Portuguese Irregular Verbs

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.

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!

This is for anyone with any kind of sense of humour - British but also American. (My American wife LOVES these books as much as I do - and so do many American friends of ours). This whole series is side-splittingly funny - you don't have to have been to university, or met genuinely strange German philologists to enjoy the totally wacky sense of humour in all 3 of the series. Ever had a boss take credit for your work? Well, so has the hero of this series... In other words, this and the two sequels are splendid, and for EVERYONE. In addition this series (and the mystery set in Edinburgh) show that McCall Smith really is a genius, since the voice in this series, in the Sunday Philosphy Club and in the justly famed Ramotswe series, are all completely different. McCall Smith truly is a writer of talent, with 3 quite distinct literary voices, all of which are equally enjoyable. Make this series a fun read for a great weekend. Christopher Catherwood (author of CHURCHILL'S FOLLY: HOW WINSTON CHURCHILL CREATED MODERN IRAQ (Carroll and Graf, 2004)

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.

I picked up all three books in this series while I was London. It's a wonderful read. Absolutely hysterical. For those of you who appreciate the idiosyncrasy of German Humor , you will find these works to be classic. I only wish a few more titles were added to this series.