At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances

By: Alexander McCall Smith

Narrated by: Paul Hecht

The irresistible wit and charm of Alexander McCall Smith's New York Times best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series has won over countless fans. The same subtle humor and enchanting characterizations are full on display in At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances, the third entertaining novella starring Professor Doctor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld.

Von Igelfeld is quite pleased with his role as a visiting scholar at Cambridge, even if his English colleagues can be difficult to comprehend. They frequently speak in metaphors and make peculiar assumptions, saying such odd things as, "I take it your journey went well," when that is not the case at all. But von Igelfeld settles in the best he can, and is soon deeply embroiled in some shady political scheming at the university. After returning to the comfort of his perfectly rational Germany, von Igelfeld is invited to Columbia for a special fellowship. But while there, he gets caught up in some decidedly unscrupulous behavior.

©2003 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2004 Recorded Books, LLC

Ridiculously Fun

I enjoyed this book as much as any of McCall Smith's others, though it was a bit over the top, even for Professor Doctor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld. His stuffy self satisfaction and obliviously ethnocentric views somehow blend with an ultimately moral character and occassional display of feeling that leave him in mind as an infernal teddy bear. All of the previous books in this series have been fairly believable as to plot; this one not so much--perhaps it is McCall Smith's token work of Magical Realism? Regardless, I enjoyed the read/listen very much.

The character development

I felt that Mr. Smith did an outstanding job as usual. His character development.is superior. I love how humorous humanity is and how he describes people, their characters and what they say and do is very entertaining!

Interesting series

This is an interesting book. The third one was better than the others. They are short, which is good. I will continue through the remainder of the series. I don’t find it as good as some of the other Alexander McCall series. I really enjoy Isabella dollhouses series.

not the best of Alexander McCall Smith

I am a big fan of all of his books, except this one. I guess I will just look forward to the next one.

Loved this book

I cried I was laughing so hard. You will throughly enjoy this book. I do recommend reading it in order.