The Comfort of Saturdays

I am enjoying this series and see them more as peeks into the lives of some people living in Edinburgh than mysteries. I liked seeing baby Charlie grow as a toddler and the romance develop between Isabel and Jamie and grow closer to marriage. Cat and Eddie are both growing as characters also.

I always enjoy Alexander McCall Smith's books. I like their thoughtfulness, quiet humor, gentle and sometimes wry outlook on life. The Isabel Dalhousie books have been a little slow for my taste, but I truly loved this one. I think it was because I read it following having read six books on Rwanda and a number of good, but violent mysteries. Then our family became engulfed in a medical crisis, with way too much drama and trauma. This book was interesting enough to hold my attention during a time of many distractions and deep emotions and had a soothing, calming, encouraging effect on my emotions and soul. I highly recommend it for those who like quieter, thoughtful books, at least sometimes. Thank you, Mr. Smith!!

In this story, Isobel Dalhousie indulges in a lot of introspection, goes out to dinner and lunch a few times, eats at home, and indulges in more introspection. A pleasant but extremely slow-paced story without a great deal of plot. Also, there is a reason why introspection mostly takes place quietly between people's ears. It can get annoying to listen to someone, even a person as nice as Isobel, going on and on and ON about their every thought and most minor moral dilemmas. And yet, her incessant musings don't strike me as those of the mother of a very young child - of which I've done my share and listened to more than my share as a counselor and a discussion group leader dealing with young mums' issues, as well as a happy member of a show more most philosophical peer group of young mothers back in the day - and nor does Charlie develop any sort of character. He's a limp, lacklustre pillow that gets passed from hand to hand between Isobel, his father Jamie, and the daily help Grace. Isobel agonises interminably about her relationship with Jamie, which she herself has refused to regularise, but gives nary a thought to the effect of separated parents on a small child's development, not in all her self-questioning. The personal deficiencies of Charlie and Isobel's strange disconnection from the common concerns of motherhood make it difficult for this reader to connect as satisfactorily with Muddy Saturday as with earlier books in the series. Pleasant as it is, this book is not a keeper, and since the fifth in the series was gone, there seemed little point in keeping the earlier, more enjoyable, books either. show less

One of the better books in the series, maybe cos Isabel doesn't philosophize that much here. Isabel's insecurities felt real too - although she already had a child with Jamie, she doesn't have confidence in their relationship and always thinks the worse whenever anything happened. However, the title wasn't that intuitive. It wasn't till the end that you find out why the title is as such, and it doesn't have much to do with the book.

Isabel Dalhousie is a sleuth, no two ways about it. Simply put, she is another version of Botswana's Mma Ramotswe of the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Why didn't I notice this sooner?

Being a philosopher helps inform her sleuthing. She makes human errors but always ends up giving people the benefit of the doubt, along with clear and substantially good guidance. Like Mma Ramotswe she helps people move on with mended lives. Isabel is caring, and feels compelled to help when its needed.

But most importantly despite being wealthy and able to afford a good life, she treats virtually everyone fairly and respectfully. Because she is intuitively intelligent and introspective she recognizes her weaknesses (which cause those human errors show more mentioned above) and always works on improving herself.

Confident, warm and friendly Isabel acknowledges how fortunate she is in life and love. And just how important civility and kindness are.

Very good read. show less

Yeah, I need to take a break from Alexander McCall Smith books. It's not that I don't like them, but I've read too many in too short a time and if don't stop I'll probably end up hating them. But this was the last I had, so maybe I'm good for a while.

This one kinda promised a mystery but didn't really deliver. I shouldn't be surprised, it's very well in keeping with the tone of the rest of the series, but the blurb on the bac sold it as more of a mystery, so that annoyed me.

Also, Cat is becoming less and less likeable with each book and I'm starting to think the author doesn't like her and is deliberately making her worse. I wish we could see things from her perspective once in a while.

It's gentle; it's sweet. It makes me feel good. What did I learn? That our days really are about philosophy.
There is also a moment in the story when our heroine is generous to someone who has wronged her. (There is a parallel moment in the Botswana series by this author, which models what forgiveness looks like, really, in our lives.) This is why I read novels: to show me how to live this messy life of mine, how to live it generously. The 5 stars are for the insight Mr. McCall Smith gives us.