What do you think?
Rate this book
Isabel Dalhousie #4
The Careful Use of Compliments
Isabel Dalhousie is back, in the latest installment of this enchanting, already beloved, best-selling series.
In addition to being the nosiest and most sympathetic philosopher you are likely to meet, Isabel is now a mother. Charlies, her newborn son, presents her with a myriad wonders of a new life, and doting father Jamie presents her with an intriguing proposal: marriage. In the midst of all this, she receives a disturbing letter announcing that she has been ousted as editor of the Review of Applied Ethics by the ambitious Professor Dove.
None of these things, however, in any way diminshes Isabel's curiosity. And when she attends an art auction, she finds an irresistible puzzle: two paintings attributed to a now-deceased artist appear on the market at the same time, and both of them exhibit some unusual characteristics. Are these paintings forgeries? This proves to be sufficient fodder for Isabel's inquisitiveness. So she begins an investigation... and soon finds herself diverging from her philosophical musings about fatherhood onto a path that leads her into the mysteries of the art world and the soul of an artist.
In addition to being the nosiest and most sympathetic philosopher you are likely to meet, Isabel is now a mother. Charlies, her newborn son, presents her with a myriad wonders of a new life, and doting father Jamie presents her with an intriguing proposal: marriage. In the midst of all this, she receives a disturbing letter announcing that she has been ousted as editor of the Review of Applied Ethics by the ambitious Professor Dove.
None of these things, however, in any way diminshes Isabel's curiosity. And when she attends an art auction, she finds an irresistible puzzle: two paintings attributed to a now-deceased artist appear on the market at the same time, and both of them exhibit some unusual characteristics. Are these paintings forgeries? This proves to be sufficient fodder for Isabel's inquisitiveness. So she begins an investigation... and soon finds herself diverging from her philosophical musings about fatherhood onto a path that leads her into the mysteries of the art world and the soul of an artist.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
About the author
Alexander McCall Smith
548 books12.2k followersAlexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland. Visit him online at www.alexandermccallsmith.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 746 reviews
September 28, 2024
For a great light read, why not start with the eminently civilised novels of McCall Smith?
Immense learning and a lifetime of experience combined with careful, playful observation make each one of his books a harried literate modern’s Great Escape.
Isabel Dalhousie is an inquisitive and philosophizing young lady, but she lacks street smarts. Though agnostic, she believes philosophical ethics can be firmly grounded in common civility and decency.
Hers is a solidly ordered world which quite adroitly and firmly sidesteps the glaring devils of postmodernism. The old ways are there for a reason, she thinks.
Her thought patterns have the non-panoptic vision of navigating one’s way through the Chunnel.
So she gets into some pretty sticky wickets!
But she’s endlessly charming, and combines sophistication with a disarming guilelessness that will captivate the less demanding cozy mystery lover - who yearns to relax under the spell of a sympathetically ‘normal’ author.
And this adroitly-resolved mystery about a fascinating contemporary painter - whose works for Isabel are at the very apogée of personal faves - is fascinating. How often do you find cozy mysteries with a brooding, atmospheric conundrum at their heart?
You see, this great artist’s works are inexplicably multiplying, even though he’s missing and presumed dead! Isabel smells a rat...
Yes, and she has a love interest which never seems to boil over - after all, she’s British and discreet.
And of course, she has a modern brain which often DOES sometimes heat to the maximum...
But that’s how she solves mysteries!
I hooked onto Isabel about two years before joining GR. Soon my wife was every bit as immersed in the francophone versions as I was.
One trip downtown for an appointment on the bus - I with my ‘Kindle’ Isabel, my better half with her livre de poche - I would pester her anxiously over spoilers she would let drop, she being further along in the series.
Those were good, sunny days, as I recall now - before my Dad’s near miss with the Grim Reaper - which wreaked havoc with my family’s emotions! A pleasant interlude after the amelioration of my burnout symptoms - that was not to last, for now.
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s (almost) gone?
But Isabel never sails on such stormy waters, thank goodness! She’s comfortably dead-centrist - a place where the Brit Oxbridge types go for their fine-tuned cozy reading pleasure.
This sleuth is classy but placid: cozy, but just a tad nosy.
She’s smart, but ingenuous - and a bit too curious!
And that’s what makes McCall Smith’s CULTURED cozy mysteries - of which the African series Ladies’ No 1 Detective Agency is another example - so endearingly human!
And if you don't buy one of the Isabel books, but want something more serious, pick up a copy of Smith’s insightful work on W.H. Auden.
You’ll see the inner life of Isabel Dalhousie close up - cause old Wystan’s her (and Smith’s) favourite poet - and you’ll have more of a clue on the widely embracing human vision that really makes her, and Smith, tick.
(HINT: Human Life is meant to be HUMAN, not ROBOTIC!)
For Alexander McCall Smith’s plucky heroines are guileless, yes - clueless, no!
Immense learning and a lifetime of experience combined with careful, playful observation make each one of his books a harried literate modern’s Great Escape.
Isabel Dalhousie is an inquisitive and philosophizing young lady, but she lacks street smarts. Though agnostic, she believes philosophical ethics can be firmly grounded in common civility and decency.
Hers is a solidly ordered world which quite adroitly and firmly sidesteps the glaring devils of postmodernism. The old ways are there for a reason, she thinks.
Her thought patterns have the non-panoptic vision of navigating one’s way through the Chunnel.
So she gets into some pretty sticky wickets!
But she’s endlessly charming, and combines sophistication with a disarming guilelessness that will captivate the less demanding cozy mystery lover - who yearns to relax under the spell of a sympathetically ‘normal’ author.
And this adroitly-resolved mystery about a fascinating contemporary painter - whose works for Isabel are at the very apogée of personal faves - is fascinating. How often do you find cozy mysteries with a brooding, atmospheric conundrum at their heart?
You see, this great artist’s works are inexplicably multiplying, even though he’s missing and presumed dead! Isabel smells a rat...
Yes, and she has a love interest which never seems to boil over - after all, she’s British and discreet.
And of course, she has a modern brain which often DOES sometimes heat to the maximum...
But that’s how she solves mysteries!
I hooked onto Isabel about two years before joining GR. Soon my wife was every bit as immersed in the francophone versions as I was.
One trip downtown for an appointment on the bus - I with my ‘Kindle’ Isabel, my better half with her livre de poche - I would pester her anxiously over spoilers she would let drop, she being further along in the series.
Those were good, sunny days, as I recall now - before my Dad’s near miss with the Grim Reaper - which wreaked havoc with my family’s emotions! A pleasant interlude after the amelioration of my burnout symptoms - that was not to last, for now.
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s (almost) gone?
But Isabel never sails on such stormy waters, thank goodness! She’s comfortably dead-centrist - a place where the Brit Oxbridge types go for their fine-tuned cozy reading pleasure.
This sleuth is classy but placid: cozy, but just a tad nosy.
She’s smart, but ingenuous - and a bit too curious!
And that’s what makes McCall Smith’s CULTURED cozy mysteries - of which the African series Ladies’ No 1 Detective Agency is another example - so endearingly human!
And if you don't buy one of the Isabel books, but want something more serious, pick up a copy of Smith’s insightful work on W.H. Auden.
You’ll see the inner life of Isabel Dalhousie close up - cause old Wystan’s her (and Smith’s) favourite poet - and you’ll have more of a clue on the widely embracing human vision that really makes her, and Smith, tick.
(HINT: Human Life is meant to be HUMAN, not ROBOTIC!)
For Alexander McCall Smith’s plucky heroines are guileless, yes - clueless, no!
October 10, 2008
Every time I read one of Alexander McCall Smith's books (particularly the Scottish ones, though I love the Precious Ramotswe books too) I am stunned. He presents such a gentle, humane view of human relationships, without being naive or saccharine. I also can't get over how well he writes from a woman's perspective!
I relate everything I read to my own experience, which is perhaps a bad quality, but makes every book personal to me. So of course to find Isabel with a 3 month old baby in this book, as I negotiate the world as a new mother just adds to the joy of the reading experience. I often think authors whose books I adore might not be very nice or easy to spend time with, but I would love to have a coffee with Alexander McCall Smith, and often feel like that is just what I'm doing when I read his books-- spending time with a wise, highly-valued friend.
I relate everything I read to my own experience, which is perhaps a bad quality, but makes every book personal to me. So of course to find Isabel with a 3 month old baby in this book, as I negotiate the world as a new mother just adds to the joy of the reading experience. I often think authors whose books I adore might not be very nice or easy to spend time with, but I would love to have a coffee with Alexander McCall Smith, and often feel like that is just what I'm doing when I read his books-- spending time with a wise, highly-valued friend.
September 14, 2015
This book is the fourth of a series, and as usual with series, follows about a character or a set of characters. Isabel Dalhousie is the protagonist of this one. She is very interesting: philosopher, editor of The Review of Applied Ethics, unmarried mother of a boy whose father is her niece Cat's ex-boyfriend and fourteen years her junior. Isabel keeps on a running monologue in her head which the reader is privy to: this is the main charm of the novel.
This novel, though standalone, presumably picks up from where it left off last time and moves its serene way forward. There are no earthshaking events, no moments of truth which allows characters to grow beyond their humdrum existence; these are your friends next door whose adventures are limited to the marriage of a cousin, the birth of a nephew or that long-awaited trip to Europe. Important things happen to Isabel, of course. She almost loses her editorship before she turns the table smartly on her opponents; she makes up with her estranged niece; and solves a relatively lukewarm mystery of a long-dead painter. All very interesting, however, but nothing very remarkable. Other than Alexander McCall Smith's prose, that is.
Speaking as a man who loves the music of language for its own sake, reading this book was sheer pleasure. Alexander McCall Smith writes really beautiful English, from an era when stories were usually not peppered with (to borrow from Wodehouse)"words most often heard in a lower type of bar." See a sample below, where he is talking about a painting collection put up for auction:
This collection had been put together by a businessman who had done well with a small oil company and had attracted attention by his colourful, and tactless, remarks. The oil wells were on the shores of the Caspian, in one of those republics that people are not quite sure about-where it is and who runs it-and had suddenly dried up. There had been mutterings about geological reports and manipulations at the other end, and the share price had plummeted. The sale of the Colourists was the result, along with the sale of a Highland sporting estate and a small fleet of expensive vintage cars. Of course people were sympathetic, but secretly delighted, as they are whenever those who boast of their wealth take a tumble.
See how a few deft strokes, humorous, empathetic, and mildly sarcastic paints a picture in the mind of the reader.
The only thing that was a mild source of irritation was the frequent POV shift between Isabel and Jamie, her boyfriend. However, in the midst of such writing, such minor drawbacks can be excused.
The verdict? Not your Nobel-winning tome, but something to curl up with a glass of Scotch at the end of a tiring day.
This novel, though standalone, presumably picks up from where it left off last time and moves its serene way forward. There are no earthshaking events, no moments of truth which allows characters to grow beyond their humdrum existence; these are your friends next door whose adventures are limited to the marriage of a cousin, the birth of a nephew or that long-awaited trip to Europe. Important things happen to Isabel, of course. She almost loses her editorship before she turns the table smartly on her opponents; she makes up with her estranged niece; and solves a relatively lukewarm mystery of a long-dead painter. All very interesting, however, but nothing very remarkable. Other than Alexander McCall Smith's prose, that is.
Speaking as a man who loves the music of language for its own sake, reading this book was sheer pleasure. Alexander McCall Smith writes really beautiful English, from an era when stories were usually not peppered with (to borrow from Wodehouse)"words most often heard in a lower type of bar." See a sample below, where he is talking about a painting collection put up for auction:
This collection had been put together by a businessman who had done well with a small oil company and had attracted attention by his colourful, and tactless, remarks. The oil wells were on the shores of the Caspian, in one of those republics that people are not quite sure about-where it is and who runs it-and had suddenly dried up. There had been mutterings about geological reports and manipulations at the other end, and the share price had plummeted. The sale of the Colourists was the result, along with the sale of a Highland sporting estate and a small fleet of expensive vintage cars. Of course people were sympathetic, but secretly delighted, as they are whenever those who boast of their wealth take a tumble.
See how a few deft strokes, humorous, empathetic, and mildly sarcastic paints a picture in the mind of the reader.
The only thing that was a mild source of irritation was the frequent POV shift between Isabel and Jamie, her boyfriend. However, in the midst of such writing, such minor drawbacks can be excused.
The verdict? Not your Nobel-winning tome, but something to curl up with a glass of Scotch at the end of a tiring day.
May 17, 2013
Rating: 3.5* of five
The Book Report: Isabel Dalhousie, wealthy old-Edinburgh-family woman, art collector, philosopher, editrix of The Journal of Applied Ethics, lover of a beautiful younger musician, single mother.
Wait...what?!
My Review: This is the fourth Isabel Dalhousie novel, as I am pleased to note Pantheon is now marketing them, not mysteries. Now I wonder why my library still keeps them in the mysteries...?
It's a lovely, warm way to spend a frustrating day's end, reading a well-written book about quiet, domestic things, and feeling thereby that one has checked in on the doings of some rather remote, but nonetheless cherished, friends. That's the charm of the Isabel Dalhousie novels for me. It's just smooth sailing such as this that gets comparatively little respect, critical or commercial; how glad I am that Precious Ramotswe has given McCall Smith the megaphone that brought these unfashionably serene books to a broad, general market.
And how delightedly I received this particular book! The previous entry in the series wasn't very good at all, seeming to me to have been composed on a laptop perched on the author's knee while traveling to signings, clunked onto the never-the-right-height hotel desk for a fast few hundred before passing out, and edited by fax while jouncing over unpaved roads in Botswana. While I'm not quite ready to forget that readerly disappointment, I'm a long way from unhappy after this evening's pleasures.
Isabel does several interesting things in this book, and does them with verve. I think it was this sense of verve that I missed in book three, The Right Attitude to Rain.
Cat, Isabel's niece, appears again in this book, though she isn't as central a character...this is but one example of the evolution of the series, that natural fading in and out of some characters. It's just like life. Only better...it takes less time. Recommended, no reservations, for anyone needing a quiet place to relax and have a good conversation with good people.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The Book Report: Isabel Dalhousie, wealthy old-Edinburgh-family woman, art collector, philosopher, editrix of The Journal of Applied Ethics, lover of a beautiful younger musician, single mother.
Wait...what?!
My Review: This is the fourth Isabel Dalhousie novel, as I am pleased to note Pantheon is now marketing them, not mysteries. Now I wonder why my library still keeps them in the mysteries...?
It's a lovely, warm way to spend a frustrating day's end, reading a well-written book about quiet, domestic things, and feeling thereby that one has checked in on the doings of some rather remote, but nonetheless cherished, friends. That's the charm of the Isabel Dalhousie novels for me. It's just smooth sailing such as this that gets comparatively little respect, critical or commercial; how glad I am that Precious Ramotswe has given McCall Smith the megaphone that brought these unfashionably serene books to a broad, general market.
And how delightedly I received this particular book! The previous entry in the series wasn't very good at all, seeming to me to have been composed on a laptop perched on the author's knee while traveling to signings, clunked onto the never-the-right-height hotel desk for a fast few hundred before passing out, and edited by fax while jouncing over unpaved roads in Botswana. While I'm not quite ready to forget that readerly disappointment, I'm a long way from unhappy after this evening's pleasures.
Isabel does several interesting things in this book, and does them with verve. I think it was this sense of verve that I missed in book three, The Right Attitude to Rain.
Cat, Isabel's niece, appears again in this book, though she isn't as central a character...this is but one example of the evolution of the series, that natural fading in and out of some characters. It's just like life. Only better...it takes less time. Recommended, no reservations, for anyone needing a quiet place to relax and have a good conversation with good people.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
October 18, 2009
My wife talked me into reading this one, even though I'd pretty much given up on this series. Many people find Isabel Dalhousie to be charming--I find her annoying. She allegedly has a PhD in philosophy, and she thinks incessantly about almost everything. She says she likes to let her mind wander, because that's how it arrives at interesting places. I don't find her getting anyplace interesting very often. Her musings remind me of the way your mind drifts while driving on a long trip. At the end you can't remember a single thing you were thinking about. Mostly she does what Basil Fawlty would call "running over the bleeding obvious." But my wife said I'd like this one better, because it had some Latin in it, and because an episode is set on the Isle of Jura, with descriptions of the distillery that makes a brand of whisky I like. She was right--those parts were more entertaining, and Isabel did actually have what were for me some fresh insights. And there was the ghost of an actual mystery drifting through this one, a mystery that involved some moral complexity and which got satisfactorily resolved. So this installment in the series somewhat restored my faith; but I doubt if I'll read another.
March 10, 2016
I gave it five stars because it really made me feel like I am on holidays and that this is how holidays should be enjoyed. It was a warm feeling and I think I could read this book again during Christmas, with a cup of tea or hot chocolate beside.
The main character, Isabel, was a charming lady and I grew a particular fondness on her. Though sometimes she appeared confused, or just wanted to play that 'ping-pong' game of thoughts, cause anyway she already had an aim in her mind. She sometimes made it difficult to follow her train of thoughts, however, that is typical of: first, a woman, and second, a philosopher.
The plot twisted in unexpected events, although I found it very good, but short. I could read more than five hundred pages of a similar plot.
The main character, Isabel, was a charming lady and I grew a particular fondness on her. Though sometimes she appeared confused, or just wanted to play that 'ping-pong' game of thoughts, cause anyway she already had an aim in her mind. She sometimes made it difficult to follow her train of thoughts, however, that is typical of: first, a woman, and second, a philosopher.
The plot twisted in unexpected events, although I found it very good, but short. I could read more than five hundred pages of a similar plot.
May 28, 2020
Пристрастяващо четиво се оказа тази поредица. Колкото повече чета, толкова повече ми харесва.
Този път Изабел се замесва в история с картини и има проблеми в работата си като редактор. Тя трябва да вземе нестандартни решения, за да успее да задържи това, което има. Също и да реши проблемите с племенницата си. Интересното е, че колкото и странни да са ми взаимоотношенията им с Джейми, това не ме дразни и не губя интерес към книгата.
Този път Изабел се замесва в история с картини и има проблеми в работата си като редактор. Тя трябва да вземе нестандартни решения, за да успее да задържи това, което има. Също и да реши проблемите с племенницата си. Интересното е, че колкото и странни да са ми взаимоотношенията им с Джейми, това не ме дразни и не губя интерес към книгата.
March 20, 2019
If you like the Isabel Dalhousie series by Alexander McCall Smith, you'll like this one. Isabel is now the mother of an infant and trying to figure out her relationship to her baby's father. She becomes involved, as usual, in the affairs of others while trying to decide whether to buy a painting by a Scottish artist she likes. The ending isn't that surprising, and the resolution of her difficult relationship with her niece is unsatisfying, but I read these books for the wry humor, philosophical musings, and description of Edinburgh and other places in Scotland to which she travels. 3.5 rounded up.
September 24, 2007
This, the Isabel Dalhousie series, is one of two series that I keep tabs on, and both have new books out this fall. This series is largely character driven, has a great sense of geographic place, and is just an easy, entertaining read. Plus, I'll always give points for a book whose main character is a philosopher. I do think this particular book is the weakest of the 4 Dalhousie books, but that's alright. Still quite enjoyable.
I do confess that I almost didn't list this on my Goodreads account - I am a reader who has always felt guilty about reading certain books, the literary equivalent of a bag of Skittles, even though in this series McCall-Smith weaves in great little tidbits of info on art, music, Scotland, and of course distillations of philosophy. In any case, I'm trying to get away from this guilt, and the anecdote and conclusion I fall back on is this: I was once discussing childhood reading habits with a bibliophile friend, and I mentioned having loved The Babysitters Club as a kid. She scoffed, and pointed out that there was so much great YA fiction, why would I chose to read that. I was offended, and then kind of embarrassed, but then thought, well hell, I gained a life-long love of reading from my experience with that series, and that's all that matters to me. And so it continues.
I do confess that I almost didn't list this on my Goodreads account - I am a reader who has always felt guilty about reading certain books, the literary equivalent of a bag of Skittles, even though in this series McCall-Smith weaves in great little tidbits of info on art, music, Scotland, and of course distillations of philosophy. In any case, I'm trying to get away from this guilt, and the anecdote and conclusion I fall back on is this: I was once discussing childhood reading habits with a bibliophile friend, and I mentioned having loved The Babysitters Club as a kid. She scoffed, and pointed out that there was so much great YA fiction, why would I chose to read that. I was offended, and then kind of embarrassed, but then thought, well hell, I gained a life-long love of reading from my experience with that series, and that's all that matters to me. And so it continues.
April 23, 2008
The Isabel Dalhousie books just keep getting better! I really enjoyed this one and the last one (The Right Attitude to Rain). Although NOT detective fiction as they are so often classified, they are easy reads with interesting philosophical questions presented in a way even non-philosophers like me can understand.
August 3, 2017
I always say these Alexander McCall Smith books are review-proof, especially if you are on the 4th book of a series, as is the case with The Careful Use of Compliments. I had read the 3rd book earlier this year and had not intended to pick up this one quite yet, but I had just come off such a mentally taxing read that I really need the light and fluff of McCall Smith to do what I call a cleanse of my literary palette. Normally, I would have switched off with the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, but I was so surprised by the turn of events in Isabel Dalhousie's life at the end of The Right Attitude For Rain that I was anxious to see where things picked up.
I thought this was a quite good installment with one of the better "mysteries" of the series and was relieved that the series didn't "jumped the shark" as I fear it might have given the new character in the book. At the risk of being repetitive, I find these books to be reliably pleasant and a great diversion from more serious reading. In browsing reviews here, I saw the book called "meandering" and while it was meant as a negative criticism, I find it to be one of the strengths of the series and McCall Smith in general... a chance to slow down and enjoy the proverbial journey over the destination.
I thought this was a quite good installment with one of the better "mysteries" of the series and was relieved that the series didn't "jumped the shark" as I fear it might have given the new character in the book. At the risk of being repetitive, I find these books to be reliably pleasant and a great diversion from more serious reading. In browsing reviews here, I saw the book called "meandering" and while it was meant as a negative criticism, I find it to be one of the strengths of the series and McCall Smith in general... a chance to slow down and enjoy the proverbial journey over the destination.
October 1, 2016
Isabel Dalhousie enjoys her job as editor of the Journal of Applied Ethics but she is upset by a letter telling her she is to be replaced as editor. She find she is much more upset about it than she might have thought. Meanwhile she is settling down into single motherhood and looking after baby Charlie with the help of housekeeper, Grace and the boy's father, Jamie. But Isabel wants to try and repair her relationship with her niece, Cat who feels Isabel has stolen Jamie from her even though she herself had broken up with him some time before he fell in love with Isabel.
In addition Isabel has become interested in some paintings which she thinks may be forgeries and she takes a trip to the Isle of Jura with Jamie and Charlie to try and work out whether her theory is correct. This is a gentle read with plenty of philosophical speculations about aspects of everyday life. The excruciating dinner party is really well written and will make you cringe and feel the embarrassment as though you were actually there.
If you're wanting to read books which are fast paced with lots of action, then you won't enjoy this one. But if enjoy books which are light reads on the surface but which cause you to think about every day life then you may enjoy this one as well as the rest of the books in this series. This is the fourth book in the Isabel Dalhousie series.
In addition Isabel has become interested in some paintings which she thinks may be forgeries and she takes a trip to the Isle of Jura with Jamie and Charlie to try and work out whether her theory is correct. This is a gentle read with plenty of philosophical speculations about aspects of everyday life. The excruciating dinner party is really well written and will make you cringe and feel the embarrassment as though you were actually there.
If you're wanting to read books which are fast paced with lots of action, then you won't enjoy this one. But if enjoy books which are light reads on the surface but which cause you to think about every day life then you may enjoy this one as well as the rest of the books in this series. This is the fourth book in the Isabel Dalhousie series.
March 23, 2016
this my first encounter with Isabel Dalhousie and I am sorry to say - we did not become great friends. Since the plot, or "mystery", of this story is rather tepid and meh, there is not much action, so the book becomes heavily reliant on the characters, chiefly Isabel. (I struggled with completing this book, all the while hoping for some development in the plot or at least something relatable, welll...) Isabel has the makings of a lovely main character and is supposedly the “aspirational figure" for the female reader (?) - a seemingly accomplished professional, securely wealthy, good looking, happily involved and new mother too. but what is with all-the-whining? instead of living the great life, she behaves like a spoiled immature teenager, who continuously wonders if the boy likes her and plays detective in matters that are none of her business. and of course, everything and everyone revolves around her, and all the things in the world are some kind of conspiracy against her. I will maybe give her another chance, if I happen upon another book in this series, but she will have to work hard to win me over.
December 26, 2020
I’m thinking that the gentle promotion of Scottish artists must be a favorite project for Alexander McCall Smith. And I am guessing that he really likes Volvos.
Isabel Dalhousie is Smith’s favorite hyper-civilized ethicist. She approaches every person and situation as an ethical problem to be parsed. She also visits art galleries at every opportunity.
In The Careful Use of Compliments, Isabel encounters a puzzle she cannot resist. At her favorite local gallery, two previously unknown paintings have become available from a now-deceased artist. At first she wants to purchase one, a scene from the Scottish island of Jura, but the paintings have some qualities that make Isabel wonder if they might be forgeries.
It’s just the sort of investigation she loves. She travels to Jura (in her Volvo) with her baby Charlie and with Charlie’s father, Jamie. As an inquisitive tourist, she uncovers information about local artists while simultaneously basking in the small family she adores and in the Scotland she romanticizes.
With diplomacy and charm, Isabel wins the day. She also wins the day with her money. She was about to lose her job as editor of a journal of ethics. The problem was solved by buying the journal outright and dismissing the board which had proposed replacing her with an inferior male colleague.
So there. You’ll feel good.
Isabel Dalhousie is Smith’s favorite hyper-civilized ethicist. She approaches every person and situation as an ethical problem to be parsed. She also visits art galleries at every opportunity.
In The Careful Use of Compliments, Isabel encounters a puzzle she cannot resist. At her favorite local gallery, two previously unknown paintings have become available from a now-deceased artist. At first she wants to purchase one, a scene from the Scottish island of Jura, but the paintings have some qualities that make Isabel wonder if they might be forgeries.
It’s just the sort of investigation she loves. She travels to Jura (in her Volvo) with her baby Charlie and with Charlie’s father, Jamie. As an inquisitive tourist, she uncovers information about local artists while simultaneously basking in the small family she adores and in the Scotland she romanticizes.
With diplomacy and charm, Isabel wins the day. She also wins the day with her money. She was about to lose her job as editor of a journal of ethics. The problem was solved by buying the journal outright and dismissing the board which had proposed replacing her with an inferior male colleague.
So there. You’ll feel good.
March 28, 2016
It would have been interesting to see Isabel Dalhousie during pregnancy, but the author chose to make a rather big jump between books: so the third Dalhousie (The Right Attitude to Rain) ends with Isabel telling Jamie that she is pregnant, and this next one opens with Isabel having a 3 month old baby named Charlie. Perhaps the author felt uncomfortable getting into the nitty-gritty of pregnancy and the grimier aspects of early motherhood, but the storyline glides over all of this very smoothly. That kind of reality is not part of the Isabel Dalhousie fictional world; I could accept that, but I can also see that it might annoy other readers. As with the previous books, the emphasis is all on Isabel's philosophical musings and the mystery she involves herself in. Jamie (her younger boyfriend), Cat (her difficult niece) and Grace (her housekeeper) round out the cast of characters, although there are also some Edinburgh bit players. The "mystery" in this book revolves around a painting and a Scottish painter called Andrew McInnes. When a painting of the (deceased) McInnes comes up on the market, Isabel bids for it -- but then loses it to another bidder because she feels some discomfort about the sum of money involved. Isabel's wealth is an issue is this novel, and it takes various forms: not only does she reveal her wealth to Jamie for the first time, but she uses her wealth to gain control of the Ethics Journal when Professors Dove and Lettuce make a play for it. The idea of authenticity and identity plays out in various ways. At first, Isabel decides that the painting is a fake -- and believes that she has the evidence to prove it -- but then the mystery of McInnes takes on an entirely unexpected dimension. A good ending; I particularly liked the way the McInnes mystery played out, with its various connections to the idea of paternity . . . including the fact that Isabel's original McInnes was a legacy from her own father.
December 31, 2020
Още откакто прочетох "Неделният клуб по философия", Алекзандър Маккол Смит грабна сърцето ми и стана един от любимите ми писатели. Лекотата и изтънчеността на изказа му, както и красотата на разсъжденията му, винаги предизвикват моята усмивка и ме карат да се замислям над много въпроси. Четвъртата книга от поредицата за Изабел Далхаузи не прави изключение.
"Разумната употреба на комплименти" пренася читателя в Единбург. Отново се срещаме с интелигентната Изабел, която е главен редактор на списание "Преглед на приложната етика", милият музикант Джейми, "строгата" икономка Грейс и импулсивната племенница Кат. Животът на героите се променя, както и техните взаимоотношения. Всичко това се случва на фона на една история за талантлив шотландски художник на име Макинес, който загива трагично край бреговете на остров Джура.
За пореден път бях възхитена от умението на Маккол Смит да предава така точно сложната химия, протичаща в дебрите на женското съзнание. Разсъждения, интуиция, емоции, вина и отговорности, всички сложни нишки, с които нежната половина на човечеството се товари всеки ден. Хареса ми как е решил да развие героите, също така бях заинтригувана от историята на художника и неговите произведения. Поздравления и за издателство "Еднорог", че отново поднася на читателите се един чудесно преведен текст с интересни и обогатяващи бележки под линия.
Със сигурност ще продължа да чета книгите от поредицата за Изабел Далхаузи и я препоръчвам на всеки любител на красивия изказ, Шотландия и разбира се - на философските размисли.
"Разумната употреба на комплименти" пренася читателя в Единбург. Отново се срещаме с интелигентната Изабел, която е главен редактор на списание "Преглед на приложната етика", милият музикант Джейми, "строгата" икономка Грейс и импулсивната племенница Кат. Животът на героите се променя, както и техните взаимоотношения. Всичко това се случва на фона на една история за талантлив шотландски художник на име Макинес, който загива трагично край бреговете на остров Джура.
За пореден път бях възхитена от умението на Маккол Смит да предава така точно сложната химия, протичаща в дебрите на женското съзнание. Разсъждения, интуиция, емоции, вина и отговорности, всички сложни нишки, с които нежната половина на човечеството се товари всеки ден. Хареса ми как е решил да развие героите, също така бях заинтригувана от историята на художника и неговите произведения. Поздравления и за издателство "Еднорог", че отново поднася на читателите се един чудесно преведен текст с интересни и обогатяващи бележки под линия.
Със сигурност ще продължа да чета книгите от поредицата за Изабел Далхаузи и я препоръчвам на всеки любител на красивия изказ, Шотландия и разбира се - на философските размисли.
September 18, 2010
Comment after reading first chapter:
I had read the first two books in this series, but not the third. I did enjoy them, but my comments included, "It was an easy, light read. Nothing much happens.". Because of that when this book - the forth in the series - appeared on the table at a BookCrossing Meet I did not think it would matter that I had not read the third story. THEN, in the first few pages I read that Isabel has had a baby. Shock...how old is she exactly? I thought she was late middle aged, well into her fifties at least. She had always came across to me as being far too old to have a baby. It was like suddenly reading that Agatha Christie's Miss Marple had had a baby. Golly gosh, now I better read on...
I have now finished the book.
This is my favourite book of the series so far...now that I've gotten over the shock that Isabel is only about 39 yrs old. She is written older. I guessed the mystery surrounding the paintings before it was revealed, but that didn't worry me. The story is more about Isabel's comfortable, day to day life in cold Edinburgh. Even in summer it sounds chilly, and in fact it was when I visited it in summer. I only had a few hours between trains and it was a quick explore of the streets on my bicycle. My fleeting impression of Edinburgh was hilly, grey sky, black stone buildings and chilly. Then I took refuge in the warm, timber-panelled railway station waiting room with a cup of tea and biscuits to wait for my train.
I had read the first two books in this series, but not the third. I did enjoy them, but my comments included, "It was an easy, light read. Nothing much happens.". Because of that when this book - the forth in the series - appeared on the table at a BookCrossing Meet I did not think it would matter that I had not read the third story. THEN, in the first few pages I read that Isabel has had a baby. Shock...how old is she exactly? I thought she was late middle aged, well into her fifties at least. She had always came across to me as being far too old to have a baby. It was like suddenly reading that Agatha Christie's Miss Marple had had a baby. Golly gosh, now I better read on...
I have now finished the book.
This is my favourite book of the series so far...now that I've gotten over the shock that Isabel is only about 39 yrs old. She is written older. I guessed the mystery surrounding the paintings before it was revealed, but that didn't worry me. The story is more about Isabel's comfortable, day to day life in cold Edinburgh. Even in summer it sounds chilly, and in fact it was when I visited it in summer. I only had a few hours between trains and it was a quick explore of the streets on my bicycle. My fleeting impression of Edinburgh was hilly, grey sky, black stone buildings and chilly. Then I took refuge in the warm, timber-panelled railway station waiting room with a cup of tea and biscuits to wait for my train.
September 22, 2022
I keep trying the Isabel Dalhousie series, and I just keep not liking Isabel at all.
So why do I keep trying? I suppose it's because I enjoy the 44 Scotland Street series by the same author, and I keep hoping that the Isabel books will move closer to that in wit and enjoyable characters.
Both series give one the sensation of being in suspended animation in the city of Edinburgh (a condition I'm all in favor of), but Isabel's completely privileged, highly philosophical lifestyle drives me crazy. It's not so much that she's wealthy that's makes her unrelatable... It's that she's so distanced from her own life that when she says she's happy I don't believe her.
I will admit this one sent me down a couple of Wikipedia rabbit holes, so at least I learned something about the whirlpool of Corryvreckan and the modern composer Max Richter.
So why do I keep trying? I suppose it's because I enjoy the 44 Scotland Street series by the same author, and I keep hoping that the Isabel books will move closer to that in wit and enjoyable characters.
Both series give one the sensation of being in suspended animation in the city of Edinburgh (a condition I'm all in favor of), but Isabel's completely privileged, highly philosophical lifestyle drives me crazy. It's not so much that she's wealthy that's makes her unrelatable... It's that she's so distanced from her own life that when she says she's happy I don't believe her.
I will admit this one sent me down a couple of Wikipedia rabbit holes, so at least I learned something about the whirlpool of Corryvreckan and the modern composer Max Richter.
November 14, 2013
I LOVE Alexander McCall Smith. His books are just plain delightful. They are my comfort zone. Like-able characters, fun plots. While his writing does make me think, he has a light handed touch at ethical dilemas and current events. I love the way the main characters often have a rambling train of thought that allows the author to weave around lots of life's little issues without hitting you over the head with it. Fleeting references to a world view. The books are like those old "Little House" type TV series - that always had a message and ended well. McCall's books make me feel good when I've been dealing with other heavy reading.
May 10, 2021
2021: Listening to the audio again & loving every minute of my revisit to this series. Isabel's story is sweet & wise & fun & thought-provoking.
2013: This installment had a mysterious painting at its heart and Isabel sets out to discover the truth about the painting and the painter. It also involves her job as editor of the Review, and more character development with Jamie, Cat, and Grace. Delightful.
2013: This installment had a mysterious painting at its heart and Isabel sets out to discover the truth about the painting and the painter. It also involves her job as editor of the Review, and more character development with Jamie, Cat, and Grace. Delightful.
May 5, 2016
My only complaint is that the three month old baby seems awfully low maintenance. I don't know whether Mr. Smith's daughters were easy to care for, whether he had little actual hand in their raising, whether memory is kind. Though I admit some infants are more placid than others. Mine were pretty lively.
The plot is good with some nice twists and mostly nice people acting in mostly laudable ways.
The plot is good with some nice twists and mostly nice people acting in mostly laudable ways.
January 11, 2009
I love these little mysteries...no bloodshed or gunshots. Fun to read Isabel's thought process. Makes philosophy interesting and real.
February 3, 2010
I just love this series, it's like coming home and sitting in your favorite chair with a nice cup of tea.
August 26, 2021
Love this series - savoring each book and what it offers for reflection.
June 22, 2019
2.5★ I'm not a great fan of the Isabel Dalhousie series - I much prefer the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, and, more recently, the Paul Stuart series - but this one had its moments that made me chuckle.
It also had its moments of making me roll my eyes at some of the things Isabel contemplates.
It also had its moments of making me roll my eyes at some of the things Isabel contemplates.
October 1, 2021
Un confort book, una ventata d'aria fresca. L'uso sapiente del ragionamento, della speculazione filosofica senza spocchia e senza pedanteria, forse il giallo è un pò sbiadito ma la lettura è un'immersione deliziosa
August 12, 2017
Don't get me wrong, I like this series and I will continue reading it. It just feels a little like the same old same old with a baby thrown in. The mystery this time was actually mysterious, even though the mystery is never the focus in this series.
November 23, 2018
Listened to the audiobook version. Especially liked the storyline involving an artist & the wild, western island of Jura. These books are my relaxing, late evening stories . . .
February 4, 2023
While I wouldn't go so far as to call it controversy, the recent NYTimes Book Review article, Read Your Way Through Edinburgh, surprised many readers with its omission of Alexander McCall Smith's long running 44 Scotland Street and Isabel Dalhousie series'.
The suggested reading list was compiled by one of my absolute faves, Maggie O'Farrell, so I felt very conflicted by my own feelings.
I stand by my belief however that if you were to travel to Edinburgh or want to remember it once you returned home you would be well served by reading through both series as they evoke the city in loving detail with plenty of in jokes and contemporary references.
The Isabel Dalhousie series started in 2004 and currently has 14 books. This review relates to book 4: The Careful Use of Compliments.
Isabel Dalhousie PhD is a Philosopher and the independently wealthy editor of the journal The Review of Applied Ethics. She lives quite the charmed lifestyle in Edinburgh as well as considering herself, much to the chagrin of her friends, an amateur detective.
These are cosy dramas, where nothing much of any huge consequence happens and yet gives the reader much to contemplate about life.
The books are well written, make lovers of Edinburgh feel homesick for that beautiful city and range from being good to ON FIRE. This one was ON FIRE, covering a small mystery in the art world. I just loved it.
Written in 2007 it had many references to climate change which made me wonder - apart from speculative fiction and climate fiction - when did general fiction novels start referring to the need to be more environmentally responsible in a domestic way (use less power, recycle materials etc)?
I look forward to picking up Book 5 in the series.
The suggested reading list was compiled by one of my absolute faves, Maggie O'Farrell, so I felt very conflicted by my own feelings.
I stand by my belief however that if you were to travel to Edinburgh or want to remember it once you returned home you would be well served by reading through both series as they evoke the city in loving detail with plenty of in jokes and contemporary references.
The Isabel Dalhousie series started in 2004 and currently has 14 books. This review relates to book 4: The Careful Use of Compliments.
Isabel Dalhousie PhD is a Philosopher and the independently wealthy editor of the journal The Review of Applied Ethics. She lives quite the charmed lifestyle in Edinburgh as well as considering herself, much to the chagrin of her friends, an amateur detective.
These are cosy dramas, where nothing much of any huge consequence happens and yet gives the reader much to contemplate about life.
The books are well written, make lovers of Edinburgh feel homesick for that beautiful city and range from being good to ON FIRE. This one was ON FIRE, covering a small mystery in the art world. I just loved it.
Written in 2007 it had many references to climate change which made me wonder - apart from speculative fiction and climate fiction - when did general fiction novels start referring to the need to be more environmentally responsible in a domestic way (use less power, recycle materials etc)?
I look forward to picking up Book 5 in the series.
May 20, 2012
I enjoyed this book very much, but then I always like McCall Smith. Isabel Dalhousie might be my favorite character that he's created, largely because she reminds me of me. Everything for her is fodder for thinking, and she lives in a complicated moral universe where every decision is weighed against Dalhousie's notion of right and wrong/should or shouldn't do.
But it's not as dry as all that sounds. She loves a niece who hardly seems worth the bother, for the most part, and she loves a man who's younger than herself. McCall Smith is a master of restraint discussing their relationship; he simply lays it out, leaving the reader's reaction entirely up to the reader.
One of the things I like about his novels set in Scotland, as this one is,is the similarity between the culture he describes and our own. It's just distant enough to allow some fresh perspective.
Since hearing McCall Smith speak, I bring a more distant eye to Isabel. McCall Smith said that she "often gets it wrong," and this clue helped me enjoy the possible irony of Isabel's use of her tremendous wealth to outmaneuver an enemy, while finding the most morally justifiable grounds for doing so.
A neat little plot twist rounds up an enjoyable story.
I'm inclined to wonder if these books would be as favorably acclaimed as they are if a woman had written them. I suspect not.
But it's not as dry as all that sounds. She loves a niece who hardly seems worth the bother, for the most part, and she loves a man who's younger than herself. McCall Smith is a master of restraint discussing their relationship; he simply lays it out, leaving the reader's reaction entirely up to the reader.
One of the things I like about his novels set in Scotland, as this one is,is the similarity between the culture he describes and our own. It's just distant enough to allow some fresh perspective.
Since hearing McCall Smith speak, I bring a more distant eye to Isabel. McCall Smith said that she "often gets it wrong," and this clue helped me enjoy the possible irony of Isabel's use of her tremendous wealth to outmaneuver an enemy, while finding the most morally justifiable grounds for doing so.
A neat little plot twist rounds up an enjoyable story.
I'm inclined to wonder if these books would be as favorably acclaimed as they are if a woman had written them. I suspect not.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 746 reviews