Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: Scotland

  • I Think of You

    I Think of You

    If you have enjoyed any of Alexander’s McCall Smith’s books, you will undoubtedly be drawn to read I Think of You. It is his writing at its finest, showing the scope of his knowledge of life, music, philosophy, and people. Not only are we treated to some marvellous verse, but he has written explanatory notes about each section and sometimes each poem. Alexander challenges your heart and your mind as he presents this wonderful piece of work. He quotes other poets and discusses their ideas.

    Themes such as love, kindness friendship and food, are used to take us from Scotland to Greece and Dallas to Helsinki. At the beginning of the book, the music from Scarborough Fair and Aida are compared. Both deal with love but from opposites ends of the spectrum. The poet feels that “It is a discourtesy to deny the legitimacy of love that does not conform to a particular set of expectations.” He follows this with a series of love poems that touch the heart of the reader.

    Being the true Scotsman that he is, Alexander has a section in the book called, “ Love letters to Edinburgh.” He has written about the sun shining on a particular street and a poem which discusses the idea of the Scottish metaphor. The author reveals his personal likes which include clothes that are comfortable, telephones with wires, soap that is simply soap and milk which has had nothing extracted. He does not romanticise about the past, recognising the failures such as no dental anaesthetic and no antibiotics.

    I Think of You and other poems is a keep forever book that will never find its way to leave your bookshelves. A tribute to Robbie Burns, Scotland’s national poet, ends this small book in a fitting way.

  • Take Me Home

    Take Me Home

    When life decides to hand out unlooked for change, it often comes with hidden benefits which at the time are very hard to discover. It is this theme, along with the beauty of Scotland, that captured the imagination of Karly Lane as she follows the story of Elle Kinnaird and her beloved grandmother ‘Gran’, as they travel to Scotland, the birthplace of her Gran, to complete a journey that lasted a lifetime.

    Take Me Home is a rich and gloriously heartfelt story of Gran’s final journey back to her beloved Scotland and concurrently, Elle’s journey of learning to believe in herself, to have courage to leave the small country town of Jessup’s Creek in the New England area of New South Wales, to discover who she is and what she really wants to do with the rest of her life.

    She and Gran had always discussed taking a journey to Scotland but as Gran was now dead, Elle was having to face up to not just the loss of her Gran, but that real poignancy of never having done what they had planned so many times over the years. But once the Will is read, the house, also Elle’s home, is to be sold and just to make life a little more distressing, losing her job at the supermarket, she was having to seriously make the decision, pushed by Gran, to take Grans ashes to Scotland; Stormeil Castle to be exact.

    Karly Lane has captured the ancient mystical ambience of Scotland perfectly as she travels from Edinburgh through the stunning Glens and Lochs of Scotland to the beautiful, mysterious Isle of Skye to complete the last request of her beloved Gran. The problem is Gran has decided to come along as well as very distinct voice in Elle’s head, a voice that comments on just about everything, including that rather handsome Scot that Elle meets on her quest to find the illusive Stormeil Castle.

    As the days pass Elle gets to meet and is accepted into her Scottish relatives lives, in a manner that makes her feel comfortable for the first time in a long time and the story as to why Gran and her father were the only two of a close family to migrate to Australia, never to return, is uncovered.

    Take Me Home is set far away from Karly Lane’s beloved Australia, in the land of ancient history and culture. It is also built around the love of family and how they can influence your life, but always there is the thread of home is where you choose to make it, regardless of whether that be Jessup’s Creek or the romantic and mystical countryside of Scotland.

    Take Me Home could more than very easily be considered as Karly Lane’s finest work to date.

  • A Promise of Ankles: A 44 Scotland Street Novel

    A Promise of Ankles: A 44 Scotland Street Novel

    Welcome back to 44 Scotland Street with A Promise of Ankles during a time of small change as the characters we all have grown to love over the years carry on with the very everydayness of their lives. A small amount of excitement is created at the end of the steeply descending street in the New Town, as there is to be new residents in the ground floor flat at number 44 Scotland Street, which has Dominica MacDonald using her binoculars discretely to try and find out who the mysterious new tenants could possibly be, much to the amusement of her husband Angus Lordie.

    But meanwhile, and not to be overlooked, there are still nasty little flies mixed in with the harmony of 44 Scotland Street, as the Duke of Johannesburg seems to have gone missing and Irene arrives and decides that even though she no longer lives with Stuart, Bertie and Ulysses, she has the right to dominate their every breath, causing must distention in the small family group.

    Stuart finally believes that after the disaster of his life with Irene he may finally have found love, which as it turns out was not to be and Bertie finally gets to be part of a very precious dream; that of going to Glasgow for a whole month with his best friend Ranald Braveheart Macpherson on a school exchange.

    Olive and her faithful acolyte Pansy are still tormenting Bertie, Matthew is facing great change in his Gallery as Pat has been offered a once in a lifetime position in Paris and to top it all off, Angus Lordie and his friend, while out walking Cyril, come across a human skull, but not a normal skull, which after much discussion could possibly be a very ancient skull, possibly Neanderthal, which creates great consternation.

    Matthew and Elspeth are also talking about change and how they can keep James, their treasure of an au pair, who somehow magically manages to get the triplets to behave like three normal little boys without any apparent effort, a making Elspeth’s life and by default Mathews so much easier.

    Big Lou has to face up he the fact that change must come to the Cafe if she is going make decent money, which results after some hurt feelings, with James, the Duke of Johannesburg’s nephew and cook extraordinaire, introducing some amazingly  innovative treats made with bacon, which the customers old and new are seriously appreciating.

    Sister Maria-Fiore dei Fiorie di Montagna is till uttering wise, well intentioned words of wisdom to all she can. Life, as always rolls timelessly along amongst the residents and their friends, as the sun continues to rise and set on 44 Scotland Street as they all gather, with the addition of new friends, at a dinner party to celebrate the last days of summer; an annual event hosted by Domenica and Angus.

    Once again, old friends are met, time moves steadily on and we all gain a little wisdom as the Promise of Ankles unfolds, gently, seamlessly and in a most elegantly enjoyable fashion, courtesy of the master of words Alexander McCall Smith.

    Perfect summer reading.

  • The Dodo Made Me Do It

    The Dodo Made Me Do It

    Children’s adventure books are not as common as they once were, so it is delightful to read about a child’s adventure, without adult supervision, and in a strange place. Danny has been taken to Granny Flora’s house for the holidays. She lived in Kinoussie “A quaint and remote jewel, untouched by time, on Scotland’s stunning west coast.” In the eyes of a young boy this translated to a sombre village populated by old people.  Mum had taken him there before, when neither she or Dad could get time off from work for the holidays.

    The author has created a lively and exciting story, using humour and suspense to keep a young reader enthralled. There is only one other ten-year-old child in the Village, and that is Susie. She loves books, and research and Danny doesn’t have much in common with her. She does have local knowledge, and comes in handy with the research. Apart from his exciting comics, the young boy has not a lot to do but explore.

    On one of his beach walks, Danny meets up with Susie and asks her about a tiny island just in the bay. He finds out that it is reachable at a low tide and he and Susie borrow a rowing boat to explore the terrain. They discover a cave with an injured creature inside and decide to smuggle it back to Granny’s barn. However, there is a handyman, who is helping Granny, and he often snoops around in places he shouldn’t be.

    Caring for a wild creature is not as easy as Danny thought it might be. He even shares his beloved Taramasalata with it to keep it happy. Throughout a series of calamities, the boy is able to keep his secret, and helps to solve the problem of relocation for the now healthy wild one.

    The illustrations are detailed and imaginative, while the text is double spaced for easy reading. This is a delightful story for boys or girls, with its action, child centred plot and humour.