Alexander McCall
Smith
The Geometry of Holding Hands
Here we go with the umpteenth in the series of Elizabeth Dalhousie books by what must be one of the most prolific authors ever to grace the veldts of Africa or the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland. You know you are in the presence of a Renaissance mind when you run into references to Daniel Barenboim, Bertolt Brecht, Petronius, Ovid, Plato, Aristotle, Moliere, Hoarce, W.H. Auden, Benjamin Britten , and petri dishes all in the first four pages of a novel.
Let’s face
it. Ms. Dalhousie is as far away from Mma. Ramotswe, the stalwart operator of Botswana't No.1 Ladies Detective Agency as can be. Mma. Ramotswe is a woman of comfortable size
married to an auto mechanic who has great intelligence and love for others but
little formal education. Isabel Dalhousie is a wealthy, art loving, highly educated, urban
dweller whose husband is a professional bassoonist. She publishes an academic journal devoted to
exploring the finer points of philosophy and ethics while also spending a good deal of time assisting in the operation of her niece's delicatessen. . Though separated by both
geography and social class, both women do exhibit similar characteristics. They
love helping people and have a difficult time turning any request down. Isabel,
in particular, seems to dwell so intensely on the moral significance of simple
daily interactions that she is constantly getting into tricky situations that highlight
her inability to say no to almost any request.
In this
outing McCall Smith has Isabel and Jamie, her musician husband, dealing with
two major threads that center around this inability. First, Isabel is
approached by a stranger suffering from a terminal illness who asks her to
serve as the executor of his will. She
has severe doubts but accepts and then has to deal with how she will decide who
of three relatives will get how much of the man’s considerable assets. The
second plot knot is more familial. It involves Cat, Isabel’s niece and delicatessen proprietor, who has become engaged to a man who has some dubious character
traits. This involves considerable philosophic
discussion that seems to be best summarized by Isabel’s conclusion that difficult
people get away with a lot because one never quite knows where to start in
saying “no” to them. Ultimately both of
the central issues come down to tough decisions about the distribution of money. I must admit that I kept wondering how the problems would be
solved if a considerable fortune had not been at hand to put salve on the
emotional distress in both cases.
All told, not my favorite McCall Smith book, but still thought provoking and pleasantly humorous. One minor event that stood out was the funny scene in a fancy Edinburgh restaurant where the waiter warns Isabel and Jamie off certain menu items. This fosters an ethical consideration as to whether it is appropriate for a waiter to do such a thing and does it mean he really hates his job and might be likely to spit in the soup before serving it.
As is often the case with McCall Smith, a final coda ties the title to the major story lines and we end with a scene of peace and love. Brother Fox also continues to pad through the garden on occasion.
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