Espresso tales - Alexander McCall Smith

44 SCOTLAND STREET - Book 2

The residents and neighbors of 44 Scotland Street and the city of Edinburgh come to vivid life in these gently satirical, wonderfully perceptive serial novels, featuring six-year-old Bertie, a remarkably precocious boy-just ask his mother.



Back are all our favorite denizens
of a Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh. Bertie the immensely talented six year old
is now enrolled in kindergarten, and much to his dismay, has been clad in pink overalls
for his first day of class. Bruce has lost his job as a surveyor, and between admiring
glances in the mirror, is contemplating becoming a wine merchant. Pat is embarking
on a new life at Edinburgh University and perhaps on a new relationship, courtesy
of Domenica, her witty and worldly-wise neighbor. McCall Smith has much in store
for them as the brief spell of glorious summer sunshine gives way to fall a season
cursed with more traditionally Scottish weather.

Full of McCall Smith's gentle humor
and sympathy for his characters, Espresso Tales is also an affectionate portrait
of a city and its people who, in the author's own words, "make it one of the most
vibrant and interesting places in the world."