Portuguese Irregular Verbs - A Professor Dr von Iglefeld Entertainment
Alexander McCall Smith, Polygon, 2003

Welcome to the charming adventures of the inimitable Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Ingelfeld. As a professor of philology, you might not expect the eccentric professor to have much scope for adventure, but his wonderful understanding of the world and the people in it renders even the most basic of experiences a wonderful exploit. In this, the first of several books, we learn a little of the professor’s past and are treated to stories of his adventures in the pornographic world of Old Irish and his new encounters with sports.

The professor is a delightfully clueless academic, and his exploits are so very funny! The style of the stories is marvellously accessible, and the humour much more exactly honed than McCall Smith's more famous Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.