The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs

I haven't been reading the series in order, but unlike McCall Smith's serials, the experience doesn't really suffer for it. This is light entertainment, following the capers of Professor Dr. von Igelfeld, as he navigates the topsy-turvy world of human interaction. Whimsical and fun, this book was a good palate cleanser in between some weightier tomes. McCall Smith good-naturedly pokes fun at academia without turning Professor Dr. von Igelfeld into a complete caricature. With a fairly zany plot that ranges from operating on a dachshund to being accosted by aggressive widows looking for mates, this installment of the series gently reminds us of the perils of taking ourselves too seriously.

I don't normally give fives, especially for fiction, but this book captures the fastidiousness of Germans and German scholars quite well. But., most importantly, it captures the rarefied and sheltered world of academics who are all too haughty, self-righteous, and self-important, pretentious blowhards, ranging from lovably pompous to offputtingly pompous. Not only that, these are funny and entertaining little novellas. And thus, they do exactly what they're supposed to do. Classic literature? No. But fun? Yes. When you find out the poor dachshund is... Unterholzer's... priceless.

True to the character McCall Smith presents to readers in Portuguese Irregular Verbs, Professor Dr. von Ingelfeld continues to find himself in awkward situations of his own devising, all due to his ingrained belief in his own self-importance. The connected short stories in this book had a smoother flow to them as the stories seem to be more closely connected, more like chapters in a novel. It helped that my previous exposure to von Ingelfeld via Portuguese Irregular Verbs helped me to anticipate some of the inane behavior and decisions of our illustrious professor, but even then, McCall Smith manages a couple of “OMG” moments for me as I was reading. I still find von Ingelfeld to be a rather despicable individual but at least the show more author has now given von Ingelfeld the occasional bouts of conscience, tempering his self-importance arrogence, especially after the very poor way in which he treats his ‘dear’ (and possibly only) friend, Professor Dr. Unterholzer. As annoying as I continue to find von Ingelfeld, I have to admit that he is starting to grow on me. This is a character who consistently manages to dig himself a deeper hole when he attempts to get out of a situation, which lends to the comic side of things. The misadventures von Ingelfeld encounters on the Mediterranean cruise were quite funny and did give me a chuckle or two.

If, like me, you read Portuguese Irregular Verbs and consider not wasting your time with the other books in the series, I will gently nudge you towards The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs. It is a short read and may convince you, like it did me, to continue reading the further books in the series. Just be forewarned that the humour still continues to be very dry and might not appeal to all readers. show less

I got this book because I love the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books, and I love Dachshunds. I found it very disappointing.

The book is supposed to be a satire of academics, and it is, in a very gentle way. The main character is a German professor of Romance languages, who seriously believes that the rest of the world is as fascinated by Portuguese irregular verbs as he is. There are several volumes in this series about his bewildered interaction with people outside his beloved institute.

The problem is that the satire is too gentle, and the humor too dry. It's odd, and sweet, but nothing more. There's no bite to it, and satire without bite is, well, boring.

In addition, the Sausage Dog of the title is first abused (the professor show more accidentally amputates three of its legs) and then handed over to a religious cult that wants to worship its bones when it dies. (Don't ask, really. I'm a religious studies major, and I winced at how offensive this section is to the Copts.) This is all played for laughs (of the very dry and gentle kind). Obviously, I didn't' think this was funny at all.

I did have a good time imagining how entertaining this book could have been if Mr. Smith actually knew any sausage dogs. Any Dachshund I have ever met would take on the professor, take over his life and home, commandeer his food supply, and convince him to enjoy the experience. Watching the professor mull over Portuguese etymology while his Dachshund manipulates him from underfoot could have been very, very funny. show less

Professor von Igelfeld and his academic friends continue to have minor adventures filled with interesting characters and their foibles.

The second installment of the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series had some highs and lows. It seems like this title leaned into the satirical element more; there were moments when I actually laughed out loud. However, some of that leaning in also made it a little bit absurd, like the fate of the poor sausage dog, which will not sit well with many readers I think. Unlike the previous title, this one seemed like more of a continuous narrative than a bunch of vignettes; neither style is bad, but just worth noting the difference. Once again, completely unnecessary and unhelpful black-and-white illustrations show more occasionally pepper the text.

I continue to not be overly thrilled with this series but find it a light relief from the darker media I usually consume. That, combined with the fact that there's only four titles in total, means that I will probably press forward with this series. show less

Frequently laugh-out-loud funny, Professor of Philology Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld of Germany is quite the entertaining character. Iglefeld sees himself as the epitome of scholarship, and his ego gets him into some hilarious situations. His trip to Arkansas is the funniest stretch of the book, though his experiences in the Vatican library, and on a lecture cruise ship are close seconds. The humor is in the writing. Smith knows just how to word something to make it funny.

This short book isn't so much a novel, as a series of episodes. The events of each episode are largely unrelated to the events of another, so one comes away almost feeling that one has read a short story collection rather than a novel.

It is also refreshingly peaceful. show more Like Smith's Ladies Number 1 Detective Agency series, the book is free of evildoers, and makes for a pleasant and relaxing read. show less

I absolutely hated the lead character. Then it dawned on me. McCall-Smith wrote it brilliantly. That's why he got 1 1/2 stars instead of 0 for this book.

The professor is someone I loved to hate. I found him pompous, arrogant and self absorbed. He suffered from a super inflated ego and "Center of the Universe Syndrome". It never ceased to amaze me that every bad thing was always someone else's fault and how he could twist everything to make himself the "victim". How he always had to "one up" his friends and co-workers. Insult the Pope, no big deal, it will work out. Sorry, I didn't buy into the scholar having no clue who the pope was. I must admit I found the "humor" a bit too dry for me, and offensive. Thank heavens it was a short book, show more otherwise I would have given up. This is one that won't collect dust in the bookcase. It will be out with the recycle paper next week. show less