Synopses & Reviews
From the best-selling author of
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series comes a delightful and moving story that celebrates the healing powers of friendship and music.
It is 1939. Lavender — La to her friends — decides to flee London, not only to avoid German bombs but also to escape the memories of her shattered marriage. The peace and solitude of the small town she settles in are therapeutic...at least at first. As the war drags on, La is in need of some diversion and wants to boost the town's morale, so she organizes an amateur orchestra, drawing musicians from the village and the local RAF base. Among the strays she corrals is Feliks, a shy, proper Polish refugee who becomes her prized recruit — and the object of feelings she thought she'd put away forever.
Does La's orchestra save the world? The people who come to hear it think so. But what will become of it after the war is over? And what will become of La herself? And of La's heart?
With his all-embracing empathy and his gentle sense of humor, Alexander McCall Smith makes of La's life — and love — a tale to enjoy and cherish.
Review
"Set in England at the onset of World War II, McCall Smith's new tale is a metaphor for the transformative power of music.... crafted with the author's usual wit, wisdom and grace." Washington Post
Review
"The author's name will make this a strong seller, but readers hoping for another Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society will be left wanting." Library Journal
Review
"Smith shows his heroine, who believes that "music could make a difference in the temper of the world," triumphing over the details of everyday life by immersing herself in them...completely" Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
From the bestselling author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series: a delightful and moving story that celebrates the healing powers of friendship and music. La escapes World War II-ravaged London and a shattered marriage and relocates to a small African village. But can she really escape her past — or create a new life?
About the Author
"Alexander McCall Smith is best known for The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, beloved New York Times and international best sellers. A practicing professor of medical law and the author of over fifty books, ranging from children's fiction to folktales to The Criminal Law of Botswana, he lives in Edinburgh.
Reading Group Guide
1. Who are the two brothers in the beginning of the novel? Why are they visiting La's former house in Suffolk? And why does Alexander McCall Smith commence the novel with them? Why does he purposely make their background vague?
2. Why does La marry Richard? Are they compatible in any way? How does time and place influence their decision to get married? Do you think they would have gotten married if they were dating in 2009? At one point later in the novel, La says to Mrs. Agg, "People are the products of their time." What does this mean? Do you agree?
3. In this novel, what are the differences, both obvious and subtle, between life in the city and life in the country in the days before and during World War II? Where would you have preferred to live?
4. Why is Suffolk life so therapeutic for La when she's single again? Do you think she really likes gardening? How is a wartime garden different from a peacetime garden, according to La?
5. There are many references in the novel to suffering in life and the power of music to heal and to provide hope and joy. What is it about music that gives it these properties—and in this novel, particularly classical music? How is different music good for different things, according to the novel? Do you agree?
6. How is music the antithesis of war?
7. How does La's orchestra raise morale and provide a diversion and hope to those playing instruments as well as to the townspeople in the audience?
8. What is the importance of Henry Madden in the novel? Why is he so stubborn and bitter? After being blamed by his wife for the death of his son, why does he, in the absence of any proof, accuse Feliks of being a thief?
9. What do you think the author is saying about xenophobia— the suspicion and hatred of foreigners and "others"—especially during wartime? How do you think things have changed from the 1940s to the present?
10. How did the war transform lives in this novel, turning some upside down in a negative way and others in a positive way?
11. Do you think this is an antiwar novel or do you think it says that war is inevitable?
12. Why does La betray Feliks although she acknowledges that she is in love with him? Do you think she was scared of her feelings for him and this exacerbated her suspicions?
13. Why is La also suspicious of Lennie (who is different from most boys his age), and why does she accuse him to the police with no proof? Does the heightened atmosphere of war cause her to not trust anyone?
14. Describe La's relationship with her Cambridge tutor, Dr. Price. Why is it so fraught with tension? Do you think if La hadn't married, she would have turned out more like Dr. Price?
15. Why does the author, near the end of the book, suddenly switch from the third person to the first person, so that we suddenly hear the story in La's voice? How does this affect your reading of the novel?
16. In the book, "people took pleasure where they could find it, and with gratitude." How are people able to do this, especially when things are in short supply?
17. By the end of the novel, how does music bring love back into La's life?
1. Who are the two brothers in the beginning of the novel? Why are they visiting La's former house in Suffolk? And why does Alexander McCall Smith commence the novel with them? Why does he purposely make their background vague?
2. Why does La marry Richard? Are they compatible in any way? How does time and place influence their decision to get married? Do you think they would have gotten married if they were dating in 2009? At one point later in the novel, La says to Mrs. Agg, "People are the products of their time." What does this mean? Do you agree?
3. In this novel, what are the differences, both obvious and subtle, between life in the city and life in the country in the days before and during World War II? Where would you have preferred to live?
4. Why is Suffolk life so therapeutic for La when she's single again? Do you think she really likes gardening? How is a wartime garden different from a peacetime garden, according to La?
5. There are many references in the novel to suffering in life and the power of music to heal and to provide hope and joy. What is it about music that gives it these properties—and in this novel, particularly classical music? How is different music good for different things, according to the novel? Do you agree?
6. How is music the antithesis of war?
7. How does La's orchestra raise morale and provide a diversion and hope to those playing instruments as well as to the townspeople in the audience?
8. What is the importance of Henry Madden in the novel? Why is he so stubborn and bitter? After being blamed by his wife for the death of his son, why does he, in the absence of any proof, accuse Feliks of being a thief?
9. What do you think the author is saying about xenophobia— the suspicion and hatred of foreigners and "others"—especially during wartime? How do you think things have changed from the 1940s to the present?
10. How did the war transform lives in this novel, turning some upside down in a negative way and others in a positive way?
11. Do you think this is an antiwar novel or do you think it says that war is inevitable?
12. Why does La betray Feliks although she acknowledges that she is in love with him? Do you think she was scared of her feelings for him and this exacerbated her suspicions?
13. Why is La also suspicious of Lennie (who is different from most boys his age), and why does she accuse him to the police with no proof? Does the heightened atmosphere of war cause her to not trust anyone?
14. Describe La's relationship with her Cambridge tutor, Dr. Price. Why is it so fraught with tension? Do you think if La hadn't married, she would have turned out more like Dr. Price?
15. Why does the author, near the end of the book, suddenly switch from the third person to the first person, so that we suddenly hear the story in La's voice? How does this affect your reading of the novel?
16. In the book, "people took pleasure where they could find it, and with gratitude." How are people able to do this, especially when things are in short supply?
17. By the end of the novel, how does music bring love back into La's life?