- ISBN13: 9781400077083
- Condition: New
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Product Description
Readers who fell in love with Precious Ramotswe, proprietor of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, now have new cause for celebration in the protagonist of these three light-footed comic novels by Alexander McCall Smit… More >>
Portuguese Irregular Verbs: A Professor Dr von Igelfeld Entertainment Novel
The first of three books in the Professor Dr von Igelfeld Series (same author as #1 Ladies Detective…).
Comical episodes surrounding the mishaps of three extremely rigid (and hysterical) German professors who are experts (of course) in their field of language/linguistics (imagine a German version of Fraiser). Racked by guilt and self-certainty, waves of supreme confidence and landslides of self-doubt, their everyday incidents will have you laughing aloud. Fans of Basil Faulty or P. G. Wodehouse and like British-humor will delight in the characters and their very digestible episodes. Each book is quite short (~120 pages) and you’ll probably end up with all three.
Rating: 5 / 5
Under ‘Book Description’ on this book’s Amazon site, reference is made to the “rarified world” of Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld the great philologist (one who studies literary texts to determine their original form and meaning; an older word for ‘linguistics’. Can one imagine anything more tedious? or bo-o-r-r-ing?). Rarified, indeed, it is…almost out of the stratosphere. Our dear doctor lives so completely in his head that he misses the point of almost all that goes on around him in the world of the mundane. He is also extraordinarily socially inept. In one instance, he is so concerned that he do things “properly” in approaching the lady he would like to make his wife that in the five weeks he waits to make his initial approach, a friend, on a little faster track, has pursued the lady and asked her to marry him. She has accepted.
Portuguese Irregular Verbs is comprised of eight short stories about events in the lives of three philologists who are friends. Dr von Igelfeld is the primary character. His friends are fellow philologists, Professor Dr Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer and Professor Dr Dr Florianus Prinzel. Germans all.
The stories of Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld are nothing like those of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. The humor is very dry and, for some, will be non-existent, or close to it. I think one needs to have lived a while and known a fair number of people to really appreciate this book. I believe that as a result of having read this first book in the series, I better understand a couple people I actually know, and have known for years! I also think I’ll delay that trip to Venice I was thinking of taking.
It is a tribute to Mr. Smith’s ability to write that he can take such stuffy, one-dimensional people and show them in a humorous light. He is simply terrifico!!
Carolyn Rowe Hill
Rating: 4 / 5
Whether or not it is impossible to insult someone in the imperfect subjunctive tense in Hindi or not (for those of you familiar with Hindi, I defy you to think of an example!), this is a great book. In fact, this very point is debated fiercely by the protagonist, noted philologist Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld (literally “Hedgehog Field” in German) and the noted Indian philologist and author of the classic texts “Dravidian Verb Shifts” and “Terms of Ritual Abuse in the Creditor/Debtor Relationship in Village India,” Professor J. G. K. L. Singh of Chandighar.
This is the first volume in a series following the adventures of Dr. von Igelfeld and his associates Professor Dr. Dr. (honoris causa) Florianus Prinzel and Professor Dr. Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer through the arcane riddles of linguistic obfuscation in languages including not only Portuguese, but also German, English, Hindi, and Urdu, just to name a few. Along the way they become involved with a cast of odd characters typical of academia, excessive dental pain (and ensuing romance), a sausage dog named Walter, a guru portending a train wreck, a contest ending in a rather unique dueling scar, and an encyclopedic collection of early Gaelic curse words.
This is a brief, but enjoyable work, and is vastly preferable to the original 1,200 page namesake work by von Igelfeld himself: Alexander McCall Smith has written a winner. For anyone amused by linguistics, stuffy Prussians (hey, who isn’t?), or exceedingly improbable situations, this is a great little volume. I am looking forward to the remaining books in the series.
Rating: 5 / 5
Goodness…! This series has certainly drawn a disparate set of reviews. It’s certainly true that the von Igelfeld series (Portuguese Irregular Verbs) is very different to the “No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” series, which is much more warm-hearted with likeable characters – but don’t let that dismay you.
To decide whether this is a title you’ll enjoy, think about these things:
1. Do you enjoy characters that are very subtly drawn, who are pompous, self-important, highly intellectual, somewhat impractical, with a virtually impregnable sense of self-esteem?
2. Do you enjoy characters who are not always charming and nice, and at whom the author pokes a bit of fun?
3. Do you enjoy a subtle sort of humour which isn’t aiming for rich chuckles but quiet smiles at the absurdities of those who dwell in a ludicrous environment of their own making?
4. Do you find deliciously amusing the accoutrements of an exclusively academic life?
If you answer “yes” to the above, I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy the “Portuguese Irregular Verbs” series. I certainly did. It reminded me VERY much of Grossmith’s “Diary of a Nobody”. That has the same half-affectionate mockery where the absurd becomes the hook upon which the reader hangs his hat.
If, on the other hand, you want uproarious laughter in the style of a stand-up comedian, you will probably miss the point in this series. The series really has nothing in the style of Monty Python… It’s certainly not Blackadder, although I can see, in a way, why the comparison might be drawn (the wit is in the words).
I have read the series, and listened to the audiobooks (but I’m not sure this particular edition has the same reader to whom I listened. I heard the superb Hugh Laurie, who could read the fine print on a legal contract and make it sound interesting. What he does with this delicious stuff is extraordinarily amusing in its subtle way).
You’ll need to make up your own mind – clearly there are many differing opinions on this series. If you do decide to listen to these… enjoy!
Rating: 5 / 5
I bought this book from Amazon UK last year because it wasn’t
yet published in the U.S. It cost me a good $20.00 with the shipping, but it was well worth it. Entertaining, funny, a good read. McCall Smith came through again. I laughed out loud, good and hard, several times. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 5 / 5