The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs by Alexander McCall Smith Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs
Book Review: Laugh-Out-Loud Funny
Summary: 5 Stars
Any author who can make me laugh out loud deserves a medal -- give Alexander McCall Smith at least two! I was giggling through this second book in the "Professor" series. Absurdities galore, wonderfully quirky characters, and adventure after adventure for our darling Herr Dr Professor von Igelsfeld. Book Review: Hilarious
Summary: 5 Stars
If you understand academia you will probably get a lot of in jokes. The funniest of the trilogy. I laughed until it hurt. You buy the three in one volume - The 2 1/2 Pillars of Wisdom. It is more cost effective. The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs is off the wall at times, slightly insane, but totally enjoyable.
Completely different from his No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
Book Review: Witty and fun.
Summary: 4 Stars
Listened to the recorded version of FPSD on the daily commute. Enjoyed it much. The first third or so of FPSD is very funny. Laugh out loud funny. Chuckle under your breath funny. Not side-splitting funny, but very amusing. The remainder was not as clever (hence 4 stars, not 5), but eminently entertaining nonetheless. FPSD is a very quick, very light read -- even when read by someone else. Oh, and major kudos to the recorded book reader, whose accents and intonations were hysterical. Much fun!Book Review: Witty, Dark humor, superbly done!
Summary: 5 Stars
Very, very few books make me laugh out loud. This book did. Professor von Igelfield is a great character who isn't above misrepresenting himself in tight situations.
Through one such situation he ends up operating on a colleague's Dachsund sausage dog. Tragically, through a series of errors, three of the poor dog's legs end up amputated: "An elaborate harness was secured round the dog's body and attached to this were three small wheels. By using its remaining leg as a paddle, the dog could propel itself on its wheels and get anywhere it wished to get. Only very occasionally did the system not work, as had happened once or twice on a hill, when the dog had got out of control and careered down the pavement on its tiny wheels, unable to stop itself, and had ended up on a lawn or in a bush." Thus a feud starts between Dr. von Igelfield and his colleague over the unfortunate state of the dog. A great and fun book that I highly recommend.
Book Review: A delightful little book
Summary: 5 Stars
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.