Thursday, August 4, 2011

Audiobook Review: The Sunday Philosophy Club

CAUTION: Snarky Review Ahead. Because Isabel Dalhousie annoyed the heck out of me!

Having enjoyed a number of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books by the same author, my husband and I downloaded Alexander McCall Smith’s The Sunday Afternoon Philosophy Club for a recent drive to Chicago. I’d heard the main character in the series, Isabel Dalhousie, was an academic, and we both thought that might make for an interesting twist on her sleuthing. We started the audiobook somewhere in Central Pennsylvania.

When it finished up as we cruised past Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field, my hubby turned to me and deadpanned, “Well, that’s eight and a half hours of our lives we’ll never get back.” Indeed.

First books in series are difficult – rather than focusing on the mystery at hand, authors often wind up focusing on “setting up” the characters and their relationships. I get that. But in this case the main mystery and the subplot mysteries were very thin – and were solved through serendipity. Isabel Dalhousie didn’t demonstrate any great intellectual prowess or cultural acumen in solving the problems, just a combination of nosiness and dumb luck.

As for her characterization, the whole discussion of her work as a journal editor was off-putting to me. I know a couple of extraordinarily hard-working academic journal editors – at least one of whom is a pretty regular reader of this blog. Most of them do the job against the background of their own considerable work as professors and researchers. It’s a huge undertaking, not the dilettantish endeavor that McCall Smith makes it out to be. Phew — getting a manuscript in the mail. And then actually sending it out to a couple of reviewers. Excellent day’s work – time for a glass of wine and an omelet with the favorite niece’s old beau. Well done.

But what annoyed me most about Isabel Dalhousie went beyond the subpar mystery and the thinness of the characters. Rather than entertaining me, I had the impression that the Scottish journal editor was lecturing me the entire time. Me and everyone else who came within her general vicinity: family, friends, servants, dog walking strangers. I know Alexander McCall Smith is an ethicist. But what about the ethics of badgering your readers? What about the ethics of acting like a smartypants? This isn’t Sophie’s World, for crying out loud. It’s supposed to be a cozy mystery, not a lecture from a Problem of Evil course. I just couldn’t get over the disturbing flashbacks to freshman year at college.

(No wonder her Sunday Philosophy Club never meets. I can just imagine a club member's calculus on a sunny Sunday morning. “What shall I do on this beautiful Edinburgh day? Well, I could amble through the Royal Botanical Garden. Maybe take in the Ceilidh Culture Festival. Or I could go over to Isabel Dalhousie’s and be hit over the head with a Kantian imperative. Hmmm. The Royal Botanical Garden it is then.”)

Narrator Davina Porter does her absolute best with this audiobook, let me underscore that. She executes a wide range of characters skillfully and credibly. I especially liked her characterization of the men in the book – very engaging, and each very different. I just don’t think she had a lot to work with in this case. I would happily listen to her read another title – just not in this series!

After I finished the book I looked at some other reviews, and they were all over the board. Some people love the series, and some just hate it. Count me among the peeved.

SNARK ATTACK OVER!

20 comments:

  1. I've kind of gotten tired of Smith's work. It is sweet, but there's no real mystery to it. It sounds like this is more of the same, so I probably won't read it.

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  2. I think McCall Smith tried to include his academic work in this series, Kathy, but it seemed really heavy-handed to me.

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  3. I haven't read any of this author's books yet. I think I'll stay away from this one if I try any of them and stick with the Detective series books!

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  4. omg, you killed me with this review -- I loved it. I wish I could be pointed and snarky in reviews -- you pointed out what didn't work and did so hilariously. Sorry the book wasn't any good!

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  5. I haven't read any of this series. Maybe I'll skip it. But I would like to take a class on the ethics of acting like a smartypants. ;)

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  6. Your regular-reading academic journal editor checking in. :D

    Oddly enough, I like this series despite the fact that Isabel's job has nothing to do with reality. I'm pretty sure you aren't going to read the other books (heh), so I'll just provide a spoiler here by telling you that later in the series SHE BUYS THE JOURNAL. I have never laughed so hard in my life -- awesome unintentionally funny reading moment.

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  7. Thanks for saving me eight hours of my life, at least! This series has recommended to me but I think I'll pass.

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  8. @Amused -- I have adored his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books on audio. I'd start with those.

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  9. @Audra -- I can only do it when I feel like I've been ripped off, literarily. Glad it made you laugh.

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  10. @Chris -- I think I should propose that course to our Philosophy department. Seriously, there were just passages on deontological vs. relativistic ethics. And even though we sat through her ethics applications, Dalhousie still chose to be nosy most of the time. That's what got to me :-)

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  11. @Karen -- I wasn't going to out you, but I think this is simply proof that you are a far nicer person than me. I just couldn't overlook how unrealistic it all was -- or how little the solution of the mysteries took.

    And buying the journal? That IS hilarious!

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  12. @Jess -- Actually, buddy, I think that's best, although knowing you your review of this one would be truuuuuly hilarious!

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  13. I completely agree. I read the first two in this series when they were added to a bookswap at work and found both terrible. Easy to read maybe but Isabel is immensely annoying, not to mention entitled, and the storylines were dull. Shame.

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  14. I enjoyed the Detective Agency books I have read, and have window shopped this one for some time - it's been a real" will I, won't I" thing - you have helped me decide once and for all. A very enjoyable review to read though - so something good came out of it! ;)

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  15. I think I read this several years ago and disliked it so much I erased it from my memory. I love The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency because I enjoy the little slices of life in Botswana, but the rest of his other work leaves me cold. Portuguese Irregular Verbs was mildly amusing but I really disliked 44 Scotland Street -- the characters were all so obnoxious and unlikable.

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  16. I read the first volume about Mme Ramotswa, but though it was rather cute, I didn´t enjoy it much because it wasn´t really a novel but a string of unrelated mysteries. And I think I can live well without his new series.

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  17. I am a bit pathetic as I have not even read one book by this author and I know there are so many who have enjoyed his books.

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  18. @Karen and @Dorte -- You've nailed it. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books are charming because Mma Ramatswe is charming. The mysteries were never the reason for reading. So without the charming character, this book fell flat for me!

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  19. @Diane -- definitely start with No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. I think the audios on those are fantastic!

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  20. Thank you for finding this one as annoying as I did! :D I am admittedly not in syc with his writing in general, but this series is the worst. Can any character be more snobbish and pseudo-intellectual? Grr!

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