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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
A rare miss for Pg Wodehouse for me. Much of the book was very dull, which is very unusual.
“One of the Georges - I forget which - once said that a certain number of hours' sleep each night - I cannot recall at the moment how many - made a man something which for the time being has slipped my memory.”
A light hearted and enjoyable read.
A light hearted and enjoyable read.
Another of Wodehouse's delightful school stories. Those school stories were a huge deal around the turn of the century--friendships and covert love. Wodehouse was so adamantly anti-sex that he can barely bring himself to even mention "beastliness" (code for gay activity) but the camaraderie is there. Wodehouse clearly thought his school years the best of his life--his school stories are like Neverland, sunny and happy, the problems present but always solvable by cleverness or extra effort to win a game, or sometimes by a good scrap.
I had my doubts about this one since it's very early Wodehouse and I, moreover, dislike boarding school stories. But it was as joyful and witty as any Wodehouse, albeit written in a very different style to the Jeeves books. And what a character Psmith is! I can't wait to see him all grown in the Blandings Castle series, because he's already a very elegant, supremely condescending enfant terrible terrorizing his school mates and masters with irreproachable manners and a criminal mind only tempered by a good heart. Mike is a great foil for him, a likable if unassuming boy who you can't help but cheer for.
'Mike nodded. A sombre nod. The nod Napoleon might have given if somebody had met him in 1812 and said, "So, you're back from Moscow, eh?”'
As a side note, there is a lot of cricket in this book. I have never seen cricket, don't know anything about it, etc. but still found this readable. I think you can still understand the general plot/character dynamics that arise from the cricket matches, even if the actual mechanics elude you.
'Mike nodded. A sombre nod. The nod Napoleon might have given if somebody had met him in 1812 and said, "So, you're back from Moscow, eh?”'
As a side note, there is a lot of cricket in this book. I have never seen cricket, don't know anything about it, etc. but still found this readable. I think you can still understand the general plot/character dynamics that arise from the cricket matches, even if the actual mechanics elude you.
Originally published as the second half of Mike in 1909, this feels less like a second half and more like a sequel—which is why it makes perfect sense that the two halves were later published separately. (They had been serialized stories to begin with, so the whole idea of one or two novels is a little bit arbitrary anyway.)
Like Mike at Wrykyn (the republished name of the first half), this one isn't all that funny, but it does hang together. By far, the most interesting part is the introduction of Psmith (pronounced with a silent "P" as in "Pshrimp"), the first of Wodehouse's regular self-composed characters - and frankly an exaggeration of characters he'd already been noodling with in shorter stories. Psmith is a sort of Rubicon who, once crossed, signals a change of era. Can Wodehouse really make the audience believe in such a constantly unflappable character? Yes, he can. And thus the real Wodehouse is finally unleashed upon the world.
Like Mike at Wrykyn (the republished name of the first half), this one isn't all that funny, but it does hang together. By far, the most interesting part is the introduction of Psmith (pronounced with a silent "P" as in "Pshrimp"), the first of Wodehouse's regular self-composed characters - and frankly an exaggeration of characters he'd already been noodling with in shorter stories. Psmith is a sort of Rubicon who, once crossed, signals a change of era. Can Wodehouse really make the audience believe in such a constantly unflappable character? Yes, he can. And thus the real Wodehouse is finally unleashed upon the world.
When ace cricketer Mike Jackson is pulled from Wrykyn by his father for a bad report, Mike has the misfortune of being sent to Sedleigh. Fortunately for him, this is where he meets Psmith...
Some days, you just want to read about a guy wearing a monocle that calls everyone "Comrade" and generally stirs the pot.
Mike and Psmith is an early P.G. Wodehouse novel about Mike Jackson's tenure at Sedleigh and his befriending of one Rupert Eustace Psmith. The P is silent, as in Psychotic and Pteradactyl. Since it's an early Wodehouse, it feels more akin to the school stories that were popular in Britain in the early 20th century than Wodehouse's "musicals without the music" comedies later on in his career, when he was in mid-season form.
While he was clearly still finding his footing, Wodehouse still supplied some comedic gold in Mike and Psmith, chiefly in Psmith, the whole reason I nabbed this book in the first place. It was here that Wodehouse saw the potential he had in Psmith, who would later go on to overshadow Mike Jackson time and time again in [b:Psmith, Journalist|331336|Psmith, Journalist (Psmith, #3)|P.G. Wodehouse|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1173812823s/331336.jpg|1220971], [b:Psmith in the City|149812|Psmith in the City (Psmith, #2)|P.G. Wodehouse|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1389760416s/149812.jpg|435408], and [b:Leave It to Psmith|13707720|Leave It to Psmith|P.G. Wodehouse|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1342025763s/13707720.jpg|1233006].
Mike and Psmith was originally written as a serial and the book feels that way. Mike and Psmith go from one episode to another, involving secretly playing cricket, a painted dog, the Archaeology club, making enemies, etc.
The parts featuring Psmith were by far the most interesting but it's hard to look away when that monocle-wearing socialist is on stage. Psmith makes me want to call everyone Comrade and tell outrageous lies with a straight face. He's the spiritual ancestor of Wodehouse's other smooth operators like Galahad Threepwood and the Earl of Ickenham, Uncle Fred.
For historical significance and all the fine Psmithery, I'm giving it a three but it lacks some of the fun of later Wodehouse novels.
Some days, you just want to read about a guy wearing a monocle that calls everyone "Comrade" and generally stirs the pot.
Mike and Psmith is an early P.G. Wodehouse novel about Mike Jackson's tenure at Sedleigh and his befriending of one Rupert Eustace Psmith. The P is silent, as in Psychotic and Pteradactyl. Since it's an early Wodehouse, it feels more akin to the school stories that were popular in Britain in the early 20th century than Wodehouse's "musicals without the music" comedies later on in his career, when he was in mid-season form.
While he was clearly still finding his footing, Wodehouse still supplied some comedic gold in Mike and Psmith, chiefly in Psmith, the whole reason I nabbed this book in the first place. It was here that Wodehouse saw the potential he had in Psmith, who would later go on to overshadow Mike Jackson time and time again in [b:Psmith, Journalist|331336|Psmith, Journalist (Psmith, #3)|P.G. Wodehouse|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1173812823s/331336.jpg|1220971], [b:Psmith in the City|149812|Psmith in the City (Psmith, #2)|P.G. Wodehouse|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1389760416s/149812.jpg|435408], and [b:Leave It to Psmith|13707720|Leave It to Psmith|P.G. Wodehouse|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1342025763s/13707720.jpg|1233006].
Mike and Psmith was originally written as a serial and the book feels that way. Mike and Psmith go from one episode to another, involving secretly playing cricket, a painted dog, the Archaeology club, making enemies, etc.
The parts featuring Psmith were by far the most interesting but it's hard to look away when that monocle-wearing socialist is on stage. Psmith makes me want to call everyone Comrade and tell outrageous lies with a straight face. He's the spiritual ancestor of Wodehouse's other smooth operators like Galahad Threepwood and the Earl of Ickenham, Uncle Fred.
For historical significance and all the fine Psmithery, I'm giving it a three but it lacks some of the fun of later Wodehouse novels.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Probably I would give this book seven stars out of five if I understood explanations of cricket. It's all 23 for sheep in the hallway and 678 in five overs and I don't know. But I did try with those parts, as I always do with slope-intercept form and so forth. And once Psmith appeared, it was aces, of course.
Light, fun, charming! An even simpler story than in most Jeeves and Wooster novels, and Mike and Psmith are simpler characters, but that's part of the charm.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No