The Kind Company of Others

 The Kind Company of Others

Reviewed By  Grasshopper2       August 25, 2026

 

Author  Alexander McCall Smith. Illustrations Iain McIntosh .

Distributor:      New South Books
ISBN:                 978-1846977565
Publisher:         Polygon
Release Date:   1 August 2026  

   Website:   https://newsouthbooks.com.au/books/the-kind-company-of-others/

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Ahhhhh! How wonderful it is to find the third poetry book written by Alexander McCall Smith. In this collection, The Kind Company of Others, we read about themes of love, culture and friendship. He looks at the past, with a view of showing how the present has evolved and how we might learn for the future.

There is an underlying sadness in some of the poems. Sadness for lost times and people, and for lessons not learned. Yet the book is labelled optimistic. There is also an enormous passion for the country he loves so much, and his heart is on display as he describes it.

 At the beginning of each new subject, the author writes a short article explaining his thoughts on the topic he has chosen to write about. The first poems are “On love and friendship,” He explains that in the Tang Dynasty poems were all written about friendship, not love or lovers. Love is compared to “An unexpected guest,” and “Does not come empty handed.”

Other topics discussed in this book are, “As time goes by, Place: where we are when we are where we are, Planets, Poems from a time in Botswana, and Incidental.. Contentment on an Edinburgh Hill.

Another topic is Ekphrastic Poems. These deal with poems which have been inspired by a piece of art. For example, Keats poem “Ode to a Grecian urn.” Here Alexander talks about the depth of understanding in a piece of art. Does it really show the passion or inspiration behind the object?

To conclude this inciteful book, Alexander writes about, Remembering.

 “For hope, Like a great shining sun,

Illuminates our quite ordinary lives,

Relieves the burdened mind of guilt:

Fiction, Humour, Poetry