3.5 rounded up to 4 ( )

This is the fifth book of Alexander McCall Smith’s “Portuguese Irregular Verbs” series, but it is the first I’ve read from the series.

The Institute of Romance Philology at the University of Regensburg in Germany, is the locale of this tale. A very distinguished site of learning where Professor Dr Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfled, Professor Dr Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer and Professor Dr Dr Florianus Prinzel are the three Chairs of the department. They have their strict protocol of how everything is done. There is also Herr Huber, the Librarian. He is not of the same level, but is given some leeway.

When Dr. Hilda Schreiber-Ziegler is brought in to assist Herr Huber in the library and is given the title of Deputy Librarian, she feels she has some authority and takes it upon herself to implement some streamlining of procedures and some money saving changes. When she takes it upon herself to eliminate excess duplicates of the book inventory, she oversteps by removing twenty-one of the twenty-two copies of Professor Dr Dr von Igelfeld’s twelve hundred page “Portuguese Irregular Verbs.”

This action causes Igelfeld and Scheiber-Ziegler to square off in a campaign for the position of Director of the Institute; a position that has been vacant for a while. The lines are drawn.

McCall Smith’s quirky characters and the situations they find themselves in makes for an entertaining read. Along with the main plot at the University, there are the private stories of each character. Herr Huber’s invalid aunt and his detailed explanations of her health. Professor Dr. Unterholzer and is dachshund with one leg and wheels to allow the dog mobility — this is due to an incident involving Professor Dr Dr Igelfeld. Professor Dr Dr Igelfeld’s desire for a higher position in the world of academia, and a larger office with a view. ( )

McCall Smith's skewering of academia through the travails of Professor Dr. von Igelfeld and his band of philologists is entertaining, though this, the late fifth in the series, is not as good as the first little books. Each chapter is a vignette with an overarching story to tie it all together, and each chapter will make you smile, especially if you know these academic types. But, this book, though I think the longest page-wise, it manages to rush the ending and leave you quite unsatisfied, with several things left unexplained or inadequately explained. Still, good if you can get it. ( )

3.5 rounded up to 4 ( )

Things are going surprisingly well at the Institute of Romance Philology, with the incessant and bitter rivalry between Professor Dr Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld and Professor Dr Unterholzer at a truce for the moment. Then a new assistant librarian arrives, a young woman who decides that the library doesn't need to hold twenty-two copies of Professor Dr Dr Igelfeld's opus Portuguese Irregular Verbs and clears them off the shelves. This begins the assistant's assault on tradition and respect at the institute, backed by the man in the highest position, the mysterious His Magnificence, who believes it's time to prove that the institute isn't elitist.
This is my favorite series from McCall Smith and I'm glad that he's continuing with this latest book. It's quirky and the humor frequently comes from the undignified situations that occur to this small group of utterly composed men who just want to do their research on linguistic minutiae. This book is different from the previous in the series in that it addresses current events somewhat, with a young academic who wants to be given control over the institute. ( )