The Charming Quirks of Others

The Charming Quirks of Others, the latest book in the Isabel Dalhousie series by Alexander McCall Smith, isn’t so much a book one reads as a book one savors. Think more of taking a long, warm bath or feeling the sun on your face on a cold February day. While my local library categorizes the book as a mystery, it is more about the mystery that is life. The book doesn’t have a lot of plot, but it is filled with character. It is a dramatic change of pace from the books that I have been reading lately—Science fiction & fantasy and fast paced mysteries.

The following quote will help you to better understand Isabel:

She looked up at the ceiling. One of the drawbacks to being a philosopher was that you become aware of what you should not do, and this took from you so many opportunities to savour the human pleasure of revenge or greed or sheer fanaticizing.

This next quote is a good example of the tone and flavor of the book:

We like predictability, she thought, and we are always satisfied when people behave as we think they will. It makes us feel…well, powerful; the world is not as complex a place as some might think—at least not complex for us.

Yet another side of Isabel:

…loving anything with all your heart always brings understanding, in time.