2025 #50 The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs - Professor Dr. von Igelfeld #2 (McCall Smith)

 

The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I haven't been reading the series in order, but unlike McCall Smith's serials, the experience doesn't really suffer for it. This is light entertainment, following the capers of Professor Dr. von Igelfeld, as he navigates the topsy-turvy world of human interaction. Whimsical and fun, this book was a good palate cleanser in between some weightier tomes. McCall Smith good-naturedly pokes fun at academia without turning Professor Dr. von Igelfeld into a complete caricature. With a fairly zany plot that ranges from operating on a dachshund to being accosted by aggressive widows looking for mates, this installment of the series gently reminds us of the perils of taking ourselves too seriously.

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2025 #49 Headshot (Bullwinkel)

 

Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.75
Conceptually, this book is fantastic, and the fact that it highlights young women boxers is exceptional. I bear some responsibility for my somewhat "meh" reaction to the book as I have very little interest in boxing, and I'm sure that sullied my reaction a bit. That said, the book does not go into detail in terms of actual boxing maneuvers, etc, so don't let a dislike to boxing deter you from reading it. I'm just calling out perhaps an implicit bias of my own.

The writing style is appealing, as we are granted access to the headspace of the different competitors. In the end, however, I think I found it too many characters to hold on to, although Bullwinkle admirably fills out a dossier for each with moving and thoughtful details. I think those who made it to the final rounds stayed with me a bit more, but it also took me quite a while to finish the book, so I didn't retain it the way I might have otherwise. I appreciated the glimpses into the future of each of the characters as well, which was a great reminder that we are all our own pasts, presents, and futures. I found Izzy and Iggy the most interesting, perhaps because of their familial connection, which added a whole other dimension to the story.

I wished, perhaps, for more backstory at the outset, so that I could invest in the characters more as the narrative progressed.

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2025 #48 Weyward (Hart)

 

Weyward by Emilia Hart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It has been awhile since I've read 50% of a book in one sitting, but I picked this up at a LFL in Minneapolis (since the book had been on my wish list for awhile), and read half of it on my journey back to Boston.

It is definitely a more-than-respectable debut for the author, and the chapters were short so the three timelines of Kate, Altha, and Violet received equal footing. I liked the anchoring of witchcraft in nature. I felt the mystery aspect (especially Violet's mother's backstory) could have been beefed up a bit, maybe to replace a bit of the narrative of Kate's journey to the cottage, for example. It did start to feel a bit predictable, as others noted, although I have to say the surprise in the Epilogue made my day (I usually hate epilogues).

A solid and entertaining read.

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2025 #47 The Glass Box (Rolli)

 No review for this one. Suffice it to say it was entertaining, but it needed more context and a better editor.  

2025 #46 Demian (Hesse)

 

Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth by Hermann Hesse
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First published in 1919, I think Demian would have hit me differently had I been reading it in the postwar ethos. Unlike Narcissus and Goldmund, this felt rather dated, but intriguing enough as a love child of Catcher in the Rye and the Sorrows of Young Werther with a dash of Nietzsche and Freud thrown in.

The book was originally published under the alias "Emil Sinclair" who is, in fact, the novel's protagonist. The book isn't really so much about Max Demian, the weirdly prophetic and enigmatic figure who pops up in Sinclair's life, but more about Sinclair's psychological and spiritual growth---or journey (that might be more apt). Hesse isn't subtle about light vs. dark, but what is refreshing about the story is that the two aren't diametrically opposed, or at least that seems to be the insinuation. Women are used as functional figures rather than significant characters, and I can't help but think that the beautiful Beatrice was a nod to Dante and Frau Eva seemed connected to Eden's Eve. Given that one of Demian's first expositions is a reinterpretation of Cain and Abel's story, this sort of intertextuality wouldn't surprise me. Sinclair's dreams are fairly central features to the story, and Hesse's exposure to Freud and Jung is laid bare: "...dreams that had emanated from the unconscious, of dreams in which humanity groped after its intimations of future potentialities" (123).

Sinclair is young and impressionable, at least at first, and Demian rocks his world with his individualistic interpretation of Biblical stories and way of living. The organist Pistorius is a transitional figure, as Sinclair is still looking for a mentor, but also feeling the tug of a need to make his own path. When Sinclair stays with Demian's mother (Frau Eva), things get a bit Oedipal, and fairly cultish. It is hard to connect to Sinclair, who seems to become increasingly Übermenschisch (in some ways), but he's interesting enough (as we are privy to his every rumination and dream). I'd reckon that this would not be the best introduction to Hesse for the uninitiated, but a worthwhile read for those who loved his other works.

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FTL2025 6B challenge Demian ---------> Night Watch (Phillips)