A trip to our local library resulted in a new Alexander McCall Smith book for my Thanksgiving weekend reading. Although he's more well-known for his #1 Ladies Detective Agency novels, I love his Isabel Dalhousie books. Set in Scotland, the main character is a philosopher who dabbles in solving minor mysteries. Frankly, I don't pay much attention to the plots because they're a bit thin but the writing? Oh, the writing is lyrical and thought-provoking and I love it.
As I was reading, I marked a few passages because I was trying to figure out how to explain why I love this character and these novels. This first one describes my job - getting magazines off to press:
"But then it's the sort of job that never seems to finish. You get one issue off to press and then there's the next one to think about - and the one after htat. It's a bit like Sisyphus and his rock - pushing it up to the top of the hill and then having to do the whole thing all over again once it's rolled down."
This one comes as Isabel is contemplating the blessings in her life. "But none of us deserves good fortune, perhaps - it comes our way, dispensed at random, irrespective of what prayer flags we string across our mountain passes, what chants and imprecations we devise; it simply comes."
And my favorite line from the entire novel: "Books are not mute... they have things to whisper."
1 comments:
I may have to check that one out. Love that last line you shared!
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