At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances
Written by Alexander McCall Smith
Narrated by Paul Hecht
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the award-winning series The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and he now devotes his time to the writing of fiction, including the 44 Scotland Street and the Isabel Dalhousie series. He is the author of over eighty books on a wide array of subjects, and his work has been translated into forty-six languages. Before becoming a full-time writer he was for many years Professor of Medical Law at Edinburgh.
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Titles in the series (4)
Portuguese Irregular Verbs Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unusual Uses for Olive Oil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances
11 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The third Dr Igelfeld book. Always fun, quick, refreshing reading.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book starts out as an amusing, frothy satire on the jealousy-fraught relationships of academia. Professor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld is on a constant quest for status vis-à-vis his colleagues at the University of Regensburg. His primary nemesis, Prof. Unterholzer, surreptitiously arranges for von Igelfeld to get a sabbatical at Cambridge so Unterholzer can occupy von Igelfeld’s nicer office. During the Cambridge portion of book, the novel is droll and even occasionally hilarious. Shortly after von Igelfeld’s return to Germany, he is next invited to Bogota, Columbia. It is here the author unfortunately jumps the shark, ruining what had been a perfectly delightful commentary on academia and on the English culture versus that of the Germans. A string of absurd and improbable events in South America goes beyond satire, and in my opinion, devolves into silliness.Since the book clearly has two sections that could in truth be divided quite easily, I would say read it for the sojourn to Cambridge, and skip the misadventures in South America.(JAF)
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fun conclusion to an excellent series.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This third installment of Professor Dr. Von Igelfeld books is similar to the others. The story is outlandish and the characters are eccentric. Heading to Colombia to be inducted into a prestigious group Professor Dr. Von Igelfeld is entangled in a revolution that ends with a surprising outcome. This was a light and humorous read. I truly enjoyed the series and this book was a nice end to the series.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is a throwaway book, an extremely short comic novel that is never more funny than it is absurd. Or perhaps I don’t appreciate the vagaries of academic life enough to get the joke, although I found the section depicting the rapid rise and fall of Central American governments to be so full of stereotypes as to be nearly offensive.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances is the third and, at least for the time being, the last of three novellas featuring Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, author of Portuguese Irregular Verbs, and his colleagues at the Institute of Romance Philology in Regensburg, Germany. I use the term "novella" loosely, for this is primarily a collection of humorous sketches exaggerating the rivalries and ambitions of von Igelfeld and his academic colleagues, who are experts in extremely narrow fields of interest. (In other words, they are big fish in a very small pond!)In this book, Professor Dr von Igelfeld spends most of his time outside of Germany, first at a Cambridge college as a Visiting Professor, then in Bogotá, Colombia, as the recipient of an honor from the Colombian Academy of Letters. I had just finished a serious book set in Cambridge, so a light-hearted story in the same setting was a welcome change of pace. By the end of the Colombian story, I felt like I was reading a Monty Python sketch -- perhaps McCall Smith is a fan? This was the perfect read for a busier than usual week -- diverting, not too demanding intellectually, and a pleasant way to unwind at the end of a couple of very long days.