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La's Orchestra Saves the World (Hardcover)

by Alexander McCall Smith (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
RRP: £14.99
Price: £10.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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La's Orchestra Saves the World + The Comfort of Saturdays (Isabel Dalhousie 5) + The Unbearable Lightness of Scones: 44 Scotland Street 05
Price For All Three: £19.38

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 250 pages
  • Publisher: Polygon An Imprint of Birlinn Limited; First Editon edition (1 Nov 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 184697092X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1846970924
  • Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 73,638 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

"If McCall Smith didn't exist, we should have had to invent him. He is that rare creature known as a storyteller."
--"The Washington Post"


Product Description

Thank you for the music...It's 1939 and the war in Europe casts a long, all-encompassing shadow. In a sleepy town in Suffolk, the generous and determined widow, La, forms an amateur orchestra to entertain the locals and soothe her own broken heart. She recruits Felix, a refugee from Poland, to play the flute, and a touching friendship emerges. When the war is over and the orchestra disbands, La is left pondering her next move. What role can she play in her community now the war is over? And can she let herself love again? "La's Orchestra" is another delightful story celebrating friendship and the healing power of music, told with the warmth and charm we've come to love from one of the nation's favourite storytellers.
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La's Orchestra Saves the World
75% buy the item featured on this page:
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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
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2 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.8 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Sweetly old fashioned, 17 Nov 2008
By Julia Flyte - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This is a sweetly old fashioned story set in Suffolk during the Second World War. The heroine, La (it's short for Lavender), moves to the country after her marriage ends. Initially she's very lonely, but gradually she builds relationships and then she has the idea of forming an orchestra for members of the nearby air base as well as for the local villagers. At the same time, the book is about her relationship with a Polish worker (Feliks), for whom she has an unrequited love while also harbouring doubts about his background.

The book starts slowly, spending a lot of time on La's back story. The orchestra is only formed at the half way mark. I found the central part (during the war) very involving, but then it slows right down again after the war ends. McCall Smith does a good job of building suspense about Feliks, but then he lets it dissipate so that when we do eventually find out the truth, we're past caring. There is also one chapter towards the end when the narrative switches to La's point of view and which pre-empts any tension about what might happen when she meets up with her Pole in the next chapter. I felt that there should have been a better way to integrate La's thoughts into the book.

La is a curiously bland and passive character - neither as engaging nor as pro-active as Precious Ramotswe or Isabel Dalhousie. In fact, none of the characters ever came alive for me, although I did really enjoy the way that it captured life in the English countryside at that time. It's an enjoyable story, but it needed to be tightened and it badly needed a better structure. It pains me to be critical because I do love Alexander McCall Smith's writing, but this one felt like it was rushed out for Christmas rather than going back for another re-write.
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite vintage McCall , 26 Nov 2008
By Alun Williams "mathematician manqué" (Peterborough,England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Finding a new Alexander McCall Smith book in my local book shop is always a pleasure. He is almost the only current writer whose books I will buy in hardback without any misgiving and without knowing anything about the book first. But, lately, he seems to be getting ever more prolific.

Mostly set in my favourite county, Suffolk, with most of the action (such as it is) during the World War II, this is the kind of book that would make an excellent short TV period drama series (or maybe just a single long drama). It's nice to have a one off novel from this writer for a change, as Precious Ramotswe and Isabel Dalhousie will soon need a bookshelf all to themselves in my house. I enjoyed the story this book tells, but like the other reviewer I found the ending somewhat underdone and unsatisfactory. None of the characters in this book really stand out: the charm definitely lies more in the evocation of a lost time and way of life. This is not really vivid enough to make the book unmissable, but overall I'm happy enough to have this book and will probably enjoy reading it again some time.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Maybe not vintage McCall Smith but still worth reading, 28 Dec 2008
By Damaskcat (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
La - short for Lavender - retreats to rural Suffolk after a failed marriage. It is shortly before the outbreak of World War II. She settles into rural life and domesticity until she feels she needs to make some sort of contribution to the war effort even though she has enough money not to need to work after the death of her husband. She agrees to work without pay for a local farmer - the cantankerous Henry - looking after his hens. Then she meets Feliks - a Polish pilot who is grounded because he lost the sight in one eye during a mission - who also goes to work for Henry. As a result of talking to Feliks La hits upon the idea of starting an orchestra made up of local people and members of the RAF from a nearby base. It is this orchestra which keeps the community going. How La's relationships develop and what happens to the orchestra makes for an interesting plot. It is a gentle moral story with Alexander McCall Smith's customary light touch. I enjoyed it even though it is not in quite the same class as 44 Scotland Street or the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant but rather bland - a disappointment when judged along side AMS's other works
I'm a great fan of the Botswana series, the 88 Scotland Street books, and the von Igelfeld trilogy, which is frankly superb. Thus this book was a great disappointment. Read more
Published 2 months ago by John M

5.0 out of 5 stars A pleasure to read from start to finish
As a musician and a McCall Smith fan, every moment spent reading this book was a pleasure. Each time I picked up the book I felt myself lost in another rather wonderful world.
Published 2 months ago by C. Rubinstein

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensitive evocation of a woman's feelings
This book is quite different from McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street series and the new venue of Corduroy Mansions both of which gently poke fun at the human relationships and... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Bluebell

5.0 out of 5 stars Another wonderful tale from Alexander McCall Smith
This is another wonderful book by McCall Smith - I can't keep up with his prolific production of lovely novels! I would recommend all his books - the No. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Linda Smith

4.0 out of 5 stars another pleasant novel
fans of smith won't be disappointed in this. makes a change from his usual repertoire. an easy, light holiday read.
Published 3 months ago by Yvonne Moore

4.0 out of 5 stars things said and things unsaid
I found La's Orchestra a notch or two less cosy than the worlds of Mma. Ramotswe or Isabel Dalhousie, and all the more thoughtful for it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Francis Norton

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointment
I've enjoyed a lot of McCall Smith's books, and I find that he often gets under the skin of his women with great effect. But not here. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Deborah

2.0 out of 5 stars Rather feeble
As I read this, I couldn't help wondering if it would have stood a chance of being published if it weren't by Alexander McCall Smith. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Claretta

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read
Yet another wonderful read from this author. Different from No.1. Ladies and also from Bertie. The afficionados will know to which books I am referring. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mrs. S. A. Humphery

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