Unusual Uses For Olive Oil
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For The 2 Pillars of Wisdom: ** 'The eccentric and egotistical Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld is a hilarious creation ...packed full of wit' DAILY EXPRESS ** 'Portuguese Irregular Verbs, where the author searches for Irish curse words, is reminiscent of Flann O'Brien's "truly Gaelic Gaelic" researcher and is all the better for it' THE HERALD ** 'Witty trilogy of novels ...very amusing' --Mail on Sunday
Review
For The 2 Pillars of Wisdom: ** 'The eccentric and egotistical Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld is a hilarious creation ...packed full of wit' DAILY EXPRESS ** 'Portuguese Irregular Verbs, where the author searches for Irish curse words, is reminiscent of Flann O'Brien's "truly Gaelic Gaelic" researcher and is all the better for it' THE HERALD ** 'Witty trilogy of novels ...very amusing' MAIL ON SUNDAY
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
After 'The 21/2 Pillars of Wisdom' I eagerly awaited the next installment in the adventures for Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, which have seemed a long time in coming. In four short adventures the hapless Professor von Igelfeld displays all his characteristic comic pomposity, social ineptitude and lack of self-awareness that enable him to sail blithely through the most cringeworthy situations, in the company of his fellow linguistic academics Professors Unterholzer and Prinzel, and the Institute librarian Herr Huber.
This time he manages to tackle a situation in which he is sure his definitive treatise on Portugese Irregular Verbs has been confused with the lesser work of Unterholzer (the half pillar of wisdom) in the nomination for an academic prize, tries to court the widow Benz, falls down a mountain to great acclaim, delivers another well received after-dinner speech, and has another accident involving Unterholzer's dachshund.
AMS writes with his characteristic mix of subtlety and venom to satirise the self-importance of the arcane academic and the German obsession with titles and formality. Herr Prof. Dr. Dr. von Igelfeld is a truly terrific creation of humourous writing. The only complaint is that at about 200 pages of reasonable large font size printing the reader is left wanting more.
This time he manages to tackle a situation in which he is sure his definitive treatise on Portugese Irregular Verbs has been confused with the lesser work of Unterholzer (the half pillar of wisdom) in the nomination for an academic prize, tries to court the widow Benz, falls down a mountain to great acclaim, delivers another well received after-dinner speech, and has another accident involving Unterholzer's dachshund.
AMS writes with his characteristic mix of subtlety and venom to satirise the self-importance of the arcane academic and the German obsession with titles and formality. Herr Prof. Dr. Dr. von Igelfeld is a truly terrific creation of humourous writing. The only complaint is that at about 200 pages of reasonable large font size printing the reader is left wanting more.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Hurrah for the return of Professor Doctor Doctor Von Igelfeld! At the very beginning of his writing career, Alexander McCall Smith published three short books on the wonderful Von Igelfeld, a German philology professor from Regensburg, author of the much acclaimed (in very small circles) "Portuguese Irregular Verbs", and his small group of fellow professors. Despite my loving most of McCall Smith's output ever since I have a particularly soft spot for this series (the first three books were later combined in one volume as "The 2 1/2 Pillars of Wisdom"). Von Igelfeld, a single man in his late 40's, lives in a world entirely within the confines of acadaemia. His views on everything are coloured by this and it is wonderful watching him struggling on his forays out into the real world. Just as funny are his battles for recognition and supremacy with fellow professors (Prinzel and Unterholzer) and the splendid jealousies that exist beteeen them. Von Igelfeld has no sense of humour, which makes him highly amusing, believes he is superior to nearly everyone, is tremendously naive, deeply sensitive, highly sincere, and cannot understand why his book does not sell more than two or three copies every six months. Despite his haughtiness it is difficult not to warm to such a unique character and I would urge the author not to leave it another ten years before bringing out the next in the series.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have to agree totally with the excellent detailed reviews already written. Professor Dr. Dr. von Igelfeld is one of McCall Smith's greatest creations, and it has been far too long since his first appearance many years ago. The hapless Professor undergoes yet more hilarious misunderstandings; every encounter with his academic colleagues in Regensburg seems to be burdened with slights, intended or otherwise, and the introduction of Herr Huber, the librarian rather too engrossed with his aunt in her nursing home, made me burst out laughing at times, as did the detailed description of Igelfeld's fall from the very top of the Devil's Needles to surely certain death.
You have to wait until the very end to find out the unusual use for olive oil, but it is worth the wait.
Speaking of which, please AMS, don't leave it so long for this marvellous character to appear in print once more.
Highly recommended for everyone looking for gentle humour of high quality.
You have to wait until the very end to find out the unusual use for olive oil, but it is worth the wait.
Speaking of which, please AMS, don't leave it so long for this marvellous character to appear in print once more.
Highly recommended for everyone looking for gentle humour of high quality.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Unusual Uses for Olive Oil
Brilliantly written and very amusing indeed! Not giving anything away, you must savour every detail of writing as you go through the book, completely freeing your mind of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by JENNY HAKIM
another delight from AMS
This is a welcome sequel to the earlier von Igelfeld series; a long time coming but worth the wait. The characters are pompous but endearing making the novel a quick,pleasant read. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Yvonne Moore
Awful book I cannot not recommend it enough
I love the number 1 ladies detective agency, its cleverness and vibrancy, as well as character developent. Read more
Published 3 months ago by SUNANDMOON
fabulous book a joy to read
Alexander McCall Smith never disappoints and this latest novel follows the exploits of Von Igelfeld as he seeks to expand his fame as the author of Portugese Irregular Verbs. Read more
Published 4 months ago by maggie may
A very smooth transaction
I chose to give this book as a present, as I knew the recipient enjoyed work by this author.
I was very pleased with the prompt service I received from Amazon, the punctual... Read more
I was very pleased with the prompt service I received from Amazon, the punctual... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mrs. Susanna Beer
Love the author
I don't know how he does it... write so many books a year. However he accomplishes it, every book, including this one, is a wonderful read.
Published 5 months ago by Joanna Nowakowski
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