The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs

By: Alexander McCall Smith

Narrated by: Paul Hecht

With millions of copies of his New York Times best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency mysteries in print across the globe, Alexander McCall Smith is one of the most popular novelists and humorists in the world. Starring the brilliant but bumbling Professor Doctor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs is a wonderfully entertaining showcase for Smith's award-winning wit.

Invited to lecture in America, von Igelfeld envisions a visit to California or New York. Instead, he finds himself at the University of Arkansas. Still, in von Igelfeld's view, one American state is very like another. An expert philologist, von Igelfeld prepares to deliver a talk on verbs, until he makes a grim discovery: he has been mistaken for a German master of veterinary science who has recently passed away. One man at the reception is quick to point this out. But von Igelfeld explains that since Germans are so efficient, they sometimes publish obituaries before a person's demise. Before long, he takes the podium and faces an attentive crowd expecting to hear some fine points on the nature of sausage dogs.

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

Enjoyable Story

Interesting interactions amoung the self-absorbed academics involved. Felt sorry for the sausage dog, but at least it triumphs in the end.

Very funny

What made the experience of listening to The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs the most enjoyable?

Everything!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs?

Just the story and anything by this author.

What about Paul Hecht’s performance did you like?

Perfect

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Very sophisticated humor!

Any additional comments?

One of the best writers today!

Very funny, very clever!

Brilliantly read, terribly clever, far better than #1 Ladies Detective Agency (which got very high reviews but I found dry, unfunny, and slow). This is especially funny if you know any German or know about German culture. The whole thing is very tongue-in-cheek, about linguists and their world in which the Portuguese Irregular Verb is the most important thing in existence, and the struggles for position that lead to ridiculous scenarios. Very funny!

Not really what I expected.

While this was at times entertaining, and somewhat funny, it was not really to my liking. It was more a series of short stories than a cohesive novel. I find the narration a bit slow, and a bit of a drone. Just not my cup of tea, I guess.

Funny events and nice book about friendships

What a nice book about friendships! I do enjoy the laughs from the funny and unlikely events in this series. Some points are exaggerated but funny because they are true, some twists of the story are funny because they're so impossible. It's the kind of thing where you wonder, what if this happened? This book extends these suppositions into full stories!