What really counts in this life? For the writer, Alexander McCall Smith, it is friendship and love – themes that crop up time and again in his novels. And it is these themes that he explores in this collection of poems.
In this book, divided into nine sections, the author takes you on a journey across the globe from Africa to Greece, London to Mumbai, and back home to Edinburgh. In a Time of Distance is a captivating celebration of place and people, but also of animals and books. Looking at the world through the lens of this writer it is a better, more humane place. Throughout these poems there are moments of swoop and soar, descriptions that will make you laugh and realign your view. In this collection, Alexander McCall Smith reminds us to look at the world differently, to stop once in while and look up at the sky.
This collection has a quiet and fragile beauty. The title poem reached hundreds of thousands of people when it was posted on social media in March 2020. It was also read on BBC Radio 4 and thereafter it appeared on blogs and websites across the world. It touched the hearts of all of those struggling to comprehend the bewildering situation in which the peoples of the world found themselves.
The book is illustrated by Iain McIntosh who has illustrated many of Alexander’s books, including the much-loved 44 Scotland Street series.
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