Welcome to the insane and rarified world of Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld of the Institute of Romance Philology. Von Igelfeld is engaged in a never-ending quest to win the respect he feels certain he is due a quest which has the tendency to go hilariously astray.
In Unusual Uses for Olive Oil, von Igelfeld experiences a seriesofnew adventures. First, he finds that his academic rival Detlev-Amadeus Unterholzer has been winning undeserved recognition, a situation that must be addressed. Then von Igelfeld stumbles toward a romance with Frau Benz, a charming widow who owns her very own Schloss and a fleet of handsome cars that is, until a faux pas lands him on the curb. Later, while on the annual student study retreat in the Alps, von Igelfeld fearlessly plunges 3000 feet into mountaineering history, and turns his survival into the subject of inspirational lectures. Finally, at a dinner party, he is the only kind soul who can aid an unfortunate dachshund whose sticky wheels are in need of lubrication.
Alexander McCall Smith's Professor von Igelfeld is his most wonderfully maddening, ridiculous, and utterly inspired comic creation.
Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland. Visit him online at www.alexandermccallsmith.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
After a near ten-year hiatus, the long-awaited (well, by me at any rate) fourth book in Alexander McCall Smith's comedic Portuguese Irregular Verbs series finally arrived!
I enjoyed the heck out of book number one. Then the following two became a little Candide-like or Monty Python-esque in their wackiness as our hero Professor Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld became embroiled in far flung adventures. This fourth book, Unusual Uses for Olive Oil is a return to the sedate wordsmithing of the first book, and perhaps I really didn't want what I'd been wishing for.
This book is boring. There's no too ways about it. It's lacking in a sense of fun. Oh yes, there's plenty of wordplay and that's all very well and good, but poking fun at Germans and how they take everything literally, as well as the pedantic nature of language professors only goes so far before it becomes tiresome.
I can and do recommend this for word-lovers and those looking for some light academic japery. If you like reading satire on the foibles of the learned, have at it! I got a chuckle or two between the covers of this one and you may, too!
Professor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld returns in this fourth intallment of a seriously ironic take on German academic culture. Here's a good question: if Herr Prof Dr Dr honoris causa multi von Igelfeld wife's name is Frau Prof Dr Dr hcm Mortiz-Maria von Igelfeld, what happens when the same Frau becomes herself Prof Dr Dr hcm? She is Frau Prof Dr Dr hcm Herr Prof Dr Dr hcm von Igelfeld. I have often asked myself this question. Being a Prof Dr who lives and works and Germany myself, I found this an absolute howl. McCall Smith has German academia down cold, but as ever, he is generous and kind even as he ribs an old establishment. This is by no means serious fiction, but it is certainly fun and well-written and we are all the better for McCall Smith and his considerable talent and good humour.
Book 4 in the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series by Alexander McCall Smith 'starring' the famous philologist Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld from Regensburg.
The professor is amazingly naive allowing male and female students to share a room in a reading break in the Bavarian Alps, insulting a Frau Benz whose late husband was a business man by saying nasty things about Mercedes cars, and climbing a mountain but then making a rapid ascent in an unconventional style.
However, Professor von Igelfeld survives all these scrapes and prospers in the end.
Of course, there has to be a scene where Professor von Igelfeld causes anguish to the Unterholzer's sausage dog, Walter, who this time gets soaked in olive oil by the unfortunate professor. Poor Walter, I hope one day he obtains revenge of a kind...
I am writing a single review for all four books of the series here.
These books have a very subtle humor to them, a humor that is likely under-appreciated by some readers. This humor is philosophical, certainly not the type of immediate humor that would be found on a sitcom or something. Perhaps I would even go so far as to say that understanding of these books acts as a sort of cerebral shibboleth; the access point for "getting" these books is elevated.
Having spent some time in academia, I found these books to be quite spot on. They describe well the posturing and pettiness that can sometimes be found among those whose entire existence revolves around having written a well-received publication a decade ago.
By the fourth book, I will admit that I had grown slightly tired of the main character. It was like if "What About Bob" was turned into an 800-page novel. This being said, ...Olive Oil actually carried along better than I had hoped. I struggled to finish the third book of the series more than the last.
These books are likely best consumed somewhat rapidly, such as over the course of a single week. That would make for the ideal dosage.
I was surprised to see this book appear at our library since it has been nearly a decade since the original trilogy appeared. Fans of Alexander McCall Smith may or may not enjoy this series. It is a very quirky, in fact, off-the-wall zany humor. It is not everyone's cup of tea (or, ahem, stein of beer), but if you're a fan, rejoice. This book holds the same sort of tongue-in-cheek- fun of the original books. Others reviewers have noted that you may not want to start the series with this book. It helps if you already know the cast of characters and their relationships. Also as others have said, I didn't think this was the best of the series. I enjoyed it nonetheless. Everything McCall Smith writes seems to be frothy good fun, but with a serious look at human nature underneath. I think the author must thoroughly enjoy people-watching. His books are always very light, quick reads. Great fun!
These books are a wonderful palate cleanser. Fun, clever, and delightful. I would totally watch a Brit (or German) comedy tv show based on them. (Ben Miller from Death in Paradise and Professor T would be great as the Professor.) The professor is hilarious with quite a few character defects that no one seems to hold against him.
Back to reality for von Igelfeld - it seems a long time ago since he got himself embroiled in political shenanigans in warmer climes in his last outing. Now he is back to the world of academic egos and his terminal case of "not quite getting it" This slim volume contains a series of episodes - the possibility of romance with Frau Benz (and this proves that whilst maddening, he remains underneath it an appealing character because I did feel sorry for him when he blew it completely with a typical unthinking fatuous assertion), a rather more exciting than usual university reading party to the Alps when he inadvertently takes up a new sport, ultimately leading to a foray into after dinner speaking, and eventually yes we do get to the unusual uses for olive oil. That poor abused dachshund!
What I enjoyed most in this book was Herr Huber the librarian whose talent for bringing every conversation round to his aunt and her nursing home is truly phenomenal. von Igelfeld is kind to him and genuinely pleased for him when his life takes a turn for the better in a way which could have seen von Igelfeld consumed with envy.
This has been my favorite book thus far in the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series; Professor Dr von Igelfeld is more of a sympathetic figure while still managing to do absolutely everything wrong. He reflects on every misstep and continues to reach the same conclusion (it's not me, it's you) but by the end of the book has a realization that he might not actually be happy.
Poor Professor Dr von Igelfeld, I do sincerely wish him well as the series continues.
I particularly enjoyed the recounting of a conversation that von Igelfeld once had with his great-uncle, in which he recalls his relative as having said: "Do not deny to others. Remember that as a von Igelfeld, much is given to you. Give what you can to others who are not von Igelfelds."
This is just a small aside in the overall book, but it struck me as rather profound. Though there are no actual von Igelfelds, there *are* people who are blessed in a myriad of different ways. The line "do not deny to others" is an excellent way of phrasing this, with the implication being that we all have something to share with the rest of the world. And I believe that we do.
I imagine most fans of AMS are most familiar with his #1 Ladies Detective Agency Series and I have enjoyed those too. But my favorite series is this one(I would give the series 4 stars) Portuguese Irregular Verbs and its academic protagonist Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld and his colleagues at the University of Regensburg's Institute Of Romance Philology. AMS 's subtle humor and gentle spoofing of academia makes me laugh out loud (the complicated issue of the formal title of a wife with a doctorate married to a man with multiple doctorates, for instance). And then there are the conversations in the coffee room and the unpredictable situations von Igelfeld finds himself in. If you have not read any in this series I recommend starting with the first one, Portuguese Irregular Verbs (von ingelfeld's opus magnum).
The problem with all of Alexander McCall Smith's writings is that they are so addictive! After reading the first chapter of pretty much anything the good man writes, I want to go out and get the next book in the series, so I can be sure to fuel my addiction without going cold turkey for more than a minute!
The delightful Professor Doctor von Igelfeld series is set in my own country, Germany, always an unusual choice for an English-language writer. Although the unlikely hero of the piece, Professor Dr Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld is Bavarian, and it is therefore debateable whether or not he really could be called "German" (from this Northern German's point of view), Alexander McCall Smith has so accurately hit the mentality of a particular segment of German academics that one begins to think the author grew up in the land of lederhosen and Haxn mit Sauerkraut und Knödel".
This adventure sees von Igelfeld almost fall in love with a woman who is virtually forced on him by his well-meaning colleague Professor Dr Dr Printzel and his wife. As it turns out, Igelfeld should have done some research on the background of the wealthy aristocratic heiress - he puts his foot right in it and a budding romance fizzles out before it ever had a real chance to blossom.
Truly insightful and utterly hilarious in many parts - and as always with McCall Smith's writing, full of humanity and sympathy for the victims of his pen - this Igelfeld story muses on the status of lonely middle-aged men. It's a theme not usually tackled by writers, who are typically to busy poking fun at lonely middle-aged women.
It's a wonderful read and I'm already rushing back to the library to get another instalment of Professor Dr Dr von Igelfeld entertainments. Moritz-Maria is the only Bavarian - indeed the only German man - I've ever wanted to see more of, not less!
Although I love McCall Smith's series on The #1 Ladies Detective Agency, I didn't enjoy this book. Too much "slapstick" humor and dull pedantic characters for me. Not my type of humor, but some may enjoy it.
I didn't realize this was part of a series when I picked it up, but it didn't matter! The wonderfully pompous Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld is the author of "Portuguese Irregular Verbs," and as you can imagine, it's not a best-seller. When his collegue receives an honor for writing a sub-par book that should have gone to HIM, the injustice can not be overlooked. As the professor thinks only of himself, his antics reminded me of Sheldon from "The Big Bang Theory"--No one is as smart as him. He dapples in romance and constantly finds himself in absurd situations. Even though there were some slow-moving parts, I laughed out loud a couple times because it was just so silly.
Funny, tongue in cheek, but I kept reading thinking it would get better. The olive oil in title is at the end of the book when the lead character spills olive oil on the dachshund, whose trolley he was trying to oil, during a dinner party.
The author's wit and dry sense of humor make this one worth reading - however the stories in this collection weren't my favorite. I was a little confused as to why some of the characters significantly shifted in personality - almost as if they actually finally embodied the humorously false perceptions that Professor Dr. von Igelfeld had about them. It seemed to be an intentional shift, but I didn't see a point to it. There were still several moments that made me laugh out of the blue, especially every mention and interaction with Unterholzer's unfortunate sausage dog!
This main character’s life is a train wreck! There’s always some unbelievable thing happening to him and so much workplace drama! Oh, Professor Hedgehog! What kind of drama will you get into next?!
After finishing a heavy nonfiction tome, Unusual Uses for Olive Oil was a great palate cleanser. Fun, quirky, humorous. The professor protagonist is a gentle, very human, sometimes obtuse character who means well but always seems to step in it … and then come away relatively unscathed. The author’s sardonic wit and excellent writing style makes the book, otherwise a rather frivolous novel, worthy of the four stars only because it was so easy and enjoyable to read, not for its literary prowess.
I'm usually a big fan of Alexander McCall Smith. It's been about five years since I've read a book of his. Am still a big fan. Apparently this book series is a lot of fun and is a hoot to read. I didn't start at the beginning (bad habit with me, but with book 4), and many said that was the best book. Scary thought. I was some disappointed with this book, and enjoyed only about 1/2 hour of the whole audiobook. Don't know if I'll read more of this series or not. AMS has great talents, I have here is a learned academic who is totally clueless, even in a world of his own making. He confronts challenges (real and perceived) and makes decisions by blustering and blundering his way through them.
Professor Dr von Igelfeld, distinguished scholar at the Institute of Romance Philology in Regensburg, Germany, manages to survive his misadventures in academia, including misunderstandings and professional awkwardness, never losing his exalted sense of self-importance.
The droll, tongue-in-cheek humor, the chapter-length stories, and von Igelfeld and his colleagues are hard to resist.
Professor Dr (honoris causa) Florianus Prinzel and Professor Dr Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer, friends and competitors, share his adventures, though neither is as distinguished as von Igelfeld confidently considers himself. Of course, when your family crest boasts “a Hedgehog recumbent upon a background vert,” there is no doubt that one is the scion of a distinguished family.
Traveling to international conferences, receiving a Distinguished (naturally) Corresponding Fellowship in Bogota, attending retreats in the Alps, learning to play tennis, being pursued by widows and mistaken for a veterinarian — all contribute to von Igelfeld’s perplexing but comic life.
His self-absorbed ability to overanalyze, his pretentious character, and his quest for accolades provide plenty of laughs. It’s interesting to note that his creator was a professor at Edinburgh University and the University of Botswana.
As you chuckle, images of the real-life Herr Dr(s) you may have encountered may pop into your head. I remind you that that Distinguished Dr Syndrome is not confined to halls of learning or between the covers of books. So I've read many of them and appreciate his talents.
Again, this isn't my favorite of his books, nor do I think it is his best writing job. He is a very talented author, and I appreciate that. You might do better by starting with book #1 instead of #4. Good luck, Happy Reading.
After several years' hiatus, Alexander McCall Smith's Professor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld series returns, and the professor of romance languages and author of the colossal tome, "Portuguese Irregular Verbs," is as full of himself and naive as ever...and von Igelfeld fans wouldn't want him any other way. As with the previous volumes, McCall Smith creates a character who is much like most of us: someone who wants to believe (and wants others to as well) in his importance and worth, someone who wants to have made a mark in life, someone who wants not to be alone. This installment's plot highlights include possible romance with a wealthy widow and an academic retreat in the mountains with university students, and the lovable, if sometimes conversationally tedious, librarian at the institute has become a favorite character of mine. Maybe because I made the mistake of reading the back cover, which reveals too much--like a trailer that gives away too much about a movie--"Unusual Uses for Olive Oil" lacked the humorous punch of the earlier volumes, but it's still nice to have the professor back.
This book was purchased thanks to a huge sale going on at my local bookstore. Although it is actually the fourth book to the von Igelfeld series, I've never read any of the previous books. That aside, this book was still very easy to enjoy. I'm familiar with McCall Smith's work in the Isabel Dalhousie series so this was a rather different approach to the literary world: hilarious, entertaining and light. Von Igelfeld as the main character is quite fitting to the whole story as he finds himself in various shenanigans. Absolutely hilarious! In such a way that you could barely restrain yourself from facepalming each and every one of von Igelfeld's actions. Since it is told in a flurry of routine, it is hardly necessary to read the previous stories to be able to understand anything that transpires in this one - although, of course, reading the prequels first might prepare you for the kind of humour you would find in this one. And is it not just absolutely typical of McCall Smith to use strange, questionable phrases as titles?
The fourth book featuring Prof von Igelfeld, the famous author of the 900 page block-buster Portuguese Irregular Verbs. Well-meaning he is, but lacking insight and understanding of his academic rivals, and, actually, everyone else. On a date with the widowed Frau Benz, his diatribe against a certain make of car is not helpful, and he also 'bumps into' once more the dachshund which, due to his best intentions, now propels itself on one leg and three wheels. Delightful and humane as always, with a message of how to treat others!
For years I've been loyal to only one character of Smith's, Mma Ramotswe. I've tried his Scotland series, and it never took. I happened to pick up this one with low expectations and fell in love with the awkward, socially clumsy Professor Dr Moritz-Marai von Igelfeld. The world of Romance Philology at first glance is dry and purely academic, but Smith's telling of Igelfeld's thoughts is witty and kept me chuckling. A fun read.
I guess I'll have to go back and start with the first one.
This is the 4th book in the Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld series: the adventures of a German professor of philology. He's great with language, espeically Portugese Irregular Verbs, his 1200 page opus, though clueless with people. He just doesn't get social situations & etiquette & that makes for some great comedy. If you're a fan of "The Big Bang Theory", you'll like this series. They're a lot of fun.
2 and a half PIllars of Wisdom is one of my favourite reads, and Alexander McCall Smith one of my favourite authors, so I was delighted to stumble upon this in the library. It is a quick read (can read in an afternoon) but it has the same gentle, dry humour as the other books in the series, and the characters are so wonderfully awkward and endearing. A lovely read over tea.
Alexander McCall Smith is the master of oddball character writing and the ones in this book are amongst the oddest! Especially the dog. The story is pleasant and often very funny and the whole thing rolls along in typical MCall Smith way. I actually enjoy the author's other series more than this one but this was entertaining in its own way.