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A review by aquamare7
The Girl on the Boat by P.G. Wodehouse
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was the first book by P.G. Wodehouse that I’ve read which didn’t feature the titular characters, Jeeves and Wooster. I quite enjoyed it. I could see Jeeves in the character of the butler, Webster, and Wooster in the main character, Sam; it makes me wonder if Wodehouse pours a bit of his most famous characters into all his other books not featuring them.
My favourite chapter by far was 12, where one of the climaxes of the book happens and it’s just absolutely hilarious to me. The whole book had me laughing out loud, which is rare for me while reading, but chapter 12 was especially hysterical.
Yes, obviously the book is very outdated. What do you expect with something written over 100 years ago. You have to read it like almost anything written twenty years past the present, through the lense of that time. That’s my rule in order to still enjoy books of old and not go mad.
There’s actually quite a lot of it that’s ahead of its time. For instance, one of the secondary characters, Jane, being an extremely headstrong, independent woman who knows how to handle a gun. Obviously looking at the book through today’s lenses, we can see she’s clearly lesbian-coded, but again, this was over 100 years ago, so she unfortunately ends up with a man. But still, the fact that this very butch woman commands many of the male characters around and they let her, in the 1920s, is quite astounding.
I would have liked the ending to have been wrapped up a bit neater, or for there to be a sequel, because it seems by the end even though there is an ending, the character’s stories just don’t seem quite done.
~SPOILERS~
It seemed to me, a mix of character and plot driven. The characters don’t evolve much, if at all, from the beginning to the end. The main male character doesn’t learn any lessons at all and is actually rewarded for his assery 😂. Only one character really makes a change for the better by the end, Eustace, who finally starts learning to stand up to his overbearing mother, of course with the help of Jane, but still, at least he started the steps.
The characters aren’t exactly “lovable”. They all have extreme flaws that, as I said, none of them really learn from or change at the end. But because this is a comedy, not a drama, they were still fun to read about. So, while not “lovable”, the characters are very enjoyable.
The cast isn’t diverse; all the characters, save the butler, are from upper-class backgrounds. And all of them are white. Also, although two of the characters are supposed to be from America, the way their dialogue is written is still very British. I’m not sure if Wodehouse was very familiar with the difference in English and American vernacular, or if perhaps in the 20s, we still used much of the same colloquialisms, but eventually I just gave up trying to remember they were American and my inner dialogue proceeded to hear them as British. 😂
And lastly, as I said, the characters never really correct their flaws in the end. I suppose the main female character, Billie, was made to by agreeing to marry Sam and stop falling in love with everyone she sees. But with her tract record, we have to question if she’s really happy with this decision and if she were allowed to divorce easily back then would she? Yes. Probably, most definitely, yes. 😅
All in all though, would recommend to fans of classics, comedy, lightheartedness, and literature history. If you’ve ever watched and love the show, “The Love Boat”, this book presents very much like an episode of that classic.
One of my favourite quotes from it: “Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal.” Chp 8 pg 139(ish. As it’s an ebook version lol).
My favourite chapter by far was 12, where one of the climaxes of the book happens and it’s just absolutely hilarious to me. The whole book had me laughing out loud, which is rare for me while reading, but chapter 12 was especially hysterical.
Yes, obviously the book is very outdated. What do you expect with something written over 100 years ago. You have to read it like almost anything written twenty years past the present, through the lense of that time. That’s my rule in order to still enjoy books of old and not go mad.
There’s actually quite a lot of it that’s ahead of its time. For instance, one of the secondary characters, Jane, being an extremely headstrong, independent woman who knows how to handle a gun. Obviously looking at the book through today’s lenses, we can see she’s clearly lesbian-coded, but again, this was over 100 years ago, so she unfortunately ends up with a man. But still, the fact that this very butch woman commands many of the male characters around and they let her, in the 1920s, is quite astounding.
I would have liked the ending to have been wrapped up a bit neater, or for there to be a sequel, because it seems by the end even though there is an ending, the character’s stories just don’t seem quite done.
~SPOILERS~
It seemed to me, a mix of character and plot driven. The characters don’t evolve much, if at all, from the beginning to the end. The main male character doesn’t learn any lessons at all and is actually rewarded for his assery 😂. Only one character really makes a change for the better by the end, Eustace, who finally starts learning to stand up to his overbearing mother, of course with the help of Jane, but still, at least he started the steps.
The characters aren’t exactly “lovable”. They all have extreme flaws that, as I said, none of them really learn from or change at the end. But because this is a comedy, not a drama, they were still fun to read about. So, while not “lovable”, the characters are very enjoyable.
The cast isn’t diverse; all the characters, save the butler, are from upper-class backgrounds. And all of them are white. Also, although two of the characters are supposed to be from America, the way their dialogue is written is still very British. I’m not sure if Wodehouse was very familiar with the difference in English and American vernacular, or if perhaps in the 20s, we still used much of the same colloquialisms, but eventually I just gave up trying to remember they were American and my inner dialogue proceeded to hear them as British. 😂
And lastly, as I said, the characters never really correct their flaws in the end. I suppose the main female character, Billie, was made to by agreeing to marry Sam and stop falling in love with everyone she sees. But with her tract record, we have to question if she’s really happy with this decision and if she were allowed to divorce easily back then would she? Yes. Probably, most definitely, yes. 😅
All in all though, would recommend to fans of classics, comedy, lightheartedness, and literature history. If you’ve ever watched and love the show, “The Love Boat”, this book presents very much like an episode of that classic.
One of my favourite quotes from it: “Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal.” Chp 8 pg 139(ish. As it’s an ebook version lol).