The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel | 
|  | | | Title: | The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel | | Author: | Alexander Mccall Smith | | Publisher: | Pantheon | | Type: | Book / Hardcover | | Publication Date: | 23 September, 2008 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0375425136 / 9780375425134 | | List Price: | $23.95 | | You Save: | $7.66 | | Amazon Price: | $16.29 | |
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Product Description
In the fabulous new installment in the best-selling adventures of Isabel Dalhousie, Isabel is asked to help a doctor who has been disgraced by allegations of scientific fraud concerning a newly marketed drug. Our ever-curious moral philosopher finds her interest piqued. Would a doctor with a stellar reputation make such a simple but grave mistake? If not, what explains the tragic accident that resulted in the death of a patient? Clearly, an investigation is in order, especially since a man's reputation is in jeopardy. Could he be the victim of someone else's mistake? Or perhaps he has been willfully deceived by a pharmaceutical company with a great deal to gain.
Not every problem prompts an investigation (take, for example, her ongoing struggle with her housekeeper, Grace, over the care of Isabel's infant son, Charlie), but, as we've seen, whatever the case, whatever the solution, Isabel's combination of spirit, smarts, empathy, and unabashed nosiness guarantees a delightful adventure.
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Customer Reviews:
• Oh, Thank You, Dear Mr. Smith 30 October, 2008
In a world of excess and detachment, it is an incomparable pleasure to read an author's work which deals with how humans interconnect and how we sometimes hide our feelings even from ourselves. Alexander McCall Smith's stories always start out gently, build to a crescendo, and then leave one so much more aware of one's humanity and so much more aware of one's own honest self. My husband and I have read everything this wonderful author has written, and eagerly await each new offering. Oh, thank you, dear Mr. A. M. Smith! Oh, thank you, Isabel!
- Reviewed by customer ID: AF3BZ2Y3KCQZF
• Another Brilliant Read From Alexander Mccall Smith 30 October, 2008
This is another example of why Alexander McCall Smith is such a unique author. I enjoy following Isabel Dalhousie and the events surrounding the other characters in this series. However, as in the best of things, it's not so much about the destination as it is the journey. The journey here is made enjoyable by McCall Smith's humorous and insightful peeks into human nature through Isabel's philosophical meanderings. I also enjoy the way he discreetly pokes fun at societal quirks that we are all familiar with but may not have really noticed. This is a book to be savored like good chocolate.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3TZH9Y39XOACD
• Not The Best In The Series, But Still Worth Reading 01 November, 2008
The Comfort of Saturdays is the fifth book in the "Sunday Philosophy Club" series, which feature Isabel Dalhousie, philosopher and occasional amateur sleuth. I should say at the outset that I adore this series. Isabel is a very likeable character with lovely little observations about life and its everyday moral dilemmas. But having said that, this is the book that I have liked least in the series to date. It felt like Isabel spent too much time thinking and not enough doing, to the detriment of the book's momentum.
The story picks up a year after "The Careful Use of Compliments". Isabel and Jamie's son Charlie is now 15 months old. One thing that felt wrong to me as a mother was Isabel's relationship with Charlie, which seemed very functional. She spends so many hours fretting about Jamie - does Jamie love her? is he happy? is she at risk of losing him? how can someone so beautiful want to be with her? - while she seems far less interested in her own son.
The book opens well. Isabel is asked to investigate the circumstances behind a doctor's disgrace over a medical scandal. At the same time, Jamie has developed a friendship with a mysterious composer by the name of Nick Smart. However it felt like McCall Smith lost interest in both of these storylines, which get pushed to the back and never get fully resolved. Instead we spend a lot of time with Isabel and her insecurities. For the first time we see sides of Isabel which are not very appealing: for example she harbors a grudge over a loan that she has made and is quick to pass judgment on Eddie's girlfriend based on the way she looks.
Despite all of this, McCall Smith is still a lovely writer. I always feel a little lighter in spirit after reading his books. The Edinburgh settings are captivating and Isabel has an original and refreshing take on life.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3PHF9UV3F177L
• A Subtle Look At Obligations To Others And How To Recover From Mistakes 31 October, 2008
If you haven't read any of the earlier books in this series, don't start with this one. Without the entire back story, many of the subtleties in the story will be lost.
Alexander McCall Smith continues his thoughtful investigation of the social contract and doing the right thing to others in a moral sense. Isabel Dalhousie, being portrayed as a mere human who knows ethics, struggles on behalf of us all with jealousy, regret, sloth, and concern for the hurting. How should we react?
In this story, Isabel finds that her worries about losing Jamie seem to be growing. She continues to keep barriers between them while wanting to take the barriers down. Social engagements with people her age are particularly uncomfortable. She feels particularly threatened by Jamie's new friendship with a young composer, Nick Smart.
Isabel is shocked to find that her old foe, Christopher Dove, is trying to manipulate her into publishing an article in the Journal of Applied Ethics. She grits her teeth at the effort required to treat Dove fairly.
After a dinner party, Isabel is approached by the wife of a disgraced medical researcher to see if Isabel will try to find some way to rehabilitate the researcher's reputation. Isabel is no Miss Marple, and her efforts lead her in an unexpected direction.
Between the major plot lines, Isabel takes great pleasure in her son, Charlie, her peaceful life, helping Cat out while she visits Sri Lanka, and looking to help those in need without hurting anyone's feelings. That last challenge is more difficult than she imagines.
As always, the story exudes joie de vivre, affection for Edinburgh, pleasure in the company of others, and happiness in trying to do the right thing. It's a nice recipe for brightening up your day . . . so that even a rainy Saturday can look like heaven on Earth.
Enjoy your life!
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1K1JW1C5CUSUZ
• Mccall's Best Dalhousie Book Ever 11 November, 2008
This one will keep you up all night turning pages, even if you are not already hooked on Isabel Dalhousie and company.
McCall's extended portrait of life in Edinburgh is both thought-provoking and emotionally delicious as we follow Isabel's ups and downs and find ourselves strangely comforted by the humanity and vulnerability of her life.
Will her beloved Jamie be enticed by an American composer to leave Edinburgh to further his career as a concert bassoonist? Did the doctor do it? Why does Grace claim Isabel's baby boy Charlie is her own son? Will Cat ever figure out why she chooses the wrong men? Do people, even nice Edinburgh people, actually go about telling lies every day?
Curl up with a cup of strong black tea with cream and plenty of sugar as you get to know Isabel a little better.
You won't regret it.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A145WPE8H0T2KL
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