Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7898 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

Synopsis
"The World According to Bertie" is the fourth in the series and revolves around the many colourful characters that come and go at No. 44 Scotland Street. McCall Smith handles the characters with his customary charm and deftness - the stalwart Tory chartered surveyor, the pushy mother, and, most importantly in this novel, the beleaguered Italian-speaking prodigy, Bertie. This is classic McCall Smith - clever, witty and entertaining - and beautifully illustrated. A chance encounter with Armistead Maupin in San Francisco inspired Alexander McCall Smith to write this series of novels based around the fictional No. 44 Scotland Street in Edinburgh's New Town.

Customer Reviews

Better than any soap opera!
This is the first book I have read of the series, and I found it did not matter that I had not read the others (although it has left me very eager to do so!) It is easy to be drawn into the lives of the characters who are thoroughly believable and far more entertaining than any soap opera!Some of the remarks little Bertie comes out with are absolutely priceless and made me laugh out loud!!
You will enjoy this wherever you come from, but if you have ever lived in or known Edinburgh well (I grew up there) this is a delightful bonus and makes it all the more entertaining and amusing, it captures the 'essence' of Edinburgh life superbly well,and in a gently amusing way.
I would highly recommend this book for its' ability to portray characters and its' pure entertainment value, we all need a bit of light relief these days, and this book certainly gives us that!

The Bertie Subplot
Am I the only one who feels uncomfortable reading about Bertie? Here is this sweet kid with an overbearing mother and a passive lout of a father. I feel that the author is bordering on cruelty with the way the child is treated. It might have been funny in Volume 1 but not so anymore. The way the mother treats him is dangerous and I wait for some sort of pay-off that is not happening. Does Mr. Smith think this is cute in an 'aw, shucks' sort of way? I do give the books 5 stars because all of the plots are compelling and touching but there needs to be some sort of comeuppance to Bertie's mother: does Bertie become gay at 13, dye his hair blue, and form a punk rock band?

Great fun!
Another delightful volume of sketches from the lives of the inhabitants, past and present, of 44 Scotland Street, Edinburgh. The stories have a fair dash of local colour which is understandable given that the chapters were serialised in the Scotsman, but that should not put-off readers from Kidderminster or Kathmandu as the characters and storylines are pretty universal. All the usual suspects are here - indecisive Matthew; outrageous Angus; put-upon Big Lou; bullying Bruce; poor six year old Bertie, whose every waking minute is organised by his overbearing mother - and more.

Great story-telling - very amusing, occasionally acerbic but never unkind. A good, uplifting read. How does he do it?