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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Very enjoyable audioversion of Bertie Wooster's and his man, Jeeves, adventures. While Bertie gets deeply enmeshed in trouble, Jeeves (once again) proves indispensible.
funny
lighthearted
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:
No
Reading Wodehouse is like taking a vacation. Just dash the planning, the journey, the people in your way, the possibly uncomfortable bed awaiting you, the anxiety of navigating a new place, and the fish. Now you’ve got it.
The Code of the Woosters is nary the exception.
The Code of the Woosters is nary the exception.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
The third Jeeves and Wooster novel, published in 1938. It's a sequel to Right Ho, Jeeves, although it could function on its own. I think it's the most popular of the series, and although I'll need to refresh my memory of the later novels, they have their work cut out for them if they want to dethrone it in my estimation—this is almost the perfect light comedy book.
Wodehouse novels tend to be so samey (and I say this as a fan) that reviewing them, or explaining why one is better than the others, becomes difficult. Partly, it is just freshness; this is the first “traditional” Jeeves and Wooster novel, after the first two had the protagonists at odds with each other, and it radiates a level of enthusiasm that's hard to maintain book after book. But speaking concretely, it's a remarkably tight novel, given how many moving parts there are; while the Anatole subplot of Right Ho, Jeeves, was kind of extraneous, everything here feels essential. It maintains a remarkable sense of momentum, with things getting progressively worse until practically the end, and when everything is finally resolved, it's done well; Wodehouse is hit-or-miss about that, with solutions sometimes coming out of left field and not seeming very satisfying (see for example his pseudo “remake” of this very novel, the 1963 Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves; I think it reflects Jeeve's origin as a short story character, where he'd have a single problem to solve, and his solution didn't have to justify hundreds of pages of build-up), but he sticks the landing here.
Wodehouse novels tend to be so samey (and I say this as a fan) that reviewing them, or explaining why one is better than the others, becomes difficult. Partly, it is just freshness; this is the first “traditional” Jeeves and Wooster novel, after the first two had the protagonists at odds with each other, and it radiates a level of enthusiasm that's hard to maintain book after book. But speaking concretely, it's a remarkably tight novel, given how many moving parts there are; while the Anatole subplot of Right Ho, Jeeves, was kind of extraneous, everything here feels essential. It maintains a remarkable sense of momentum, with things getting progressively worse until practically the end, and when everything is finally resolved, it's done well; Wodehouse is hit-or-miss about that, with solutions sometimes coming out of left field and not seeming very satisfying (see for example his pseudo “remake” of this very novel, the 1963 Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves; I think it reflects Jeeve's origin as a short story character, where he'd have a single problem to solve, and his solution didn't have to justify hundreds of pages of build-up), but he sticks the landing here.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Brilliant. Hilarious. I would be a lot less worried about my somewhat flighty memory at times if I had a deus-ex-Jeeves to count on every time I'm "in the soup".