The Dog Who Came in from the Cold (38 page)
Read The Dog Who Came in from the Cold Online
Authors: Alexander McCall Smith
—
The Washington Post
Questions for Discussion
- The opening pages of
The Dog Who Came in from the Cold
find William French reflecting on furniture. “Our furniture,” he ruminates, “says so much about us—perhaps more than we would like to acknowledge” [
this page
]. Clothes are easier to change with passing fashions than furniture. Do you have furniture than reminds you of a stage in your life, perhaps more than you would wish? - On a different floor of Corduroy Mansions, Caroline is weighing her options. “I just don’t know what to do,” she confided in her mother … “There are these two men, you see, and I really don’t know which one to choose. But maybe I should choose neither” [
this page
]. What do you make of Caroline’s quandary? Have you ever been forced to chose between two people you love? - Caroline’s mother’s generation would never have seen choosing to remain alone as an option. What has changed in society to make this a valid alternative?
- Not far away at the Ragg Porter Literary Agency, the tensions between Barbara and Rupert over Barbara’s flat are likened to the hostilities between Ecuador and Peru. “There had never been open hostilities … just enough to keep the matter alive but not sufficient to lead to actual conflict” [
this page
]. Have you ever had to work with someone in these conditions? Knowing Rupert and his wife covet Barbara’s flat, why do you think she would risk giving them a key? - Barbara is still trying to work on
The Autobiography of the Yeti
. What do you think of Erroll Greatorex’s story? Do you believe that just because you don’t/can’t see something that means it doesn’t exist? If Rupert and Gloria are so convinced that the idea of a yeti is ridiculous, why do they continue to track it across London? - While Caroline and her newly-acquainted neighbor are having tea, Berthea theorizes that liberal social change has taken away people’s ability to belong, causing a sense of purposelessness [
this page
-
this page
]. By creating nations where there small communities, combining churches, streamlining dialects to form one single language, society has “destroyed the familiar … weakened the notion of order … People used to have a sense of what their lives meant because they belonged to things.” Discuss how you feel about this idea. - William’s friend and former flatmate Marcia loves to cook—especially for men. “I know I should be all independent and self-sufficient and so on, but that’s just not
me …
[W]hat if I’m fulfilled by doing things for other people?” she asks a friend [
this page
]. He friend calls her “inauthentic” in return. Which side do you take in this exchange? Is it possible to be old-fashioned in a politically correct society? - Meanwhile, our canine hero, Freddie de la Hay, has been recruited by the M16 (with the help of Angelica Brockelbank and Sebastian Duck). Why does William let them take Freddie? Discuss the importance of serving your country versus keeping your loved ones safe.
- On a smaller, albeit equally important level (in the eyes of Freddie de al Hay), what do people owe to their pets? Companionship? Care? Kindness? Are we their owners? Protectors? Friends? [See
this page
-
this page
.] - Berthea Snark is quite straightforward when it comes to dealing with her feelings for her family. She continues to write the not-very-favorable biography of her son, Oedipus, while feeling sorry for her brother—”Dear Terence! What a disaster area he is!” [
this page
]. Although she appears to love Terence, she is condescending toward his “magical thinking” [
this page
]. Discuss Berthea’s relationship with Terence. Does she show him respect? How do you think he feels toward her? - Caroline’s life becomes more difficult when she finds herself jealous that Dee went to dinner with James. Throughout the book, the way Caroline thinks of herself (and the way people view her) takes on many timbres. How does it change when James describes the way he feels toward her? What about when Caroline speaks with her flatmate, Jo? And Caroline’s discussion with her own mother? How does seeing yourself through another’s eyes help you reflect upon your own life?
- When she meets Claire and Rog, Berthea feels the need to defend her brother against these people that would scheme against him to steal his home. Although Berthea has always loved her brother she goes to great lengths to secure his future happiness. What do you think she learns about Terence in the meantime?
- The most overarching theme in this book seems to be about home: Barbara finds a home with Hugh, Berthea helps Terence save his house, William brings home Freddie de la Hay, even Rupert gets his flat. How much does home have to do with where a person lives versus where a person comes from? What about where a person belongs?
THE CORDUROY MANSIONS SERIES
“A new cast of characters to love.”
—Entertainment Weekly
CORDUROY MANSIONS
In London’s hip Pimlico neighborhood, Corduroy Mansions, a block of crumbling brickwork and dormer windows is home to a delightfully eccentric cast of residents including, but not limited to: a wine merchant who desperately hopes his son will move out; a boutique caterer who has designs on the oenophile down the hall; a snarky member of Parliament; and Freddie de la Hay, a vegetarian Pimlico terrier.
Volume 1
978-0-307-47650-0 (pbk)
978-0-307-37908-5 (hc)
978-0-307-37930-6 (eBook)
THE DOG WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD
Freddie de la Hay has been recruited by MI6 to infiltrate a Russian spy ring. A pair of New Age operators wants to use Terence Moongrove’s estate as a center for cosmological studies. Literary agent Barbara Ragg represents a man who hangs out with the Abominable Snowman, and the rest of the denizens of the housing block have issues of their own.
Volume 2
978-0-307-73944-5 (pbk)
978-0-307-37973-3 (hc)
978-0-307-37984-9 (eBook)
A CONSPIRACY OF FRIENDS
There’s never a dull moment for the residents of Corduroy Mansions: Berthea Snark is still at work on her scathing biography of her own son; literary agents Rupert Porter and Barbara Ragg are still battling each other; fine-arts graduate Caroline Jarvis is busy blurring the line between friendship and romance; and William French is still worrying that his son, Eddie, may never leave home. But uppermost on everyone’s mind is Freddie de la Hay—William’s faithful terrier (and without a doubt the only dog clever enough to have been recruited by MI6)—who has disappeared while on a mystery tour around the Suffolk countryside.
Volume 3
Coming in June 2012
978-0-307-90723-3 (hc)
978-0-307-90724-0 (eBook)
THE 44 SCOTLAND STREET SERIES
“Will make you feel as though you live in Edinburgh…
.
Long live the folks on Scotland Street.”
—The Times-Picayune
(New Orleans)
44 SCOTLAND STREET
All of Alexander McCall Smith’s trademark warmth and wit come into play in this novel chronicling the lives of the residents of a converted Georgian town house in Edinburgh. Complete with colorful characters, love triangles, and even a mysterious art caper, this is an unforgettable portrait of Edinburgh society.
Volume 1
978-1-4000-7944-5 (pbk)
978-0-307-27679-7 (eBook)
ESPRESSO TALES
The eccentric residents of 44 Scotland Street are back. From the talented six-year-old Bertie, who is forced to arrive in pink overalls for his first day of class, to the self-absorbed Bruce, who contemplates a change of career in between admiring glances in the mirror, there is much in store as fall settles on Edinburgh.
Volume 2
978-0-307-27597-4 (pbk)
978-0-307-38639-7 (eBook)
LOVE OVER SCOTLAND
From conducting perilous anthropological studies of pirate households to being inadvertently left behind on a school trip to Paris, the wonderful misadventures of the residents of 44 Scotland Street will charm and delight.
Volume 3
978-0-307-27598-1 (pbk)
978-0-307-38759-2 (eBook)
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BERTIE
Pat is forced to deal with the reappearance of Bruce, which has her heart skipping—and not in the most pleasant way. Angus Lordie’s dog, Cyril, has been taken away by the authorities, accused of being a serial biter, and Bertie, the beleaguered Italian-speaking prodigy and saxophonist, now has a little brother, Ulysses, who he hopes will distract his mother, Irene.
Volume 4
978-0-307-38706-6 (pbk)
978-0-307-45522-2 (eBook)
THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF SCONES
The Unbearable Lightness of Scones
finds Bertie still troubled by his rather overbearing mother, Irene, but seeking his escape in the cub scouts. Matthew is rising to the challenge of married life, while Domenica epitomizes the loneliness of the long-distance intellectual, and Cyril succumbs to the kind of romantic temptation that no dog can resist, creating a small problem, or rather six of them, for his friend and owner, Angus Lordie.
Volume 5
978-0-307-45470-6 (pbk)
978-0-307-47674-6 (eBook)
