Customer Reviews

The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs

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Like many readers, I have come to this book as a result of reading Alexander McCall Smith's "Number One Ladies Detective Agency Series". Beware, there is very little in common between the two series. The Number One Ladies Detective Series is very accesable to the general reading public.

The three novels of the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series are less accessable. The main reason is that McCall Smith's humor is very dry. The delivery is so subtle as to border on the sublime. This sort of absurdist humor about academic life is not for everyone. If you like your humor direct and to the point, this is not the series for you. If you like your humor really dry, this series is a delight. However, if you are not sure, start the series with "The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs", the best of the three novels.

Wow what a book, and what a writer. After i read the books about Mma Ramotswe and her friends i bought this book about the funny dr. von Igelfeld... And I enjoyed it from page one. The absurd problems dr. von Igelfeld is facing, is enjoyable to read and puts a smile on your face while you're reading this book.
I bought this book on CD and that makes it even funnier, with Hugh Laurie reading makes it a funny experience :o)

In "The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs," Alexander McCall Smith has written a wry and worthy sequel to "Portuguese Irregular Verbs." The humor here is extremely dry, but the results are absolutely delicious.

In this installment Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, noted romance philologist and famed author of "Portuguese Irregular Verbs" undertakes many new endeavors and travels. He causes mayhem on farms in Arkansas, where he is inadvertently confused with the author of "Further Studies of Canine Pulmonary Efficiency," Professor Martin Igelfold of the University of Munster. Before his saga is at an end he ends up practicing veterinary medicine without a license, an ill-fated venture that ultimately costs Dr. Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer's dachshund three legs, which are conveniently replaced by wheels. By the end of the book, Walter the sausage dog becomes sanctified by the Coptic church after a misadventure with extreme Christmas implications.

Von Igelfeld also undergoes psychotherapy, which is characteristically unproductive, and lectures to elderly vacationers on a cruise ship on such captivating subjects as "Portuguese, a Deviant Spanish?," and "The Perfect Imperfect." He even manages to insult the Pope in the Vatican library, which leads to a fracas of Papal proportions.

Wherever he goes, peculiar mayhem results with hilarious and frequently unpredictable consequences. The entire book is delightful, although I felt occasionally that the chapter "The Bones of Father Christmas" was a bit on the lengthy side. While I preferred "Portuguese Irregular Verbs," I highly recommend this book.

von Igelfeld has got to be one of the most pompous and endearing characters that I have ever read. He has to give a lecture on a subject he knows nothing about and then he goes on a mission for a member of the Coptic Church.

All of the stories are equally hilarious but the part about the sausage dogs (when it finally appears) is as horrifying as it is funny.

Overall-Don't let my bland review turn you off to the book it really is very good.

In this installment in the life of self-absorbed and unworld-wise philologist von Igelfeld, he is first mistaken for a German veterinarian, Dr Martin Igelfold, on a visit to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he is to give a speech (The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs). Later, this error in identification, which von Igelfeld does not correct, results in disaster (A Leg to Stand on). Next, von Igelfeld becomes quite distressed when his colleague, Dr Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer, writes an unfavorable critique about von Igelfeld's precious book, Portuguese Irregular Verbs. He goes to extremes (how surprising) to undermine his critic and, as usual, makes matters worse for a time (On the Couch). Then there's the trip to Italy for the month of August with friends Professor Dr Dr Florianus Prinzel and his wife, Ophelia. During his travels, he meets some interesting characters and takes on a monumental responsibility which, of course, he handles badly (The Bones of Father Christmas). Finally, he decides to go on a lecture cruise, not because he likes them or is honored to have been invited to lecture (actually, he hates cruises), but because both Unterholzer and Prinzel declare how delighted each would be to take his place. What transpires is true von Igelfeld! (The Perfect Imperfect)

If you expect the von Igelfeld series to be the same as The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, you are in error. They are very different, but McCall Smith's sense of humor and masterful writing will keep you very well entertained!

Carolyn Rowe Hill

In his most recent book, Alexander McCall Smith reveals some of the intrinsic characteristics of collegiate academic life. He highlights the pomposity, arrogance and constant quest for self-recognition that characterizes the avocation. With tremendous aplomb, McCall Smith relates the misadventures of Herr Professor Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, a professor of "Romance Philology." His great work of academic achievement in his lifetime is a respected book called "Portuguese Irregular Verbs."

While his specialty and achievement are surely somewhat esoteric and of interest mostly to academicians, rather than regular people, the book presents multiple situations in which Dr. von Igelfeld presents his specialty to regular people. As per the title of the book; the good `Doktor' presents a lecture on "Sausage Dogs" or as we know them better, "Dachshunds," in an attempt to get American recognition. Interestingly, he thought he was to speak on "Portuguese Irregular Verbs" but with a little last minute adjustment, the Professor does in fact give a lecture on "Sausage Dogs."

In the book, it is the interrelation of this "Ivory Tower" mindset and the more mundane mindset of people outside this environment that McCall Smith concentrates on illustrating. He keenly shows the reader the almost `back-biting' environment internal to academic life, and then, more specifically and graphically, shows us the way in which one of these academics relates, or fails to relate, to normal people in a world outside of academia. As can be expected, this combination results in some extremely amusing outcomes.

Smith is in good form in this book, although it is not one of his best. Nonetheless, devotees of the Alexander McCall Smith multiple scenarios and other works, will find this book quite in line with the McCall Smith they have grown to know and love.

The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs picks up where Portuguese Irregular Verbs leaves off. The books are not so much self-contained stories as they are collections of stories. Hilarious stories about our protagonist, the Romance philologist Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, his colleagues, and their adventures in the arcane world of Romance philology.

Dr von Igelfeld finagles a visit to the US as a guest lecturer, as always, in search of the recognition he so ardently desires. Unfortunately, the exchange program he worked with got him mixed up with a Dr Igelfold, who is in quite a different field of study. Von Igelfeld bluffs his way through his lecture, but is then forced to operate on a sausage dog, with pretty gruesome results. The dog becomes a main player in another story, this one of shadow and intrigue in the Coptic Church under the watchful "ten thousand eyes" of Rome.

And so it goes as we follow Dr von Igelfeld around the globe on misadventure after misadventure, as he tries to handle each sticky situation with Teutonic aplomb.

I laughed out loud, and I wasn't even feeling like laughing when I picked the book up. Like the other books in this series (At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances is the third), "Sausage Dogs" is very short and light to read. Make sure you read all three!

The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs by Alexander McCall Smith is part of a trilogy of books about von Inglefeld, the obscure professor of philology (study of word origins) and author of the ultimate work, Portugese Irregular Verbs. (This also happens to be the title of another of the books in the series.) While the latter is an amusing book, The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs had me laughing out loud so often and so long that my stomach muscles actually began to hurt! It is a series of short tales, so I really can't even give you a taste of what is in store for you wihtout giving the fun away. I'm currently working on the last book of the series, At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances, and finding it nearly as funny. You don't need to read these stories in order but they are all fun and very short (about 120 pages) so go ahead. DO NOT read these books if you love Precious and the #1 Ladies Detective Agancy and are looking for more of the same. They are completely different.

I have read these books. I really enjoyed them. Then I listened to Paul Hecht reading the books. Extremely entertaining. Tripled my fun. This is my first review. I felt compelled to share my enthusiasm for the audio-books.

This book is the second in a trilogy about the unexpected misadventures of Professor Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld of the Institute of Romance Philology. Prof. von Igelfeld has been ensconced in the sheltered walls of academia a bit too long for his own good. Whenever he interacts with the world outside, amusingly horrifying things happen. But the professor manages to blunder through in Mr. McGoo-like fashion, avoiding any serious pitfalls and mishaps.

Von Igelfeld initially gets himself into trouble because he feels that he must get a public speaking job in order to compete with a rival colleague. As luck would have it, due to a similarity in names, von Igelfeld, a romance languages philologist, is mistaken for a deceased veterinarian named Professor Igelfold, an authority on the Sausage Dog. It apparently never occurs to von Igelfeld to admit to any mistake, even one that was obviously someone else's, so he decides to go ahead with the charade. This leads to a rather gruesome mistake that has repercussions later in the story.

I thought that this was a delightful little book. McCall Smith nicely and humorously skewers the worlds of academia, the upper class and organized religion. This book works as a stand-alone volume; it is not necessary to read the trilogy in order.