The Good Writer

Today's Washington Post includes an interview with Alexander McCall Smith, the Scottish author of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series of books (among other things). His books are some of the few that I consistently read straight through, with no jumps to read the end, and based on the personality that comes through in the interview, I (and millions of other people) couldn't be reading a nicer man's work.

His books are easy to read, clearly written, and somewhat light, though they're not fluffy. They don't have intense action or a fast pace, but they do have extremely likable, easygoing characters. Thematically, the books focus on morales, on understanding what's right in murky situations. They're not exactly morality tales, however. The characters, for all of their good points, are flawed.

I've always gotten the sense, in reading, that McCall Smith is philosophically interested in questions of morality and ethics, and that as he writes, he's thinking through his positions. In the interview, he confirms this, saying he's always been interested in applied ethics (the field of the heroine of his Sunday Philosophy Club series, and a not-very-disguised theme in his other books). He also says, of writing, that much of it "is a response to some personal sense of loss and separation," though it sounds as though he tries not to delve too deep into himself, partially because he wants to keep writing - and if he resolves his problems, he might lose his creative edge.

I've developed a mental picture of McCall Smith as a likable, hardworking, jolly sort of man. I can't say I'm not a little jealous, though - he seems to be a totally unself-conscious writer, one who can just sit down and write without all the second guessing that usually goes into the process. Like a blogger, I suppose, but a blogger who's sold zillions of books all over the world.