44 Scotland Street

This year I visited Edinburgh for the first time and was smitten by the city, so much so that I returned a few months later for a longer stay. We rented a cozy apartment on Forth Street, just a few blocks away from Scotland Street. My husband found Alexander McCall Smith's book on a shelf and read it while we were there. He enjoyed it a lot so I ordered a copy when we returned home. It was written as a series of articles for The Scotsman newspaper much like Armistead Maupin's serialized novel, Tales Of The City, about a funky San Francisco neighbourhood that was written for the San Francisco Chronicle.
McCall Smith explains that the structure differs from that of a regular novel in that each installment must have at least one development and end with the expectation that more will happen.
It's a sweet little book about a group of eccentric characters who live in a lovely Edinburgh neighbourhood. Pat, an at-loose-ends 20-something doing her second gap year, moves into a flat, gets a job at a local gallery and falls for her handsome, narcissistic roommate, Bruce. Domenica is an anthropologist with an interesting past who fills Pat in on the denizens of 44 Scotland Street. Irene, a tiger mum if ever there was one, her husband and their gifted five-year old Bertie (who speaks Italian and plays the saxophone) live in another flat in the building. Matthew owns the gallery where Pat works but is having trouble keeping it afloat. Big Lou is from Arbroath and owns a local coffee shop. Angus is an older, cultured, talkative gent with an alcoholic dog named Cyril. Scottish detective writer, Ian Rankin, is featured in one chapter.
I enjoyed reading about the places we frequented when we stayed in the neighbourhood - the Sicilian deli, the Portrait Gallery, the Cumberland Bar. I'm not sure I would have been as enamoured with the book if I wasn't familiar with Edinburgh but I was delighted to find out that 44 Scotland Street is Part 1 of a series. I have planned another trip to Edinburgh in May. Perhaps I'll read Espresso Tales, the second installment, while I'm there.