Heavenly Date and Other Flirtations - Softcover

Smith, Alexander McCall

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1841955876 ISBN 13: 9781841955872

Publisher: Canongate U.S., 2004

Synopsis

In these hilarious stories of perverse meetings, casual dates and romantic encounters, we are enthralled, saddened, inspired and surprised by the encounters we’re made privy to. McCall Smith, a master of the unexpected and a seamless storyteller, revels in offering us the quirky complications inherent in entanglements which human beings engineer for themselves – entanglements that can be shocking, edifying, compulsive, complicated and sometimes, completely disastrous.

This is an exceptional collection of stories from an author whose rapidly growing audience delights in his extraordinary imagination and delicious insights into the endlessly fascinating peculiarities of the human condition.

About this title

About the Author

Alexander McCall Smith is best known for his internationally acclaimed No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, which has now been translated into 45 languages, has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, and is the basis of an HBO series.

From Publishers Weekly

Smith, author of the bestselling The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and some 50 other books, nimbly examines the mysteries of dating in this captivating collection. The stories, which take place in various locales-Africa, Australia, Italy-and in periods from the 1950s and '60s to today, explore the timeless, intricate dance of love and courtship, and make wise, often compassionate observations. In the lovely title story, a young woman summering in Tuscany has an assignation with an angel ("It may be unusual in other places, but here, there seemed nothing extraordinary about it") and finds herself pregnant with a miraculous child. In the arch "Intimate Accounts," the protagonist, a jaded psychiatrist, noting that "terrible things can happen on dates-traumatic things-which can trouble people to the very depths of their psyches," helps a narcissistic patient discover that his best date might be with himself. Two members of a "dating [service] for fatties" share a comic dinner in "Fat Date"; two wealthy Swiss singles make friends with the younger generation and learn the joys of sharing in "Wonderful Date," while in "Maternal Influence," a young man mollycoddled and emasculated by his mother, "the Mayoress," finally takes a stand when he meets a girl he likes. Smith's nine stories, with their light humor and touching moments, should inspire smiles and sighs in tenderhearted readers everywhere.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Canongate U.S.
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1841955876
• ISBN 13: 9781841955872
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208