Tiny Tales: Stories of Romance, Ambition, Kindness, and Happiness

Written by Alexander McCall Smith

Narrated by Brian Nishii, Jamie Jackson and Robert Ian Mackenzie

It is often said that the best things in life come in small packages; anyone in search of proof need look no further than the stories in this collection: brief, utterly engaging tales that offer lasting surprise and delight.

In Tiny Tales, Alexander McCall Smith explores romance, ambition, kindness, and happiness in thirty short stories. Here we meet the first Australian pope, who hopes to finally find some peace and quiet back home in Perth; a psychotherapist turned motorcycle racetrack manager; and an aspiring opera singer who gets her unlikely break onstage. And, of course, we spend time in McCall Smith’s beloved Scotland, where we are introduced to progressive Vikings, a group of housemates with complex romantic entanglements, and a couple of globe-trotting dentists.

These tales depict the full scope of human experience and reveal the rich tapestry of life—painted in miniature.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9781705020067

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.

Reviews for Tiny Tales

[GMunro · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Simple, entertaining stories in McCall Smith's typical style - snapshots into the imaginary lives of others that never fail to ignite curiosity about the seemingly mundane.

[amareshjoshi · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not up to AMS's usual style. Pretty soppy and without his usual wit.

[clara53_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Shorter than usual short stories, these tiny gems fill one with harmony and bring total rest to one's body and soul in a world that we need and crave during these uncertain times, a world that McCall Smith creates but which is not at all out of the ordinary, just more perceptive, more kind, and more livable. I can't help but marvel at the lack of linguistic exertion, the sheer effortlessness of simple sentences which nevertheless work wonders. And that's not all - in between the stories, there is a series of amusingly clever, subtle and not so subtle cartoons, demonstrating the author's sharp wit and discernment.

[etxgardener · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

McCall Smith explores romance, ambition, kindness & happiness in 30 extremely short stories (most are less than 5 pages), some done in graphic form The authors wry sense of humor shows itself in his tale of the Australian Pope who returns to Perth hoping to find some peace and quiet, an untalented aspiring opera singer who finds romance while she is onstage as an untalented member of the chorus, and my favorite – words of wisdom from Geoff’s cat, Stanley.This is a quick read that will make you smile.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

From the bestselling author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency comes a collection of short tales that will delight readers with their wit, absurdity, and delight. From a pope wanting to visit his native country of Australia to a woman looking to meet people skydiving to four dentists going on vacation together (with disastrous results); the breadth and scope of these stories will amuse and engage listeners. Thirty tiny tales are broken into sections on love, revenge, kindness, strangeness, and other manners of emotion. These brief stories are brought to life in inventive and amusing ways by a trio of narrators. Narrated beautifully by: Brian Nishii, Jamie Jackson, and Robert Ian Mackenzie, all of whom voice cleverness, banter, and hilarity with every breath. As Aesop said, "good things come in small packages" and this oddly unique collection is certainly proof of that.