4.09 AVERAGE


There is nothing like a P.G. Wodehouse novel to make you laugh out loud when you're reading!
funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
funny lighthearted fast-paced
funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
funny lighthearted fast-paced
funny relaxing fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
funny lighthearted medium-paced

This is set in the Jeeves universe (jeeverse?), but it not a Jeeves story. It is also not a collection of short stories, as the Jeeves books tend to be. Instead, it is a full novel told in the classic P.G. Wodehouse style; clever writing, complex social situations that get messier and messier and then get neatly resolved in the end, and much ado about how silly the English nobility can get. It definitely has many highly entertaining moments and clever wording, and Jonathan Cecil's character voices are excellent as always.

However, there is a racially insensitive segment that hasn't aged well, where a (white) character dressed up as a "Zulu warrior" for a costume party, complete with blackface, so keep that in mind. This is an unfortunate tarnish on what is otherwise an excellent work.

A PG Wodehouse is always a fun read but this was a bit weaker than ones I’ve read recently - more a series of encounters and conversations than actual plot, and slightly too many characters and situations. Also loses a point for blackface!
funny lighthearted medium-paced

On the one hand, this is Wodehouse, it's at Blandings, and it has Uncle Fred/Lord Ickenham in it. So I love it, obviously. That said, it possibly had a few too many people in it, and possibly could have used a bit more scene setting- it was so frenetic that there wasn't much time to breathe and settle in. Still better than pretty much anyone else's best, obviously.