I'm a longtime fan of McCall Smith but I have to admit that this new "stand alone" novel (not part of any of his popular series books) left me disappointed.
Is it just that I'm getting beyond the age of being touched by sentimental stories of young love finally requited?
Or is it that I find it difficult to engage with angsty tales of the privileged elite who never have to worry about finding a job or paying their bills. Men who make huge amounts of money by ensuring the super rich can evade taxation or any sense of moral responsibility towards other people. Women who spend their days at the tennis club, and have affairs because they are bored. Children who are given every possible advantage in life but never grow up and take responsibility for themselves.
We are supposed to sympathize with Clover when she spends her entire life mooning over James, chases him halfway around the world (on her dad's dime), and then goes home to plan her big wedding and her happily every after. This reminds me of Erich Segal's Love Story, that was made into a movie with Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal, only with a "happy" ending.
Slight, silly, and schmaltz. McCall Smith can do better than this.
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