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A review by pinksreads
My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
3.0
I would give it a 3.5 stars, pity there's no 0.5 rating on Goodreads yet.
There's not much you can say while reviewing a P. G. Wodehouse, is there? It is, as usual, humorous, and not in the graphic sense. The words and explanations do the trick. In a heavily contemporary world, it was quite refreshing to come across words like 'rummy' and 'chump'. God knows I lived vicariously through the aristocracy portrayed.
All I can say is, man, I wish I had a life like Bertram Wooster or Reggie Pepper. (Yes, while referring to the protagonist, these two names are pretty much interchangeable. The only difference is, Wooster is the one with the butler, Jeeves, while Pepper is the friend that goes around helping people himself, without having to enlist a butler).
There was a ~spicy~ amount of privilege in the book, perfectly depicted in the last story 'The Aunt and the Sluggard', where Wooster is forced out of his apartment in New York to live in a hotel for a few days, due to certain chain of events. In this process. he loses his butler Jeeves, as Jeeves is forced to stick to the apartment. And that is when he realises, and I quote, "there must be quite a lot of fellows who have to press their own clothes themselves and haven't got anybody to bring them tea in the morning." Quite the unrealised privilege. But I do recognise the underlying satire enforced by the author where, as a reader, I can definitely make a lot of fun about Wooster's astute observation with respect to his privilege, or lack thereof.
This was my first Jeeves book, and I was not disappointed. Jeeves is portrayed as a near-genius butler who has the solution to every nuance that Bertie's friends come across. I like how the solutions are not a product of worldly genius, but a result of being hyper-informed and interested in the general ongoings of humanity. Also, in several books with genius protagonists, said protagonists are often portrayed as emotionless, ruthless individuals who plainly recite facts and have no human interactions ever. But this book gives a wide berth to that trope by focusing on a kind, compassionate servant-genius who is also emotionally attached to his employer and other relatives mentioned. Quite the lovely change, in my opinion.
The book is in good humour, and I will recommend it to anyone looking for a quiet, satirical laugh.
There's not much you can say while reviewing a P. G. Wodehouse, is there? It is, as usual, humorous, and not in the graphic sense. The words and explanations do the trick. In a heavily contemporary world, it was quite refreshing to come across words like 'rummy' and 'chump'. God knows I lived vicariously through the aristocracy portrayed.
All I can say is, man, I wish I had a life like Bertram Wooster or Reggie Pepper. (Yes, while referring to the protagonist, these two names are pretty much interchangeable. The only difference is, Wooster is the one with the butler, Jeeves, while Pepper is the friend that goes around helping people himself, without having to enlist a butler).
There was a ~spicy~ amount of privilege in the book, perfectly depicted in the last story 'The Aunt and the Sluggard', where Wooster is forced out of his apartment in New York to live in a hotel for a few days, due to certain chain of events. In this process. he loses his butler Jeeves, as Jeeves is forced to stick to the apartment. And that is when he realises, and I quote, "there must be quite a lot of fellows who have to press their own clothes themselves and haven't got anybody to bring them tea in the morning." Quite the unrealised privilege. But I do recognise the underlying satire enforced by the author where, as a reader, I can definitely make a lot of fun about Wooster's astute observation with respect to his privilege, or lack thereof.
This was my first Jeeves book, and I was not disappointed. Jeeves is portrayed as a near-genius butler who has the solution to every nuance that Bertie's friends come across. I like how the solutions are not a product of worldly genius, but a result of being hyper-informed and interested in the general ongoings of humanity. Also, in several books with genius protagonists, said protagonists are often portrayed as emotionless, ruthless individuals who plainly recite facts and have no human interactions ever. But this book gives a wide berth to that trope by focusing on a kind, compassionate servant-genius who is also emotionally attached to his employer and other relatives mentioned. Quite the lovely change, in my opinion.
The book is in good humour, and I will recommend it to anyone looking for a quiet, satirical laugh.