My first book of the year and I’m off to a good start!

I’ve never read anything by Alexander McCall Smith before – the mysteries just don’t appeal to me and although I own a couple of the Scotland Street books (like so many other books I own, they are as yet unread) – but when I saw this book among the new books display at our library, I was drawn to it by the cute cover and decide to ignore the little voice inside my head that said “You don’t read Alexander McCall Smith!”

Well, I do now.

La’s Orchestra Saves the World is a stand-alone novel that takes place in England during World War II, so right there it had two things going for it: the timeframe and setting. La (short for Lavender) is a young married woman who finds her life in upheaval. She moves from London to a quiet village in Suffolk as a means of escape and spends some time readjusting to life in the slow lane. Shortly after her move, war is declared, and La decides to put her part into the war effort by taking care of a nearby farmer’s chickens, since eggs were a valuable commodity, providing much-needed food to the nearby RAF base. She befriends one of the base officers, who introduces the idea of organizing an amateur orchestra, comprised of members of the village and vicinity as well as any musically-inclined airmen in his company, to be led by La.

La’s little orchestra becomes a central feature of village life and brings much needed hope and morale during the years of the war. La herself undergoes a personal transformation, from a young woman unsure of her place in the world to a strong but falliable woman. The story is a bit reminiscent of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, in that both books reflect on a dark period in our history, yet still manage to be charming without making light of the situation.