – is surely far too articulate for a five year old. The Scotsman persuaded McCall Smith to continue with the daily serialisation, and six more books in the series have followed. But I don’t think I’ll be seeking them out.

You can read more about McCall Smith and the series here.