Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith

Synopsis :

 Corduroy Mansions is the affectionate nickname given to a genteel, crumbling mansion block in London's vibrant Pimlico neighborhood and the home turf of a captivating collection of quirky and altogether McCall-Smithian characters. There's the middle-aged wine merchant William, who is trying to convince his reluctant twenty-four-year-old son, Eddie, to leave the nest; and Marcia, the boutique caterer who has her sights set on William. There's also the (justifiably) much-loathed Member of Parliament Oedipus Snark; his mother, Berthea, who's writing his biography and hating every minute of it; and his long-suffering girlfriend, Barbara, a literary agent who would like to be his wife (but, then, she'd like to be almost anyone's wife). There's the vitamin evangelist, the psychoanalyst, the art student with a puzzling boyfriend and Freddie de la Hay, the Pimlico terrier who insists on wearing a seat belt and is almost certainly the only avowed vegetarian canine in London.

Filled with the ins and outs of neighborliness in all its unexpected variations, Corduroy Mansions showcases the life, laughter and humanity that have become the hallmarks of Alexander McCall Smith's work.

From the charming country of Rowanda, Alexander McCall Smith brought readers to the hip bustling London city in particularly to a neighbourhood of Corduroy Mansions where a group of interesting characters called home.

This being the first book is very much a 'get to know you' kinda book and 'got to know them' the readers did in many ways and across the dimensions.  William seems to be the anchor character and throughout the book William tried to get his son to move out and even resort to getting a dog and getting a flatmate.  However, much as he wants his son to move out, blood is thicker than water, he still worries on how his son would re-act upon finding out his father's intention.

 The rest of the characters are equally interesting and how they fare in subsequent books would be interesting to discover.

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