In Pianos and Flowers we are invited to glimpse a world long departed. In these stories, inspired by long-lost photographs, the lives of the people in the frame are imagined and then explored, layer by layer.
Three sisters brought up in Penang, caught in the tide of war.
A group of small boys in a Glasgow slum – their childhood blighted by poverty, their adult lives taking very different paths.
A young woman’s search for love in the unlikely realm of Egyptian antiquities.
And through all of these photographs, and all of these stories, there runs the same refrain: the possibilities of love, of friendship, of happiness lie before us.
"
'McCall Smith’s expert handling of conflict and rich imagination make this one his fans will enjoy'
" - Publisher's Weekly
"
'The beloved author invites us to glimpse a world long departed... from Glasgow slums to Egyptian relics, love, friendship and happiness are the central themes'
" - Scots Magazine
"
'A picture paints a thousand words ... this book demonstrates the imagination and skill of McCall Smith to be able to create personal stories from something as simple as a photograph'
" - Dundee Courier, Scottish Book of the Week
"
'A delightful compendium of short stories'
" - Edinburgh Life
