Review: When misunderstandings are entirely understandable
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 25, 2011
In this Alexander McCall Smith story you can't help but be bemused by descriptions such as "The people who lived in it (Ramsey Garden, a picturesque section of old Edinburgh) had the most breathtaking view out over the Firth of Fourth, over to Fife. It was like being in an airship -or what I imagine it must be like to be in an airship."I guess I'd describe that as quaint, even droll and surprising in that those words are coming from the mouth of a most contemporary woman, Isabel Dalhousie of Edinburgh who sends text messages to her live-in lover Jamie and has a successful career as editor of the respected journal "The Review of Applied Ethics." Surprising because the worldview in this story and the eight books in the Isabel Dalhousie series are anything but contemporary in their tone or delivery. As charming as these stories are, hip they are not.Isabel is also a sleuth, a Miss Jane Marple for today, who applies principles of philosophy and doses of clear logic to get to the bottom of things. In this story, Isabel mistakenly receives an email from Dr. George MacLeod, a philosophy professor at university, inviting her to morning coffee at the Elephant House.That rendezvous sets off a series of events that puts Isabel in the uncomfortable position of being accused of being the married Dr. MacLeod's illicit lover. Those readers acquainted with our heroine know only to well that she will go to any length to determine the truth and clear her name.But even Isabel must learn that the rigorous application of flawless logic doesn't always lead to the correct conclusion. Sometimes even with the best of intentions and attention to facts, misunderstandings in the words of a friend are "entirely understandable."This McCall Smith short is the perfect initiation into the world of Isabel Dalhousie. If you're already a fan, the story is a perfect morsel to enjoy with tea while waiting for the arrival of number nine in the series about the estimable philosopher and her intrepid adventures in crime.