The Forgotten Affairs of Youth

October 31, 2011
You needn’t be a series-long admirer of Isabel Dalhousie to be beguiled by this curious philosopher and casual sleuth. In this eighth installment—with the ruminating Edinburgh heroine steeped in devoted motherhood, impending marriage, and office and family intrigue—it might even help to be a stranger to her more daring exploits; here, No. 1 Ladies’ Detectives Agency series phenom McCall Smith has his quirky gumshoe stalking moral intrigue more doggedly than mystery. It’s Isabel’s mission to help a visiting Australian philosopher find her father after her adoptive parents and birth mother die. The task is deceptively easy and never comes close to matching the confounding mysteries of Isabel’s niece’s fickle heart, the wisdom of ratting her out to health officials for a batch of toxic mushrooms, the impermanence of the greatest love of her life, or how to raise her adorable toddler with fiancé Jamie. Isabel believes only the examined life is worth living, and fearlessly so: “she would never accept things as they were. That was what made her do what she did—practice philosophy—and what made her... do battle for understanding, for sympathy, for love; in small ways... that cumulatively made a difference.” It makes Isabel a heroine worth following, even through this more quiet, reflective foray.

The latest in Alexander McCall Smith's charming Isabel Dalhousie series gives us Isabel and friends, beautifully narrated by Davina Porter, attempting to resolve the philosophies of familial relations. Isabel, full-time philosopher and part-time sleuth, is introduced to Jane, a fellow philosopher who is visiting Edinburgh from Australia. Jane is attempting to discover the identity of her father--and asks for Isabel's help. Alongside this delicate investigation, Isabel ruminates on her own family life--her fiancé, Jamie, and small son, Charlie; her irascible niece, Cat; and her thoroughly Scottish housekeeper, Grace. Porter's accomplished performance is soothing but never dull as she thoughtfully renders each voice in this most amiable of novels. K.O. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine