To read and enjoy one of Alexander McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street novels, one must be in a certain frame of mind. It’s not exactly the same mind set that’s required for the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books by the same author. Those books are a little more linear and plot driven, although like the 44 Scotland Street novels, the plot in all of McCall Smith’s books does tend to meander a bit. The appropriate mood isn’t a Wodehousian mood either, even though McCall Smith shares some of P.G. Wodehouse’s sense of humor and appreciation for the quirks of human behavior.

McCall Smith’s books are all about the characters —and the homespun philosophical rabbit trails that the characters’ predicaments inspire in the author and in the reader. The inhabitants of 44 Scotland Street (both the novels and the setting) include:

Bertie is a precocious and endearing six year old with an overbearing mother, his own psychiatrist, a wimpy but loving father, and a desire to join the cub scouts in spite of his mother’s disapproval.

Bertie’s schoolmates, Tofu and Olive, add further confusion to his life as Tofu calls Bertie’s mom names while Olive insists on joining the cub scouts along with the boys.

Irene, Bertie’s mother, finds her fulfillment in maternal smothering of her offspring and in her own weekly visit to the psychiatrist.

Matthew, newly married to Elspeth Harmony. Their honeymoon in Australia is much more adventurous, and dangerous, than either of them could have imagined.

Angus Lordie and his dog, Cyril, both thought to be confirmed bachelors until the six puppies show up on the doorstep, soon find themselves contemplating marriage.

Bruce Anderson, “erstwhile surveyor and persistent narcissist,” undergoes a personal reformation when he realizes that moisturizer may not be enough to stave the ravages of age forever.

And Domenica MacDonald tries to catch a thief, but finds herself inadvertently becoming the very thing she abhors.

There are lots of other “characters” —in every sense of the word: Big Lou and her Jacobite boyfriend; Nick the photographer; Lard O’Connor, owner of a very special painting; Uncle Jack, president of the Cat Society of Singapore; and many more. As the reader meets each one, it is advisable to take them on their own terms, smile gently, and allow each person in the saga his or her own foibles and curious eccentricities. That’s the attitude for 44 Scotland Street: playful, amused tolerance and appreciation for the almost unbearable lightness of life.

The Unbearable Lightness of Scones is the fifth book in this particular series, and although it’s not necessary at all to read the books in order or to have read the first four before reading this one, anyone who enjoys The Unbearable Lightness of Scones will want to pick up the others at some point–no hurry, when you’re in the mood.

Well, Dorothy Parker and her coterie at the Algonquin Round Table are the kind of people who are fun to read about, but I wouldn’t want to spend much time with them in person.

Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,
A medley of extemporanea,
And love is a thing that can never go wrong,
And I am Marie of Roumania. ~Dorothy Parker

In this first in a new series of famous-people-solve-mysteries, Dorothy Parker and close friend Robert Benchley find themselves at the center of a murder investigation since the corpse was found under the famous Algonquin Round Table. Other “bright young things”–Alexander Woolcott, Robert Sherwood, Frank Adams, Heywood Broun–make their appearances, strut and fret their hour upon the stage. The writers and hangers-on at the Algonquin are much more concerned with appearances and wit than with whodunnit, and the murder mystery plot serves mostly as vehicle for the famous and fabulous celebrities to display their sparkling repartee and tell their latest jokes.

I was most interested in finding out how much of the story was based on fact. It turns out that a lot of the talk is true or true to life but not much of the action really happened. Dorothy Parker and the others certainly existed and lunched together at the Algonquin. And they were known for their literary expertise and their clever conversation. And William “Billy” Faulkner, who shows up visiting New York City from down South just in time to become the prime suspect in the murder, did actually spend some time in NYC in the early 20’s, but probably didn’t meet the Algonquin set at that time. Much of the dialogue in the book is based on quotations or purported quotations from Mrs. Parker and her friends. And, the group known as the Algonquin Round Table did drink copious amounts of alcohol, despite the difficulties associated with Prohibition.

However, no murder, and some of the timeline of Dorothy Parker’s life is moved around to accommodate the necessities of fiction. As the author J.J. Murphy says, “The members of the Algonquin Round Table didn’t usually let the facts get in the way of a good story.” I doubt they’d object to Ms. Murphy’s portrayal of their fictional selves in this romp.

“Everything I’ve ever said will be credited to Dorothy Parker.”
George S. Kaufman

I must say that by the end of the book I was heartily tired of all the sophisticates and self-conscious critics in the story who were oh-so-superior and oh-so-drunk and oh-so-witty at one another’s expense that it was hard to feel much sympathy for any of them. Faulkner comes across as a droopy, alcoholic genius (which he may have been), and Mrs. Parker is a lush with a crush on her friend Benchley, who unfortunately has a wife and children in the suburbs but spends most of his time gallivanting with Dorothy and her circle. Even Dorothy Parker herself became somewhat contemptuous of her younger self and of the so-called Vicious Circle, saying:

These were no giants. Think who was writing in those days–Lardner, Fitzgerald, Faulkner and Hemingway. Those were the real giants. The Round Table was just a lot of people telling jokes and telling each other how good they were. Just a bunch of loudmouths showing off, saving their gags for days, waiting for a chance to spring them…. There was no truth in anything they said. It was the terrible day of the wisecrack, so there didn’t have to be any truth…

So, if you’re a fan of the times or of Ms. Parker herself, Murder Your Darlings is a decent enough tribute. The plot is a little creaky and so are the jokes, but that’s the material Murphy had to work with. I enjoyed it for the most part right up until the denouement, which turned out to be rather nasty, and as I said, I was weary of empty wit by then.

Murder Your Darlings should be available in bookstores and online starting today, January 4, 2011.