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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
4.5 STARS!!!!!!
"The Code of the Woosters" is a direct-ish sequel to "Right Ho, Jeeves." It deals with, in brief, the continuing saga of newt-lover Gussie Fink-Nottle and Madeline Basset, with Bertie trying to keep himself from ending up in the middle. It also involves Sir Watkym Bassett, Bertie's Aunt Dahlia, and an eighteenth century cow creamer. When you put all those together, shenanigans and hijinks ensue. It's a hilarious novel, and one that everyone should read.
Bertie Wooster has one of the most distinctive voices in fiction. I've read a fair amount of Wodehouse novels and while they are all hilariously entertaining, his masterpiece comes in the Jeeves & Wooster chronicle. His complete inability to remember quotes from anywhere is unparalleled, and his abbreviations ("I passed a trembling h. over the b.") make me laugh out loud every time I hear them. His way of describing things and people, and the fact that all of his are done in first person, make him live and breath.
The relationship between these two is one of the great ones. Bertie is always apt to try to throw his weight about and put his foot down while speaking "in a marked manner," but Jeeves always manages him and manages to get around him as he pleases.
The plot of this one can get a bit convoluted if you don't pay attention, but it's not in such a way as to make the story unenjoyable. I really liked it and it's a must-read for any Wodehouse fan. Or for anyone who can read, in general!
"The Code of the Woosters" is a direct-ish sequel to "Right Ho, Jeeves." It deals with, in brief, the continuing saga of newt-lover Gussie Fink-Nottle and Madeline Basset, with Bertie trying to keep himself from ending up in the middle. It also involves Sir Watkym Bassett, Bertie's Aunt Dahlia, and an eighteenth century cow creamer. When you put all those together, shenanigans and hijinks ensue. It's a hilarious novel, and one that everyone should read.
Bertie Wooster has one of the most distinctive voices in fiction. I've read a fair amount of Wodehouse novels and while they are all hilariously entertaining, his masterpiece comes in the Jeeves & Wooster chronicle. His complete inability to remember quotes from anywhere is unparalleled, and his abbreviations ("I passed a trembling h. over the b.") make me laugh out loud every time I hear them. His way of describing things and people, and the fact that all of his are done in first person, make him live and breath.
The relationship between these two is one of the great ones. Bertie is always apt to try to throw his weight about and put his foot down while speaking "in a marked manner," but Jeeves always manages him and manages to get around him as he pleases.
The plot of this one can get a bit convoluted if you don't pay attention, but it's not in such a way as to make the story unenjoyable. I really liked it and it's a must-read for any Wodehouse fan. Or for anyone who can read, in general!
funny
lighthearted
I prefer listening to the Jeeves and Wooster stories in audio book form, but I tend to be listening at night while my husband is asleep. Just as with all the others, the bed shook with my attempt to stifle uproarious laughter. But even when reading the books, I still struggle to be quiet. Best enjoyed alone lest you have to explain your laughter!
The quintessential Jeeves novel to me (even if my actual favorite is The Mating Season). I’ve read it many times so the beats and lines are very familiar, but I still find something new to enjoy each time. Definitely contains some of my favorite gags and characters. Just a comforting reread :)
The Code of the Woosters is one of the few novel-length works about "intellectually negligible" young aristocrat Bertie Wooster and his titan of a valet Jeeves. I found this novel somewhat entertaining, though about two-thirds of the way through it starts to drag and all in all left me unimpressed.
Summarising the setup of the novel would be difficult, but it begins with a battle over a cow-shaped creamer. The cow creamer is desired by Bertie's Aunt Dahlia and Uncle Tom, but is bought instead by Sir Watkyn Bassett, the retired magistrate who once fined Bertie five pounds for stealing a policeman's helmet. Aunt Dahlia gives Bertie a choice between infiltrating Bassett's house and stealing the cow creamer, or never again tasting the wonderful meals of her French chef Anatole. Two related problems are the engagements of Bassett's niece Stephanie "Stiffy" Byng and Bertie's school chum Harold "Stinker" Pinker, and Basset's daughter Madelaine and Wooster friend Gussie Fink-Nottle. There's also Roderick Spode, Watkyn's menacing associate and the leader of a fascist group called the Saviours of Britain. The book was published in 1937, and through the character of Spode, Wodehouse makes a few jabs against Hitler and Mussolini.
In spite of its observation of human social interactions which really are often zany, the novel does seem somewhat far-fetched. A character hears a major revelation but reacts too tamely, the plot's resultion in the last couple of pages seems like an easy way out of a book starting to run out of steam.
There are a few moments in The Code of the Woosters which made me laugh out loud, and therefore I do cautiously recommend the book. However, it is a somewhat insubstantial novel, and falls into a three-star rating. If you've never read Wodehouse before, you might want to try one of his many short stories before tackling an entire novel.
Summarising the setup of the novel would be difficult, but it begins with a battle over a cow-shaped creamer. The cow creamer is desired by Bertie's Aunt Dahlia and Uncle Tom, but is bought instead by Sir Watkyn Bassett, the retired magistrate who once fined Bertie five pounds for stealing a policeman's helmet. Aunt Dahlia gives Bertie a choice between infiltrating Bassett's house and stealing the cow creamer, or never again tasting the wonderful meals of her French chef Anatole. Two related problems are the engagements of Bassett's niece Stephanie "Stiffy" Byng and Bertie's school chum Harold "Stinker" Pinker, and Basset's daughter Madelaine and Wooster friend Gussie Fink-Nottle. There's also Roderick Spode, Watkyn's menacing associate and the leader of a fascist group called the Saviours of Britain. The book was published in 1937, and through the character of Spode, Wodehouse makes a few jabs against Hitler and Mussolini.
In spite of its observation of human social interactions which really are often zany, the novel does seem somewhat far-fetched. A character hears a major revelation but reacts too tamely, the plot's resultion in the last couple of pages seems like an easy way out of a book starting to run out of steam.
There are a few moments in The Code of the Woosters which made me laugh out loud, and therefore I do cautiously recommend the book. However, it is a somewhat insubstantial novel, and falls into a three-star rating. If you've never read Wodehouse before, you might want to try one of his many short stories before tackling an entire novel.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
The good Wooster/Jeeves novels are simply some of the funniest goddamn things ever written.
adventurous
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