friedeggyolive's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
grifmk01's review against another edition
3.0
This is not your average read (if you couldn't already tell from the title). Smith's wit and timing is beautifully displayed in this humorous story. It is one of the quirkiest books I have ever read. The stories the protagonist shares are at times ludacris and unbelievable, but that is where Smith's humor is on full display. I did find the story lagged here and there throughout the book. I recommend this book to lovers of wit and silly stories.
saralynnburnett's review against another edition
4.0
#1 in the series. Loved it! Short, can be read in a few hours and will having you smiling by the end.
carmenere's review against another edition
4.0
I'd consider the chapters similar to novellas. Each chapter contains a story concerning Prof Dr Moritz-Maria Von Igelfeld, a philologist. His fellow profs Prinzel and Unterholzer are occasion oh drawn in to his hilarious situations. I'll continue to follow this trilogy .
theladydoor's review against another edition
2.0
I really enjoyed the first two Precious Ramotswe mysteries by Smith, and of course I am a huge Hugh Laurie fan, so I jumped at the chance to listen to this short series about an eccentric linguistic scholar, Dr. Moritz von Igelfeld.
This is not so much a novel as a series of short stories from the life of said scholar, and some of them were a bit funny, but most were not good enough to hold my interest. I found Igelfeld to be irritating and sanctimonious. Writing this review a year later, it is impossible for me to really remember anything that happens, except that Igelfeld spends a great deal of time professing his own importance and scholarly magnificence, and working to put down his academic rivals. And somewhere along the way he gets wrapped up in revolutions and other grand adventures that he somehow manages to bungle his way out of.
There was a lack of cohesion between the stories, and in the end, I wasn't impressed.
This is not so much a novel as a series of short stories from the life of said scholar, and some of them were a bit funny, but most were not good enough to hold my interest. I found Igelfeld to be irritating and sanctimonious. Writing this review a year later, it is impossible for me to really remember anything that happens, except that Igelfeld spends a great deal of time professing his own importance and scholarly magnificence, and working to put down his academic rivals. And somewhere along the way he gets wrapped up in revolutions and other grand adventures that he somehow manages to bungle his way out of.
There was a lack of cohesion between the stories, and in the end, I wasn't impressed.
hogarth_is_reading's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
froydis's review against another edition
3.0
Well, kind of interesting. I would classify it as having a gentle type of humor, poking fun at these clueless academics. However, there's not much meat to the book, and it seemed a bit on the frivolous side.