The Lost Art of Gratitude
Written by Alexander McCall Smith
Narrated by Davina Porter
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the award-winning series The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and he now devotes his time to the writing of fiction, including the 44 Scotland Street and the Isabel Dalhousie series. He is the author of over eighty books on a wide array of subjects, and his work has been translated into forty-six languages. Before becoming a full-time writer he was for many years Professor of Medical Law at Edinburgh.
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Titles in the series (16)
The Sunday Philosophy Club Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Friends, Lovers, Chocolate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Careful Use of Compliments Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Right Attitude to Rain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Charming Quirks of Others Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forgotten Affairs of Youth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Novel Habits of Happiness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Art of Gratitude Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Distant View of Everything Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Geometry of Holding Hands Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Quiet Side of Passion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sweet Remnants of Summer Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5At the Reunion Buffet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sweet, Thoughtful Valentine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for The Lost Art of Gratitude
23 ratings18 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As always, a delightful book by this author. This time he shows a little more of the dark side of human nature, although he does not lose the positive attributes he imbues all his main characters with.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Here's the latest goings-on in the life of Isabel, Jamie, their baby, Charlie, Isabel's niece Kat, etc., etc. As usual, Isabel becomes involved in a few other peoples' problems, but it's nothing too major this time. It's more like checking in with some old friends to see how they are doing at this point in their lives. It's a very pleasant read about very civilized people, and there is a slightly surprising development at the book's end. Definitely a good diversion.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This excellent series about Isabel Dalhousie the editor of a Philosophy journal and a philosopher herself is such a joy to read. Isabel's internal monologues on various conundrums of the everyday world are very entertaining and enlightening. Now I know how to select whom I should save if two people I disliked were drowning together.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Another pleasant diversion into moral philosophy with Isabel.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I was not able to get into this series at all, but that doesn't mean it isn't for everyone or anyone else. This is the 6th installment of the irrepressibly curious Isabel Dalhousie, set in Edinburgh, Scotland. This world iskind, gentile and full of creature comforts, so readers will be enjoying this as they get acquainted with depictions of Edinburgh. I will try this book again and give a kinder review at that time, I am sure.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This was my first Isabel Dalhousie novel (but the sixth in the series), a philosopher who pontificates about the mundane and lives in her own private hell where every word, gesture and movement has to be thought about, absorbed and dissected.The book, even though a quick read, is very slow to present itself. It takes about 60 pages before the plot starts and about 220 pages before anything remotely interesting (plot wise) is happening. That being said, I did not find the book boring. The characters and their interactions are interesting; Isabel’s pontifications are poignant, funny and thought provoking.I could give you a rundown of the weak plot, but it’s not that interesting and is not the main point of the novel, or was it what grabbed me and made me finish the book. The story is about a 40 year old woman, a philosopher who struggles to be happy while trying not to whip herself too hard (figuratively speaking), has a soft heart and a habit of getting involved in matters which she knows she should avoid. The story takes place in the charming village of Edinburgh, Scotland which is just as much a character as any other person in the book and has many subplots which allows Ms. Dalhousie to enlighten herself about the human condition.The world this book takes place is funny, gentle where trouble and suffering are there, but not take precedence over the race for happiness and the dodge ball one has to play from friends, family and adversaries alike.I gave this book three stars, I’m sure that it would have been higher if I would have read the series from the start.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5With her 18-month old son Charlie in tow, Isabel Dalhousie meets her long-time nemesis Minty Auchterlonie at an Edinburgh café. Minty is also the mother of a toddler, the overly aggressive Roderick. Although she would prefer to avoid Minty and her little one, it’s hard for Isabel to decline Minty’s invitation to Roderick’s birthday party. While there, Minty asks Isabel for a very personal favor. As the editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, Isabel is keenly aware of her own ethical lapses and, to avoid one, agrees to help.Minty informs Isabel that Roderick is the child of her former lover Jock Dundas, not her husband Gordon McCaig, who is unaware of the boy’s true paternity. It appears that Jock will go to any length – including pulling nasty tricks on and, possibly blackmailing Minty – to remain a part of his son’s life. Minty wants to keep the secret from her husband and convince Jock to butt out. She asks Isabel to intercede with Jock , to try to convince him to her secret and give up any claim to Roderick. Talk about ethical quandaries!Such is the stuff of the lovely novels featuring Isabel Dalhousie. They are light on plot and action, heavy on philosophical musing and insights into the delightful (and often humorous) mind of our singular heroine. When paragraph one of chapter one opened with a reference to Charlie, it was obvious I had missed something … and I had: books four and five in the series. In the last book I read, Charlie wasn’t a character. Isabel was a single woman in a philosophical debate with herself about her whether to continue her relationship with Jamie, a much younger lover – who had once been her niece’s beau. The Lost Art of Gratitude (book six) is wonderful! Usually, I blast through books pretty fast. But there’s something about an Isabel Dalhousie novel that has me telling myself, “Just slow down, sip don’t gulp, savor it!” Once I’m settled into the book, I focus, settle down and thoroughly enjoy the experience. They are not books for readers who enjoy wall-to-wall action, but I’m guessing everyone else will be pleading for more. I already have the two books I missed on my bedside table.By Diana. First published in the Cozy Library October 14, 2009.Review based on publisher- or author-provided review copy.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I would think that anyone who, like me, has enjoyed earlier titles in the Sunday Philosophy Club series is highly likely to enjoy this latest outing for MacCall Smith's Edinburgh based philosopher Isabel Dalhousie. As ever, she is unable to prevent herself getting tangled up in other people's affairs. This time it is a "wicked" investment banker, which may well reflect the zeitgeist of autumn 2008 when I suspect this book was probably written. As in the past, Isabel also has to tread carefully in her relationship with her neice Cat, though not as carefully as Cat's latest boyfriend who is a tightrope walker - or a fonambulist as our heroine informs us, not a term I had come across before. Picking up additional vocabularly, a bit of art history, and a smattering of philosophical musings is one of the things I appreciate about this series. There are also some wonderful puns and other humorous moments. If you are looking for something to read over the holiday period that is both intelligent and cosy, you can't go far wrong with this.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Another very enjoyable read by one of my favorite authors. Isabel's philosophical ruminations are a breath of fresh air. Just one VERY small critical note: it is clear in this book that it was written by a male writer. Why? Because in this one Isabel has a baby (well, it started from the previous book...), and I was amused: only a man can present such an idyllic life while taking care of barely a toddler - no fussing, no crying, no sleepless nights :), just a tiny bit unrealistic :)... But that's just a small part of it - I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I am never sure why I like this series when I start reading, but by the time I am halfway through I find them enchanting. Not much happens in these stories, but the author's use of language is delightful. Interesting enough, I do not care for the No. 1 Detective series. I look forward to the next Isabel Dalhousie novel.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Audible. Isabel Dalhousie is a favorite of sorts. These books are reliable. Sweet. Make me think about the small moral acts that we make each day. Isabel's stories are, I must admit, pure fantasy. But I love to listen to these stories. They make me think. Make me want to be a better person. Make me smile. This is a recommendation.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My first Isabel Dalhousie book. It started slow but improved. The second half definitely better than the first half. I prefer his No 1 Ladies and the Corduroy Mansions series. I'll try another and see how it goes.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5After all, what can one say about life that hasn't been said before? Jamie, Isabel, Grace, the aptly named Cat, and young Charlie are here presented for our quiet pleasure, going about their lives and moving through their entirely real world. The characters are deeply enmeshed in the pleasure centers of a certain type of reader, the one who smiles fondly at Ellen Glasgow or Elizabeth Goudge books when they emerge, raining the slight wisps of dust that neglect engenders, from a long shelf-slumber. McCall Smith manages to bring these characters to modern life, Trollopean in his expansion of the core characters's world but maintaining a caring and kindly focus on them.I wish more people could achieve the feat of getting novel cycles like this published. It's not that there is anything that will win a Nobel contained in these pages, but rather that every page of them affords the voyeuristic pleasures that reading always does, but without the slightly unsavory prurience that so often seems obligatory in current sex-drugs-violence potboilers.I expect, one day soon, to visit Edinburgh and see Isabel's "green Swedish car" tootle by me as I stand at a zebra crossing, Charlie in his carseat and Jamie animatedly making a point to a composedly driving Isabel, as I wait to cross the Royal Mile. I can think of no more precious compliment to give to Alexader McCall Smith than that.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The tone of these books is hard to describe but easy to enjoy. The main characters are delightful and the book is mostly a slice of their life and thoughts, with little Plot. Funnily enough, I didn't miss it. Lovely.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love the growing love between Jamie and IsabelI'm in heaven each time I get a few lines about Edinburgh / Scotland / Scottish history, etcWish the ending had been stronger
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The feeling of sit-com is so overwhelming that I waited for the commercial break. McCall style is smoothness. The setting is political correct post-modernistic-family-structure wrapped up in a non-nerdish-philosophy-light, easy-read-way. The story is built on not-too-deep-problems on the upper shelf, waiting to be solved by the not-to-deep-delving heroine with solutions that does not leave too-deep impressions on the reader. Actually I have already forgotten most of it; (I usually wait a few days after I put the book down to write the review, to help the synthesizing prosess. Usually the good bits begin to delineate given time.) What remains with this book is the chocolatte-like feel-good-feeling of a pacifying television sit-com whose goal is everyday-lesson for ordinary people in solving daily-life-problems in as stress-less way as possible. The magi behind McCalls enormous output is easily understood then; Much of the comfort found in sit-coms lies in the fact that they go on to season two - season three - season four...... and on..... and on. Taken for what it is, I guess the craft is as good as it gets. And who has not need of comfort-food from time to time?
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Isabel deals with the subject of gratitude and that nasty Minty Auchterlonie rears her ugly head again. Isabel gets caught up in someone else's drama, as usual, only this time it's been deliberately arranged.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The latest in the Isabel Dalhousie series of books by McCall Smith. I have come to like Isabel Dalhousie very much.