Il club dei filosofi dilettanti

I was just telling a friend that I rarely leave two-star reviews, but this is one of them. I probably wouldn't have read the entire book (Davina Porter's usual terrific narration notwithstanding), except for the resolution of the "mystery" presented at the outset; to avoid a spoiler, I'll leave it t Leggi tutto

This is a quick and likeable read that is mildly engaging. It is the first of the philosopher Isabel Dalhousie series set in Edinburgh. She edits a philosophy journal on applied ethics and ponders on the ethics and morality on the minutae of life. Upon seeing a man fall from a balcony at Usher Hall, Leggi tutto

To be honest, I'd have to call this series a guilty pleasure. The plotlines don't always ring true to life, although I've never been a wealthy philosopher living in Scotland, with a major crush on my niece's ex-boyfriend, a bassoon player who's at least a decade younger than me. I'm not as intellect Leggi tutto

Alexander McCall Smith is best known for his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, of which I am a fan. He has another series featuring Isabel Dalhousie, a cultured and wealthy Scottish lady (and I use the term advisedly), which sounds far more like my usual preference than a genial African woman.

 I didn’t think I would like this series as I compared Isabel to Precious (from the author’s other series The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency). The contrasts were obvious. Isabel Dalhousie is a very different heroine from Precious. Where Precious was a gentle, simple soul Isabel is a complex creatu Leggi tutto

I wasn't crazy about the narrator. She's too airy to narrate a whodunit. The protagonist, Isabel Dalhousie, is the editor of an ethics magazine and the asides about ethics and philosophy are as dry as they sound - the ethical quandaries she finds herself in aren't engaging. And she needs a flaw - co Leggi tutto

Отдавна не бях чела толкова интелигентно написана книга. Авторът има много интересни разсъждения, описани чрез неговата героиня Изабел Далхауз. Наслаждавах се и я четях бавно, провокира много размисли в мен. Героите са пълнокръвно изградени, като всеки от тях притежава някаква своя странност, но в н Leggi tutto

Visumā okei grāmata, bet nepamet sajūta, ka autoram vienkārši gribējās gudri parunāt un paspriest, tāpēc viņš par sava romāna galveno varoni izvēlējās filozofi, lai varētu runāt caur viņu. Gaidīju kaut ko cosy mystery stilā, bet gan pats noziegums, gan tā izmeklēšana aizņem patiešām niecīgu grāmatas Leggi tutto

I enjoyed The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency , so when a member of my library book club proposed this, another series by the same author, this time headed by a Scottish “Mma Precious Ramotswe,” I figured it was bound to be enjoyable. Ha! Isabel Dalhousie wins the trophy for the most unappealing prota Leggi tutto

As with most of Alexander McCall Smiths books, the plot is only half the story. This series is about Isabelle Dalhousie, an educated middle aged woman living in Edinburgh, Scotland. She reviews magazine articles for a Philosophy of Ethics journal and is a member of the Sunday Philosophy club if and