|
"To take an interest in the affairs of others is entirely natural; so natural, in fact, that even a cat, lying cat-napping on top of a wall will watch with half an eye the people walking by below. But between such curiosity, which is permissible, and nosiness, which is not, there lies a dividing line that some people simply miss --- even if it is a line that is painted red and marked by the very clearest of warning signs." So muses Isabel Dalhousie in the opening lines of the latest addition to the delightful Scots philosopher's series.
Isabel has been lovingly counseled by her niece, Cat, and close friend Jamie, and more than once has stepped over that red marked line with humorous and often near-disastrous results. Her woolgathering often leads her down shadowy paths in search of solutions to knotty ethical problems that may go unobserved by most yet loom large to one who edits a magazine called Review of Applied Ethics.
Small mysteries often evolve from Isabel's observations, so it is no surprise that the relationship between an older, wealthy Dallas businessman and his young and beautiful fiancé --- on holiday in Edinburgh --- should raise an alarum bell in Isabel's inquisitive mind. What begins as casually as noticing the cut of their clothes and car-parking habits as she sips coffee in a café builds to outright suspicion as she becomes better acquainted with the couple through mutual friends.
In THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TO RAIN, we are allowed a peep into Isabel's personal life for the first time. A dear friend from her childhood hometown in America comes for an extended visit, dredging up memories --- and possibilities --- of a very different life. Her generosity toward her taciturn housekeeper, Grace, adds a new dimension to our view of Isabel, and a house party in the country helps to resolve --- or does it complicate? --- a growing personal relationship between Isabel and a younger man.
Never has Isabel Dalhousie been more introspective than when she is casting her philosophical insights on the horns of her own dilemmas. For the first time Alexander McCall Smith fleshes out this eccentric and delightful woman. Thinner, younger and more glamorous than her sister-in-fiction, Mma Precious Ramotswe of Botswana's First Ladies Detective Agency, Isabel is a Victorian lady at heart, plunged into the vast gray seas of 21st century perplexities and morality.
Only slightly headier than an herbal tea by a cozy fire, Isabel's quandaries delight and pique the inner philosopher in all of us.
--- Reviewed by Roz Shea
 Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.
© Copyright 1996-2009, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
Back to top.
|
