This is McCall Smith's genius—he makes you love the people in his books. In crass times like these, the deep civility that powers his voice is a balm. That and he makes you laugh, and how many can claim that?

Praise for Alexander McCall Smith and My Italian Bulldozer:
“An engaging read written in McCall Smith’s trademark wryly thoughtful style [with] mouth-watering descriptions of rural Italy.” —The Daily Mail (London)
 
“There’s not a more charming author on the face of the Earth.” —The Seattle Times
 
“A delightful mixture of humor, humanity, and observation. Just as at home in Italy as in Botswana, [McCall Smith] depicts the people of Tuscany in this novel with verve.” —Country Life
 
“McCall Smith’s generous writing and dry humor, his gentleness and humanity, and his ability to evoke a place and a set of characters without caricature or condescension have endeared his books to readers.” —The New York Times
 
“A vivid observer and an elegant writer.” —The Plain Dealer
 
“A virtuoso storyteller.” —The Scotsman

12/01/2016
Paul Stewart is happily anticipating his stay at the charming Italian town of Montalcino, where he intends to complete his overdue cookbook. But at the airport, there's no record of his rental car reservation and in fact no cars to be had. Then someone offers him a bulldozer. Big book club push.

2017-02-05
McCall Smith (Chance Developments, 2016, etc.) adds to the overworked subgenre of Tuscan travel romance with this pallid story about a Scottish cookery writer recovering from his broken heart in Italy.Paul has published nine wildly successful books about food and wine under the tutelage of his "freelance editor" Gloria, who may harbor but doesn't quite express deeper than professional feelings for him. This is a contemporary novel, and Paul, whose decency and sensitivity McCall Smith frequently touts, is only supposed to be 36, but his reticence, especially concerning sex, and the mildly witty, buttoned-down dialogue make both character and time frame seem much older—think 1930s Fred Astaire sidekick. After Paul's girlfriend, Becky, dumps him for her personal trainer (the first of many oh please! moments in a novel rife with clichés) and Paul falls apart, Gloria suggests he take a trip to Tuscany to finish up his book on the Tuscan lifestyle. Arriving in Pisa, he faces a series of unfortunate events one would think an experienced travel writer would manage more handily. Victimized by stereotypically hot-tempered, conceited, and larcenous Italians, he's left without transportation to his destination, the small village of Montalcino, and even lands briefly in jail until the equally stereotypical, charming Italian "cavaliere" whom Paul met on the flight over bails him out and finds a vehicle for him to drive: a bulldozer. That bulldozer also more or less drives the plot, allowing Paul to meet charming American art historian Anna when he pulls her car out of a ditch and involving him, however unknowingly, in several escapades involving Montalcino villagers. Soon romantic complications set in: Paul thinks he's in love with Anna but she has a male friend coming to visit; Becky shows up to apologize, followed for reasons that remain vague by Gloria. Montalcino, of course, is full of natural beauty, ruined buildings, salt-of-the-earth if charming connivers, and underappreciated wine. McCall Smith knows how to concoct delightful fictions, but this one is undercooked.