استفادهٔ محتاطانه از تحسین‌ها: رمان ایزابل دالهاوسی (۴)

In the fourth installment of this enchanting, beloved series, Isabel Dalhousie, who is now a mother, returns to investigate an irresistible puzzle in the art world.Isabel Dalhousie—the nosiest and most sympathetic philosopher you are likely to meet—now has a son, Charlie, whose doting father Jamie has an intriguing idea to pose to Isabel: marriage. But Isabel wonders if Jamie is too young to be serious? And how would Cat respond? On top of these matters, the ambitious Professor Dove has seized Isabel's position as editor of the Review of Applied Ethics . However, nothing it seems can diminish Isabel's innate curiosity. And when she recognizes that two paintings attributed to a deceased artist have simultaneously appeared on the market, she can't help but think that they're forgeries. So Isabel begins an investigation and soon finds herself diverted from her musings about parenthood and onto a path of inquiry into the soul of an artist. Amazon.com Review A Message from Author Alexander McCall Smith Three great places to visit in Scotland: The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh This gallery, housed in an extraordinary red sandstone building topped with spikes and twirls, contains a pictorial record of Scots over the ages--the handsome, the deluded, the unfortunate, the inventive--theyвЂTMre all there. Falkland Palace A lovely little palace in lush countryside, where the father of Mary Queen of Scots turned his face to the wall and predicted the end of the Stuart dynasty. The Isle of Muck You reach this charming little island on a tiny boat. There is nothing to do on the island but to contemplate its beauty--and its name. Note to readers: I would like to thank you for all your support. If it werenвЂTMt for the encouragement this has given me, my long conversation with Mma Ramotswe would have ended far earlier. As it is, I feel that we still have quite a bit to hear from her – as we do, too, from Isabel Dalhousie, heroine of my Edinburgh novels, and all the denizens of 44 Scotland Street. Each of these series will have a new novel written this year, and I am also planning to revisit the three German professors of the Portuguese Irregular verbs series. I was in the United States in the spring this year and will return in the Fall. These visits give me the chance to meet many readers of these books, so if we have not yet met, perhaps we shall do so before too long. And if we do, please do not hesitate to give me your views on what should happen to the characters in the future: all (reasonable) suggestions gratefully accepted! --Alexander McCall Smith From Publishers Weekly Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series is a love letter for Botswana that has apparently enhanced tourism; in this novel, he tries to do the same for Edinburgh and the Hebrides isle of Jura. Porter does such a stunning job of bringing Jura's stark landscape to life that her dramatic reading might encourage listeners to book a Scottish sojourn. Philosopher/sleuth and new mother Isabel Dalhousie is still trying to forge a relationship with her son's father, Jamie. Porter also works wonders with Edinburgh dialect, at times stringing out Jamie's pronunciation of the word No into five syllables. She makes Isabel sound urbane, thoughtful, and sweetly hesitant to harm anyone else. To her credit, Porter refrains from adding some baby noises for three month-old Charlie. The only flaw in Porter's performance is that Isabel's voice makes her sound a decade or more older than her 40 years. Like McCall Smith's Edinburgh, this audio is exciting but not overly so, and like the city, it is certainly worth a visit. Copyright В© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Full-time Philosopher And Occasional Sleuth Isabel Dalhousie, Now The Mother Of A Baby Boy, Is Getting Used To The New Rhythms Of Her Life, Caring For Little Charlie With The Sometimes Unsettling Aid Of Her Forthright Housekeeper, Grace, Having Dinners With Charlie’s Father, Jamie, And Tending As Usual To Submissions To The Review Of Applied Ethics. But Isabel Is Deeply Unsettled When She Receives A Letter Telling Her That She Is Soon To Be Replaced As Editor Of The Review By Christopher Dove, An Ambitious Academic At A London University, And She Considers A Variety Of Ways Of Dealing With This Unwelcome News. And Her Niece, Cat, Who A Couple Of Years Before Had Rejected Jamie And Broken His Heart, Is Now Furious At Isabel For Having Stolen Him Away. Isabel’s Insatiable Curiosity—or What Jamie Sees As Her Tendency Toward Meddling—is Peaked When She Learns Some Odd Details Regarding Two Paintings By A Scottish Artist That Have Come Onto The Auction Market, And She Begins To Think That The Paintings Might Be Forgeries. Her Investigation Takes Her To The Beautiful Isle Of Jura, Where She Finds Some Recent Traces Of The Painter And Learns Of His Apparent Suicide In The Fabled Whirlpool Called The Corryvreckan. A Visit To The Painter’s Widow Brings A Surprising Realization, One That Contributes To Her Musings Throughout The Story On Mothers, Fathers, And Sons. From The Hardcover Edition. In addition to being the nosiest and most sypathetic philosopher you are likely to meet, Isabel is now a mother. Charlies, her newborn son, presents her with a myriad wonders of a new life, and doting father Jamie presents her with an intriguing proposal: marriage. In the midst of all this, she receives a disturbing letter announcing that she has been ousted as editor of the Review of Applied Ethics by the ambitious Professor Dove. None of these things, however, in any way diminshes Isabel's curiosity. And when she attends an art auction, she finds an irresistible puzzle: two paintings attributed to a now-deceased artist appear on the market at the same time, and both of them exhibit some unusual characteristics. Are these paintings forgeries? This proves to be sufficient fodder for Isabel's inquisitiveness. So she begins an investigation ... and soon finds herself diverging from her philosophical musings about fatherhood onto a path that leads her into the mysteries of the art world and the soul of an artist