Reviews

Jeeves In The Morning by P.G. Wodehouse

jadziadax's review against another edition

5.0

"That was the question I asked myself. What price the hippogriffs?"

"Over in America, it appears, life for the businessman is one long series of large cups of coffee, punctured with shocks from the New Deal."

" 'It's the same with me. I am a gazelle short. You don't mind me alluding to you as a gazelle, Jeeves?'

'Not at all, sir.' "

Joy in the Morning is basically Bertie experiencing a build-up of worse and worse situations. He's absolutely right - never go to Steeple Bumphleigh. It's like a Bertie nightmare, featuring young lovers wanting his help, intimidating uncles, undercover meetings, and one of his most feared ex-fiancees, Florence Craye (she likes to mold fiance's brains and just informs them that they are going be married-- no accidental proposal even needed).

This book also makes me appreciate that there is no comedy "straight man" in this series. I mean, Jeeves is the smart one and therefore, you'd think that would make him the straight man, but he's really not. He's quirky in his own right, prone to going off on little rants of poetry quoting. And of course, throughout the series, he is extremely touchy about clothing items. It also makes me appreciate -- well, all the books do-- the fact that P.G. Wodehouse must have had a tremendous grasp on English and beyond literature. There's countless references, from Bertie's almost complete quotations and Jeeves's perfect ones.

littletaiko's review against another edition

4.0

Nothing like a Wooster/Jeeves book to help pass a rainy day. Bernie has definitely found himself in the soup this time - unexpectedly engaged to Florence, trying to help Boko and Nobby get permission from Uncle Percy to marry as well as evading Edwin the boy-scout from hell. Oh yes, let's not forget Stinson the police officer who was previously engaged to Florence and is not one of Bertie's biggest fans. Jeeves is able to help save the day of course, but not without a lot of plans going spectacularly wrong along the way.

tcleary98's review against another edition

funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

An incredibly fun, fast, funny and easy-to-read book. Is there a profound core beneath the breezy veneer that will remain with the reader long after putting down the book? No. Is there meant to be? No. Whilst the posh waffling of a small cast of aristocratic characters can occasionally verge on the claustrophobic and irritating, by and large the characters and plot are loveable silliness. In a world of staring blank faced at an endless stream of memes, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself laughing out loud whilst reading this - sometimes on account of the plot, such as Uncle Percy’s kindly turn of heart upon hearing of Bertie Wooster‘s assault on young Edwin, but usually as a result of Wodehouse’s whimsical writing style and the crafting of Bertie’s buffoonish inner monologue. As with every Jeeves & Wooster novel, Wodehouse lampoons the British aristocracy with mirth rather than malice. If you’ve been struggling to actually finish a book, as I have, I highly recommend this one. You will whip through it, smirking all the way.

joweston's review against another edition

5.0

Another Radio series, utter joy, laugh out loud glorious fun.

milewideinchdeep's review against another edition

funny lighthearted

5.0

dantastic's review against another edition

4.0

The 2012 re-read:
Bertie Wooster, with Jeeves in tow, is dragooned into visiting Steeple Bumpleigh, home of Aunt Agatha and her husband, Lord Worplesdon. Bertie soon walks into a web of broken engagements, arson, and delightfully horrible misunderstandings, including an engagement to Florence Craye. Can Jeeves extricate Wooster from what will be known as The Steeple Bumpleigh Horror?

Of course he can. See how Jeeves' head bulges out in the back? That's where his extra brain power comes from.

This book is a great example of how Wodehouse mines rich veins of comedic gold from the same old formula in almost every book. Nobby Hopwood, Worplesdon's ward, is engaged to Bertie's friend Boko Fiddleworth. Stilton Cheesewright, the local constable and an old classmate of Bertie's, is betrothed to Bertie's former fiancee Florence Craye. Lord Worplesdon is in the process of a merger between his shipping company and that of J. Chichester Clam, an American shipping magnate. Throw in a boyscout named Edwin whose hash everyone is dying to see settled and there you are. All the pieces are in place and Bertie is tossed into the mix. You know everything will turn out okay but it's a lot of fun getting there.

As always, Wodehouse weaves a web of wit along the way to the happy resolution. I'm partial to “When a girl uses six derogatory adjectives in her attempt to paint the portrait of the loved one, it means something. One may indicate a merely temporary tiff. Six is big stuff.” and “It is true of course, that I have a will of iron, but it can be switched off if the circumstances seem to demand it.”

Any complaints? Only that this was a re-read and I wasn't experiencing this comedic gem for the first time. While I didn't remember every wrinkle of the story, I did remember most of the pivotal ones. Still, you can't go wrong with Jeeves when you want some dry wit.

expatally's review against another edition

4.0

Always love PG Wodehouse and this one doesn't disappoint. The only problem is that reading in public is slightly embarrassing since end up laughing out loud throughout. :)

rocketiza's review against another edition

3.0

Wodehouse's prose is just pure fun and joy to read.

waylander101's review against another edition

5.0

So here we are, volume eight of Wodehouse's Jeeves stories and the first one I've bothered to review.

Once again we see poor (not in the financial sense) Bertram "Bertie" Wooster manipulated into things by his far more intelligent Gentleman's Gentleman Jeeves. Apparently Jeeves wishes to spend the summer fishing and with that in mind "persuades" Bertie to travel to Steeple Bumpleigh to visit family. With a cast featuring but not limited to: old school chums, former fiancés, cousins, uncles, and the constabulary much misunderstanding and shenanigans ensue.

I, as many of my age and nationality, was introduced to the world of Jeeves and Wooster through the excellent Fry and Laurie adaptation from the early 90s. So here we are some thirty years later and I thought it would be fun to read the books. I say read where I really mean listen to the superb Audible audiobooks read by Jonathan Cecil. Have I mentioned I like these stories?

Wodehouse has ideas... the gentry tend to be rather dim and our man Jeeves is a positive genius... this isn't bad as a plot device and works very well in a "now what is the blighter's plan" way. I really do enjoy these stories though some care must betaken as they were written in a time where some ideas were still thought of as acceptable. That being said if you can accept that 1920s Britain was a very different place there's no reason not to like these tales.

Cecil's performance as narrator has been top notch through all eight of the books I've read(?) listened to(?) so far.

peelspls's review against another edition

3.0

While I am an avid fan of Bertie and Jeeves, I feel like this story relied too often on deus ex machinas rather than Jeeves' true strategic ability to get everyone out of scrapes. That said, I still enjoyed reading Wodehouse's writing, particularly in the rich descriptions and metaphors. This particular cast of supporting characters wasn't one of the best either - Boko caused a lot of problems for himself but very rarely faced the consequences if any, and it kind of baffles me why in the world would Nobby Hopwood settle for someone like him. Florence's influence was also underplayed in this story, when it was apparent she could have been a far more dangerous threat to Bertie's happiness if she wanted to.