"Right Ho, Jeeves" by PG Wodehouse -- Our Review

Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When a novel causes me to laugh out loud, I am a happy reader. When I am rereading a novel and yet again laugh out loud, that is a rare blessing. "Right Ho, Jeeves" by PG Wodehouse is a laugh-out-loud novel; there is no doubt. To my funny bone, this is one of the best in the Jeeves and Wooster series. It is the second full-length Jeeves and Wooster, although in modern editions it is billed as Jeeves #6. This is due to collections of Jeeves short stories that have been squashed into other editions. "Right Ho, Jeeves" was published in full-length novel form in 1934.

For this tale, Wodehouse assembles a tip-top assortment of goofy characters. There is the brainy Jeeves, of course, and his not-so-bright gentleman Bertie Wooster. The novel introduces the new characters of Gussie Fink-Nottle, the newt fancier, and Madeline Bassett. We also become acquainted with Bertie's friend Tuppy Glossop, and cousin Angela Travers. The action centers around Brinkley Court, a magnificent old English Manor that is home to the formidable Aunt Dahlia. Rounding out the cast is Dahlia's French chef, the renowned Anatole.

Bertie Wooster, our bumbling hero, descends on Brinkley Manor like a bomb-load of buffoonery. He is miffed at Jeeves and decides he, Bertie, can by himself sort out the many problems cropping up amongst the denizens of Brinkley. Eschewing the help of Jeeves' mighty, fish-powered brain, Bertie proceeds to muck everything up to a degree that is quite complicated and hilarious. Jeeves, of course, saves it all in the end.

In between the mucking up and salvation by Jeeves, there is a rollicking good show of silliness and misunderstanding. There are broken engagements, engagements to the wrong people, and a drunken newt-fancier lambasting a headmaster. Say no more, for we tread into the realm of plot spoiler. It is a romp, that is what it is. If a reader fails to laugh out loud at some point during the reading of this novel, they should perhaps seek the opinion of a medical professional as to whether they are still amongst the living.

On a more general note, there are unlooked for benefits to reading PG Wodehouse's novels. One may notice a change in ones speech pattern. A reader may find him or herself exclaiming "What Ho!" or "I say!" One may find oneself writing text messages using full sentences complete with proper punctuation. Or one may simple find oneself saying "One" with annoying frequency.

There is simply no down-side to this lovely and funny novel. If a reader needs to settle in, take a break, and let the world spin on its own for a bit, this is just the thing. Or, better yet, read this novel on the bus or train you take for your morning commute. When someone laughs aloud on a public conveyance, it makes the other riders nervous. The clever reader can laugh away in public, knowing that they have the good and those other poor blokes do not.

Until next time, happy reading!

View all my reviews

Thanks for reading my blog post. I hope you enjoyed it. If you liked what you read here, how about  a free short story? My short fiction piece "The Busker" has been featured at Literally Stories"
You can check it out here:


Literally Stories: "The Busker" by Marco Etheridge


Or perhaps one of my novels? All of the information is at my website:

Marco Etheridge Fiction


You can check out books, blog posts, book reviews, or even get a free book. Just look for the big button that says "FREE BOOK." It's kind of hard to miss. Happy reading!!

 
 
 
 
 

"Piccadilly Jim" -- Yet More from PG Wodehouse

Piccadilly Jim by P.G. Wodehouse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Piccadilly Jim" is a complete romp of a novel. This PG Wodehouse story, like many of his works, appeared as a serial in the Saturday Evening Post before being published as a novel (USA edition) in 1917. "Piccadilly Jim" was published in England in 1918.

It is my belief that Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse--PG Wodehouse, 'Plum' to family and friends--had a thoroughly smashing good time concocting this tale. "Piccadilly Jim" is a mashup of all his favorite themes. The novel is set in both New York and London; two cities he loved. It is peppered throughout with the denizens he collected in his happy travels. There are butlers, of course, both real and impersonated. There are Americans in London, and Englishmen on the wrong side of The Pond. Obnoxious children worth a good drowning vie for attention with young women who are headstrong and beautiful. Fierce matrons storm about in an attempt to restore order, while New York toughs lurk in the background. The thing is a romp, an absolute romp.

For this story, PG Wodehouse took a page or two from Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde. There are dual-identity gags, imposter gags, and assorted disguised persons gags. The hero of the story, Jimmy Crocker, is mad for the Head-strong Modern Girl (HMG), of course. Unfortunately, he 'done her wrong' when she was a young woman, writing a stinging review of her first published poems. The two meet in London, naturally, and without recognizing or remembering each other. During the 'Getting to know you chat,' our HMG spits out the name of Jimmy Crocker as if a vile insect had left a bad taste in her mouth. Our man Jim, already on the lam from a dust-up in a London club, takes the hint and pinches the name of his family butler. This first false identity sets the stage for many more.

Laughs come at the expense of both sides of The Pond. Our dear American Cousins suffer terribly under the weirdness of cricket. Jimmy Crocker's father, a rich American in London, hates cricket. All he wants is a seat at a baseball game, without any more talk of Peerages or London Society. The poor man will do anything to get away, absolutely anything. Stage set, and off we go: People who aren't who they seem, obnoxious kids to kidnap, secret formulas that may blow up New York, and a new love to be saved.

Unlike many of PG Wodehouse's other novels, "Piccadilly Jim" is actually a complete novel. Some of Wodehouse's books are collections of short stories that seem to work towards some end. They are delightful stories, but not necessarily novels. This is also a stand-alone novel. The obnoxious kid Ogden, and his overbearing mother Nesta, are the only reappearing characters.

"Piccadilly Jim" is one of my favorite Wodehouse novels. The plot is completely over-the-top, and yet so well-crafted that it is a joy to read. The characters are all great fun, comeuppances are doled out as needed, and there are laughs aplenty. It all gets wrapped up with a big, tidy bow. If a Jeeves and Wooster fan were to ask for a starting point for Wodehouse's many other works, this is most likely where I would point them. Until next time, happy reading!


View all my reviews

Thanks for reading my blog post. I hope you enjoyed it. If you liked what you read here, how about  a free short story? My short fiction piece "The Busker" has been featured at Literally Stories"
You can check it out here:


Literally Stories: "The Busker" by Marco Etheridge


Or perhaps one of my novels? All of the information is at my website:

Marco Etheridge Fiction


You can check out books, blog posts, book reviews, or even get a free book. Just look for the big button that says "FREE BOOK." It's kind of hard to miss. Happy reading!!

 
 
 
 


 

"Very Good, Jeeves!" -- More from PG Wodehouse

Very Good, Jeeves! by P.G. Wodehouse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

And here we are, continuing our reviews of PG Wodehouse's wonderful menagerie of characters. Bertie Wooster and R. Jeeves are one of the most beloved duos in English Literature. This is certainly true for me, at the very least. This volume is generally considered Jeeves #4. It was first published in the USA in 1930, containing eleven previously published short stories. The stories form a very loose novel, it one desires that coherence. Otherwise, they can be read as individual short stories.

Naturally, "Very Good, Jeeves!" features the genius valet Jeeves and his hapless gentleman employer, Bertie Wooster. The reader gets a great blast of the supporting characters, the reappearing players that spice up the soup. There is fierce Aunt Agatha, the bane of Bertie's existence. Aunt Dahlia is there as well, she of the sporting voice and straight talk. Bertie Wooster is not without friends. His old chums are here, Tuppy Glossop and Bingo Little, as well as a few girls to make the confirmed bachelor nervous. Bobbie Wickham, the dangerous redhead and one-time Wooster bride-to-be, gets Bertie into some jams that are a bit thick, what.

PG Wodehouse can still make me laugh out loud, even after multiple readings. A sentence or phrase will catch me just right and before one can say 'Piffle!" I am chucking away like a kettle on the boil. The man is just funny, and he is funny in devious ways. He can be dishing out what is essentially slapstick, while using a subjunctive clause as the ladle. It is a very difficult thing to transform a subjunctive clause into a humorous device. Just go on and try it once. You see, not such an easy feat.

There is a formula to many of the Jeeves stories, but it is such a delicious formula that I don't mind it at all. The basic framework involves a conversational introduction from Bertie. Something like: 'Have I ever had the opportunity to relate to you the odd story of...' and then we are off to the races. Bertie Wooster, the idler, the wastrel, will dive into the story. Usually there will be some small contretemps with Jeeves over a poorly chosen item of clothing. Jeeves, ever a stickler for proper appearances, will object to Bertie's acquisition of purple socks. A battle of wills will ensue, a battle for which Bertie is unarmed. Meanwhile, a hapless friend will need rescuing, or a fierce aunt will require avoiding. Jeeves, with his giant fish-fueled brain, will extract the bungling Bertram from the soup. In gratitude for his salvation at Jeeves' masterful hand, Bertie will yield up the offending item and peaceful will be the quiet bachelor flat.

PG Wodehouse was a stickler for plot lines. He often called the plot line the hardest part of writing. Before writing a story, Wodehouse had to know that the plot was airtight. First, he would write a bare-bones outline of a plot. If the thing agreed with him, if it looked like a 'Go-er,' he would flesh out the outline with a full plot treatment. In a novel, this might run to twenty or thirty thousand words. Satisfied that there were no plot holes, he would then write the actual story or novel, adding dialogue and setting. The result of this are stories with very complex twists and turns, yet without the sense of being overly contrived. Very often I will know where Wodehouse is going to go, but I will be damn'd if I know how he is going to get there.

The Jeeves and Wooster stories are still very high on my list of 'Escapist Refuge Reading.' When I need to let the world spin on its own, or calm my own mental meanderings, PG Wodehouse is one of the places I turn to as a safe haven. I should warn the reader: these stories can be addictive. Almost ninety years old, and these stories may still cause a new reader to laugh aloud. And that, my Dearly Beloved, is a very, very precious thing. Happy reading until next time!

View all my reviews

Thanks for reading my blog post. I hope you enjoyed it. If you liked what you read here, how about  a free short story? My short fiction piece "The Busker" has been featured at Literally Stories"
You can check it out here:


Literally Stories: "The Busker" by Marco Etheridge


Or perhaps one of my novels? All of the information is at my website:

Marco Etheridge Fiction


You can check out books, blog posts, book reviews, or even get a free book. Just look for the big button that says "FREE BOOK." It's kind of hard to miss. Happy reading!!

 
 
 
 

"Mike and Psmith" -- More from PG Wodehouse

Mike and Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

PG Wodehouse was one of the most famous authors of humorous novels during the Twentieth Century. He was also one of the most prolific. During the early part of his writing career, he was know for his Public School stories; tales based on his own experiences at the preparatory schools of England


PG Wodehouse introduced the characters Mike and Psmith to the world ten years before the appearance of the more famous characters Jeeves and Wooster. "Mike and Psmith" is the first appearance for the tall and stylish Psmith, and the second for the cricket-playing ace Mike. The novel was published in 1909, a scant 110 years ago.

Mike is the good-hearted sportsman, simple and straightforward. Psmith is wise beyond his years, fearless, and the devil's own trouble maker when it comes to authorities. The young duo are set against school bullies, nasty headmasters, and conflicted loyalties. The plot seems relatively simple, right up until the point where the reader realizes that it is not simple at all. Which brings us to the 'Wodehouse Method.'

PG Wodehouse had an interesting way of writing. When asked about the nuts and bolts of writing, he claimed that the devil was in the plot. When crafting a novel, he would first write a short plot outline. The second step in his method was a bare-bones novel, without dialogue or descriptions. These would typically run from twenty to thirty thousand words. This 'pilot' novel might take a year or more to complete. Once he was satisfied as to the lack of plot holes and whatnot, he would dash the thing off in short order. He often had three of four of these 'pilot' novels going simultaneously.

I feel I must add a caution at this point: There is a great deal of cricket in these novels. Readers from the Left Side of the Pond (The USA) may struggle a bit. Read on, read on, it is only a game. One will pick up some great cricket slang which may come in handy at a party or gathering. It is well to keep in mind that, even to this day, there are lands where cricket is closer to a religion than a sport. Try to do any sort of actual business in India or Pakistan when the national teams are playing and you will quickly find out the truth of it.

I wanted to broaden my horizons with regard to PG Wodehouse's work and this novel did not disappoint. I admit that I could not stick it with "Mike," simply because it was almost entirely devoted to cricket. Wodehouse himself mentions that in the preface to this volume. I have rollicked on with the second volume of Psmith, and I find them as engrossing and entertaining as the Jeeves and Wooster series. If a reader is interested in some of the other members of the Wodehouse menagerie, this is a very good place to start.

Brew up a nice pot of tea, settle in, and enjoy a well-crafted bit of time travel courtesy of this lovely novel. I am willing to bet most readers will be tempted to venture on into the next volume. Tally-ho!


View all my reviews

Thanks for reading my blog post. I hope you enjoyed it. If you liked what you read here, how about  a free short story? My short fiction piece "The Busker" has been featured at Literally Stories"
You can check it out here:


Literally Stories: "The Busker" by Marco Etheridge


Or perhaps one of my novels? All of the information is at my website:

Marco Etheridge Fiction


You can check out books, blog posts, book reviews, or even get a free book. Just look for the big button that says "FREE BOOK." It's kind of hard to miss. Happy reading!!

 
 
 

Book Review: "Look Who's Back" by Timur Vermes

Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Look Who's Back" is the English language version of the German novel "Er Ist Wieder Da." The novel was written by Timur Vermes and published in 2012 by Eichborn Verlag. Before we go any further, I need to compliment the Author for having the utter audacity to conceive of this story. Having said that, be prepared to be offended. Some folks are going to be outraged. Others are going to be laughing out loud. This is wicked satire that is quite likely to press (mash!) a few buttons for the reader.

The novel opens in modern-day Berlin. Adolph Hitler is waking up in a vacant lot. Yes, der Führer is not dead. He has been taking a very, very long Rumpelstiltskin nap, a sixty-seven year nap. Waking up is bad enough, but the headache is worse. Shooting yourself in the head with a 7.65mm pistol will do that. Hitler staggers to a kiosk run by a foreigner, an 'Auslander' in Deutsch, and the satire begins.

The satirical elements of the novel really get going when this 'new' Hitler is discovered by some media folks. I am getting close to spoiler land here, so I will not go into details. Let us just say that through a series of hysterical misunderstandings, Hitler ends up on national television in modern Germany. The Führer begins to ride a wave of populism, becoming a star on You-Tube, discovering the power of social media. The tide of fans, the hipsters and pundits, believe that this new star is a method actor that never breaks character, or some kind of avant-garde comedian. Of course, he is not. He is still Adolph Hitler, the murderous Nazi bastard.

Satire is dangerous to write and difficult to pull off. I believe Timur Vermes does a good job of both. The novel is not without a few stumbles, but I accept that in a satirical work. Even Jonathan Swift tripped up here and there. The nature of satire is to push the limits of the believable, while holding up society and its members to the bright light of mockery. It is, of necessity, an act of fine balance. One group will laugh while another is lampooned, then howl in horror as they find themselves on the hook. So it goes with "Look Who's Back." It is, for example, easy to laugh when the author targets the nutter right-wing extremists. But when the satirical spotlight shines hot and bright on the politically-correct members of the left, some folks might find themselves squirming in their seats.

There are some dangers in this satire. Adolph Hitler was a monster who was responsible for the murders of millions of innocent people. Some reviewers would say that any portrayal of him as a human being is a dangerous thing. But the truth is that as evil as Hitler was--and he was a monster--he was also a human being, whether we like it or not. Hitler was not a good human being, but he was flesh and blood. He ate and slept, teased Eva Braun and played with his dog; weirdly normal stuff when he wasn't orchestrating death and destruction.

I think it is important to remember that human beings are capable of great evil. One twisted, charismatic human being, placed just at the right moment in history, can do immense damage and cause insufferable harm. Seemingly cartoonish buffoons can, and have, risen to power on the wave of populism. In "Look Who's Back" the Author uses the spectre of a new Hitler harnessing the power of social media to build a new populist movement. Before anyone shouts out that this is completely unbelievable, I would ask them have a good, long look at tonight's television news.

This book is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. The novel contains a lot of grist for the mill, enough to grind folks on both ends of the political spectrum, with plenty left over for the centrists. While it is busy offending folks, however, the book is also very funny. Shockingly funny, cringingly funny, and I-can't-believe-I'm-laughing-at-this-horrible-stuff funny. The Author shoots wide of the mark from time to time, but I think it is worth it for the hits that he scores.

I recommend "Look Who's Back" with the caveats listed above. Yes, you will probably be offended by some portion of this story. I was offended when I found my own beliefs squarely in the Author's sights. And that's okay, because it was funny and I need my beliefs challenged.



View all my reviews

Thanks for reading my blog post. I hope you enjoyed it. If you liked what you read here, how about  a free short story? My short fiction piece "The Busker" has been featured at Literally Stories"
You can check it out here:


Literally Stories: "The Busker" by Marco Etheridge


Or perhaps one of my novels? All of the information is at my website:

Marco Etheridge Fiction


You can check out books, blog posts, book reviews, or even get a free book. Just look for the big button that says "FREE BOOK." It's kind of hard to miss. Happy reading!!

 
 

Book Review: "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis

It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"It Can't Happen Here" is a semi-satirical novel by Sinclair Lewis. It was published in 1935, during the era when the Nazis were rising to power in Germany. Even though this novel is 83 years old, it has been on my mind of late. Lewis wrote this novel fourteen years before George Orwell's novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four." Like Orwell's seminal dystopian nightmare, Sinclair's novel has turned out to be far to prescient for comfort.

"It Can't Happen Here" is a deceptively simple novel; a story told in a straight-forward narrative. A dictator takes over the United States. We see the first rumblings, the rise of a populist politician, the muzzling of the free press. This dictator does not take over the country by force. He is elected by the people. The reader begins to see the first inklings of something that is very, very wrong.

Let us set aside Lewis' almost clairvoyant view into the chaos of modern politics. We can return to that in a moment. Taken on its own, "It Can't Happen Here" is an powerful narrative full of large characters and dark deeds. There are heroes, villains, more villains, and those caught in between. The backdrop for most of the story is a quaint New England town, which makes the darkness of the story all the darker. Removed from the context of the present day, this is a novel of difficult choices in the face of great evil.

But now we return to the Author's strangely accurate view into his future; our present. A moderate rewrite and revision would render this novel into a modern political novel. It would, I believe, be greeted with angry tweet-storms by some of the folks in power today. I will leave the rest of the political analysis to others. This is, after all, a book review.

As a reader, I found "It Can't Happen Here" to be two books. There is a fine novel of human beings struggling against repression, a classic tale of Man vs. Society. The second book is the eerie and sometimes frightening look into a future that is my present; a future that does not look so improbable, a present that does not look so bright. Maybe Sinclair Lewis had a time machine. I suppose he could have borrowed one from H. G. Wells. Or maybe the Author had a highly developed sense of the pitfalls of modern human society. I do not know the answer to that, but reading this novel is a weird experience. It is also an experience that I highly recommend, particularly to readers who enjoy political novels, stories of societal struggles, or students of modern politics.

View all my reviews

Thanks for reading my blog post. I hope you enjoyed it. If you liked what you read here, how about  a free short story? My short fiction piece "The Busker" has been featured at Literally Stories"
You can check it out here:

Literally Stories: "The Busker" by Marco Etheridge


Or perhaps one of my novels? All of the information is at my website:

Marco Etheridge Fiction


You can check out books, blog posts, book reviews, or even get a free book. Just look for the big button that says "FREE BOOK." It's kind of hard to miss. Happy reading!!

 

Book Review: "A Book of Migrations" by Rebecca Solnit

A Book of Migrations: Some Passages in Ireland by Rebecca Solnit
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Rebecca Solnit's "A Book of Migrations" is a collection of essays that loosely trace her travels in Western Ireland. This collection was originally published in 1998, by Verso. It was released in a new edition in 2011. I was gifted this book by my good friend James Gilmore, photographer extraordinaire and conflicted Irishman. You can check out his extraordinary work here:

http://www.jamesgilmore.net/

There are seventeen essays in this book, the sum total of which do not in any way make up a travel book. This is not a guide to wandering the Emerald Isle, nor is it meant to be. The tagline on my edition is from the New York Times: "A brilliant meditation on travel." Perhaps. It is true that the essays are brilliant; written in a prose that dances very close to poetry. But a meditation on travel? No, I think this is a tagline, like any other; meant to lure the undecided reader. Perhaps a more truthful tagline would read: "A brilliant rumination on what it means to be a traveler."

I use the word rumination with clear purpose. I found myself chewing on each of Ms. Solnit's essays. Days after I had finished one, I would still be pleasantly digesting the contents. These essays deal with very large issues, each somehow scaled down to human size. Invasion, colonization, emigration, integral parts of understanding Ireland, and all mulled over whilst walking a wet Irish roadway.

The Author deftly explores what it is to be sedentary, attached to the smallest imaginable plot of land. She contrasts this with the life of the nomad, of the traveler. What does it mean to be a traveler? What does it mean to be a tourist? Ms. Solnit delves into the notion that by the mere act of arrival, travelers change the place where they set their feet. This is an ongoing conversation amongst travelers that I know; a conversation that I have long participated in. I appreciated Ms. Solnit's thoughts and insights.

This is a book about Ireland, surely, although most certainly not a detailed itinerary of travel. The essays are a series of microcosms. The reader will be rewarded with glimmering sketches of the land; rock walls in the rain, turf springing underfoot. Behind these glimpses of wet stone and green grass are the bedrock of Ireland: History, literature, language, and story. This book deals with the idea of place, the experience of belonging or not belonging. Theses essays are a slow pause to think about place itself, rather than any one specific location.

Progressing through the essays, one finds the subtle links, the threads of themes running beneath the surface of the preceding essay, or perhaps the one before that. The reader should be prepared for the journey, complete with at least a passing knowledge of the history, culture, and literature of Ireland. Or, plunge right in and keep Google Search close at hand. I say this more as a preparatory caution. The Author weaves the cloth of her essays with references to Swift and Joyce, Cromwell and Parnell. There is much here to chew on, to ruminate.

I highly recommend this book, though with the cautions stated above. This is not a light read, nor a quick blog entry to be skimmed over coffee. Ms. Solnit writes heady, poetic prose; prose that is rife with ideas, insights, and questions. It is very much worth the time invested, and pays dividends long after the last essay is completed.

View all my reviews

Thanks for reading my blog post. I hope you enjoyed it. If you liked what you read here, how about  a free short story? My short fiction piece "The Busker" has been featured at Literally Stories"
You can check it out here:

Literally Stories: "The Busker" by Marco Etheridge


Or perhaps one of my novels? All of the information is at my website:

Marco Etheridge Fiction


You can check out books, blog posts, book reviews, or even get a free book. Just look for the big button that says "FREE BOOK." It's kind of hard to miss. Happy reading!!