2007-10-18 Professor Doctor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld as Don Quixote

I enjoyed At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances the most of the three books in this series. I think, however, that most people will enjoy this book more if they have read at least Portuguese Irregular Verbs if not also The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs before this book.

Two things are different about this book from its predecessors in this broadly satirical series: First, von Igelfeld finds himself softening so that he's actually trying to be helpful . . . rather than superciliously putting his own interests first as he does in the earlier books; second, the two stories are longer and allow Dr. Smith more room to rove.

"On Being Light Blue", the professor is surprised when Unterholzer remembers his birthday. With some prodding, von Igelfeld admits that he'd like to be a visiting scholar at Cambridge. Unterholzer likes the sound of that because that would mean that Unterholzer could "borrow" von Igelfeld's much nicer office while von Igelfeld is away. Unterholzer finds no difficulties in making arrangements for the invitation, and von Igelfeld is soon off in England. This gives Dr. Smith an opportunity to have great fun at the expense of English academics to parallel his normal satire of German professors. Von Igelfeld arrives and is soon concerned about having to share a bathroom, which leads to many internal complications (humor intended) to the plot. There's also academic scheming in the background . . . because von Igelfeld is the potential tie-breaking vote in a faculty plot. The story has an unexpectedly heart-warming tone before it's done that will remind you of the Botswana stories a bit.

"At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances" is one of those wonderful flights of satirical fancy that so many authors have favored us with concerning Latin America including Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana. After returning from Cambridge, von Igelfeld is delighted to discover that he's being considered for an award in Colombia. That potential honor leads to lots of humorous complications as von Igelfeld finds himself in the middle of a revolution at the Villa of Reduced Circumstances. What happens from there will amuse all but the most serious. It's a wonderful take off on honors, motives and government.

Have a ball!