A Distant View of Everything

My advice: send this book back to an editor (not the original one), and then re-issue it. One part near the beginning has to do with making fun of someone’s name. Isabel stumbles over its pronunciation. I found this implausible, since Isabel knows her Edinburgh and would likely not be taken by surprise by an odd Scottish name. Then a short while later she stumbles over it again. I think this was a matter of a rewrite, with the first version not excised from the book. Either that or it’s meant to show an author stumbling while his character also stumbles. Nope, I don’t think so. More discouraging is this only one example of poor editing. The book begins with what is usually a charming dialogue between Isabel and her husband Jamie, but in this case it goes on until it becomes cloying, and worse, boring. Later, McCall Smith returns to the ethical idea of moral proximity, after having done quite enough on it in previous books in this series. His labored explanation of moral proximity here exposes the idea’s weaknesses, which are partly because proximity has been subverted, or given new meaning, by modern communications technology. Now, the suffering of a child in Nepal can appear as close as that of a child in our own town. McCall Smith also leaves out the potential strengths of the concept: that acting in one’s own locale can be more effective because we are in known territory, and can better consider the variety of resources, cultural context, and potential impacts of our actions. Unfortunately, Isabel is more clueless than ever about the society she lives in. Her emotional growth has outrun her social understanding. In fact, her social experience is limited, which leads her to have a judgmental attitude toward her housekeeper. In her defense, and Smith’s as well, Isabel is aware of this and tries to change. Finally, there is an odd section about a cyclist brushing by pedestrians on a tow path. He loses control of his bike and ends up in the canal. Instead of thinking of karma, Isabel proceeds to interact with this man. When he tells her he can’t afford a new bike, she offers to pay for a new bicycle. Really? So he can nearly run over, or actually mow down, more people? Her actions are so elitist it’s mind-boggling. Then she tries to walk away, which she should have done, after seeing he wasn’t hurt, in the first place. That could have led to interesting thoughts on poetic justice, rudeness and incivility, among other moral and ethical musings. So of course the rude man asks her, where are you going? Good question. What appalled me next was that she was afraid and looked around in hopes of seeing others on the tow path in case the cyclist attacked her. Now, he was a hero on his bike, pathetic in the river, and probably not one to bother himself with overt action. I understand what McCall Smith was trying to depict. I’ve felt that fear or uneasiness when finding myself alone on a street or country path. But in this case it felt contrived. The book shines where McCall Smith’s writing always does: in the interviews between his main characters and persons of interest. In these dialogues, an acute awareness of what is known and unknown, of intuition and conscious analysis, a feeling for human connection in all its variety, are done with sensibility and precision, like fine pieces of music. I look forward to books in the Isabel Dalhousie series and found this one disappointing. There seems to be no central point to the story, and the ending with the painting that has “a distant view of everything” could be a proper summation for the reader’s experience. Or a foggy view, a confused view, of everything.

An annual–and happily anticipated–visit with Isabel Dalhousie and her family. That family is now larger by one male child and marital bliss still rules in this household. As much as any of the Isabel Dalhousie books, this one is a gentle \”instruction\” by author McCall-Smith on how to understand, manage and enjoy what life has given you. I think that this is the essence of most of the author\’s books, regardless of series, and certainly at the heart of why they are so enjoyable. As is par for this series, \”A Distant View of Everything\” does toss Isabel a problem to solve–the possibility that a fortune-hunting gigolo is at work in Edinburgh, preying on wealthy and vulnerable women of a certain age. The heroine\’s investigation takes the usual zig-zag course toward an uncertain resolution and once again delivers a general lesson in life for us, the readers. I am quite sure that these stories (for me, at least) are engrossing, without being in the least bit exciting, because they represent such a positive and civilized perspective on the world. This is increasingly appreciated when every morning and evening news broadcast seems to bring a new and even more discomforting example of misbehavior, unkindness and basic crassness from the highest elevations of the social order. I wonder if McCall-Smith has ever considered running for office?

I am reading the Isabel series in order and I\’m saddened that this series is almost finished .since this is #11, and the #13 is the last one currently. I have enjoyed most of these books each one better than the last. I have read most of the books during the Global Pandemic , and they are perfect for me and have sustained me greatly. When most of the news and many of the newly released books center on the bad news and the tensions of our times, this book and those in this series I find relaxing, fun and educational. The Isabel series may not be for everyone, and I might not have enjoyed them myself had I been in the midst of one of my strings of reading thrillers and mysteries. These books are not Page Turners that can\’t be put down, but I find myself chuckling outloudnumerous times per book, and I\’ve learned immense amounts about Art, Music, Philosophy and of course the History of Scotland and how it relates to the British Isles , to Europe and the World as a whole. When I was in college, I was a Math and Science enthusiast, but I have found that McCall Smith books have helped me broaden my education. I hope you will keep the Isabel series going past #13. One of the most valuable parts are the lessons in human relations, in chld rearing, and in compromise.

Although I have enjoyed all of the Isabel books, this last one left me wanting more. I kept waiting for more conflict, for something to happen. I love the characters, but this was too short. The small conflicts, mysteries were lacking strength and didn\’t catch my interest. Perhaps McCall Smith needs to concentrate on his many other series, and let Isabel live her life off the page. This book 11 could have been a short story.

I love the rambling, out-of-the-box nature of this story. Not a whole lot actually happens, just life, but along the way we get to think about all kinds of ethical truths, meet interesting and very human people, and above all delight in Isabel and her relationships. So upbeat and life affirming, a read like this goes a long way to cancel out the negativity we often see in everyday news.

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