Product Description

Is there anything funny about German professors? This novel features the endless mishaps of the inimitable Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #251791 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Review
Alexander McCall Smith, author of over 50 books on topics as diverse as African folk tales and forensic science, is probably best known for his No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series set in Botswana. Breaking the mould yet again, he has embarked upon a trilogy revolving around the bizarre lives of three German professors, who give a whole new meaning to the word eccentric. The titles of the three books, (Portuguese Irregular Verbs, The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs and At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances) give some indication of the barely restrained lunacy to be found within. At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances follows the peregrinations of the preposterously named Professor Doctor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, as he travels from the academic security of the Institute in Regensburg to visit Cambridge and Colombia. 'On Being Light Blue', the first half of the book recounts Von Igelfelds experiences in Cambridge, when he comes face to face with the peculiarities of this very English institution. Von Igelfeld is bewildered by the interminable in-house plotting, horrified at the lack of lavatorial facilities, mystified that someone whose name is spelled Haughland is actually pronounced Plank and completely at a loss when confronted with the British sense of humour. Returning to the comparative sanity of Regensburg, where his main priority is to ascertain whether or not his arch enemy Professor Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer has requisitioned his office during his absence, von Igelfeld is overwhelmed when the President of the Colombian Academy of Letters writes to offer him the post of Distinguished Corresponding Fellowship. Little does he know what awaits him on the volatile streets of Bogot?. When the charming Pedrissimo, the popular guerrilla chief, overthrows the Government with von Igelfelds reluctant assistance, it is only a matter of time before the bumbling German professor finds himself being feted as the new President. Von Igelfeld is a reluctant hero at the mercy of fate and his own ineptitude, he battles with the mundane trials of academia and the political fallout of the overthrow of a South American government with the same air of bafflement. This delightfully satirical novel pokes gentle fun at the self-absorption of the academic establishment. Iain McIntoshs witty illustrations perfectly complement the pungency of McCall Smiths prose. This is a witty and amusing novel but with more than a hint of acid bubbling away beneath the surface. (Kirkus UK)

Customer Reviews

Academic Trifles
Alexander McCall Smith's short stories about three German academics are a delight. These well-written and undemanding trifles follow the eventful life of Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, whose major worries in life are on the scale of whether his seminal work on Portugese Irregular Verbs will be relegated to the back room of the university library. The language is beautiful, the humour gentle and librally scattered, and the occasional illustrations are charming. The stories provide wonderful escapism and are perfect for reading in the park at lunchtime.

One criticism: This book, along with the other two "volumes" about the hapless professors, is very short and all three were all published at the same time rather than bound together, forcing you to pay thrice if you want to enjoy all of their adventures (and you will want to!); very cheeky Professor Smith. I suppose that this just goes to show that some academics do have business acumen as well as far too much time on their hands!

Curiously memorable incidents....
.
....although not that enjoyable a read. After greatly enjoying The "Ladies' Detective Agency" books, this came as a bit of a let-down. Very different. But my wife liked it!
The protagonist, an unlikeable German academic is totally unable to see his own serious social blunders. Comedy of embarassment, I suppose, but mostly cringe-makng for me.
The odd incident does linger in the mind, months later.
By all means read it, a clever and well written book, but one that may not entertain you in the same way as other books by this excellent author.

Professor Doctor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld as Don Quixote

I enjoyed At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances the most of the three books in this series. I think, however, that most people will enjoy this book more if they have read at least Portuguese Irregular Verbs if not also The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs before this book.

Two things are different about this book from its predecessors in this broadly satirical series: First, von Igelfeld finds himself softening so that he's actually trying to be helpful . . . rather than superciliously putting his own interests first as he does in the earlier books; second, the two stories are longer and allow Dr. Smith more room to rove.

"On Being Light Blue", the professor is surprised when Unterholzer remembers his birthday. With some prodding, von Igelfeld admits that he'd like to be a visiting scholar at Cambridge. Unterholzer likes the sound of that because that would mean that Unterholzer could "borrow" von Igelfeld's much nicer office while von Igelfeld is away. Unterholzer finds no difficulties in making arrangements for the invitation, and von Igelfeld is soon off in England. This gives Dr. Smith an opportunity to have great fun at the expense of English academics to parallel his normal satire of German professors. Von Igelfeld arrives and is soon concerned about having to share a bathroom, which leads to many internal complications (humor intended) to the plot. There's also academic scheming in the background . . . because von Igelfeld is the potential tie-breaking vote in a faculty plot. The story has an unexpectedly heart-warming tone before it's done that will remind you of the Botswana stories a bit.

"At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances" is one of those wonderful flights of satirical fancy that so many authors have favored us with concerning Latin America including Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana. After returning from Cambridge, von Igelfeld is delighted to discover that he's being considered for an award in Colombia. That potential honor leads to lots of humorous complications as von Igelfeld finds himself in the middle of a revolution at the Villa of Reduced Circumstances. What happens from there will amuse all but the most serious. It's a wonderful take off on honors, motives and government.

Have a ball!