I’ m Gussie and Gussie’s me,
That’s as heart wrenching as can be.
Gussie-Madeline romance on the rocks again,
Horrors of marriage for me during the bargain.
Helping friends and cousins is always up my roster,
I am the most unfortunate Bertram Wilberforce Wooster.
Adaalat, Agatha Christie and a series of ‘waana-be’ mystery books(that were too tedious for me to complete) left me with a suspicion towards almost all the people around me including the meek doodhwala and the mundane paperwala!
I pondered whether it was ripe time to get the funny bone to work. I started off by watching the much acclaimed ‘Tanu weds Manu Returns’ for a dose of humour. It turned out to be a tragic decision and the slight throbbing of the head that started when the first scenes of the movie played(yes, the counselling session of Tanu and Manu) turned into a wretched bounding, nightmarish headache by the time the ending credits rolled. “If not actually disgruntled, I was far from being gruntled” as put in Wodehouse’s words. To stop myself from plunging into depression, I needed some strong dose of humour and I turned to my trusted doctor – P.G. Wodehouse. I realized that although I am a big fan of his, I had not read many of his books.
P.G. Wodehouse: ‘Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century’ says the wiki but his fans know that he is much more than a humourist. There is no wonder that his books needed extensive work of two years before the plot got ready! Many characters, confusion and mayhem are among the main ingredients in the tasty dishes served at the Wodehouse outlet. He was separated at a young age from his parents and that was the reason his books never had any parents playing a strong role. It is always aunts, uncles, friends and cousins!
Plot: Wodehouse’s Jeeves-Wooster series are of similar nature. Wodehouse has the impeccable capability of putting a medley of confusion like ‘A’ loves ‘B’ and ‘B’ loves ‘C’ but ‘C’ loves ‘A’ where the reader has to ponder whether to laugh or weep. After amicably closing with a concoction from Jeeves, the reader comes out the Bertie-Wooster world, too sad that it all ended very soon.
The plot is no different in The Mating Season. Bertie Wooster’s chum Gussie Fink Nottle(whose face is like a fish if not a sheep) is engaged to Madeline Bassett. Suddenly, he gets infatuated with the pretty Miss Corky who is a small time Hollywood actress. Corky is all out to woo the easy prey Gussie for her own selfish motive! She wants Gussie to steal her dog from the police custody. The unfortunate canine bit a police constable and got ‘arrested’. Will Gussie, who has always lived a calm life with his pet newts and orange juice in the country, succeed in confronting a plump constable? Bertie is in deep trouble as Madeline will be all set to marry Bertie if the engagement ever gets broken! Madeline is a poetic and soppy girl whom Bertie hates. This is just one part of the muddle in which Bertie lies in!
Due to unavoidable circumstances, Bertie has to present himself as Gussie in a house of aunts called Deverill Hall! Bertie’s own aunt Agatha is too much to bear and often he finds a striking similarity between her and a stray werewolf capable of breaking glass with teeth. Here is a colony of aunts(Aunt Agatha’s friends) whom Bertie has to impress. This, according to him, is a punishment worse than death! Shockingly, Gussie too lands up in a couple of days at Deverill claiming to be Bertie.
Will all this turn out to be quicksand in which Bertie will drown? Nah, leave the solution to the gentleman’s personal gentleman Jeeves to oust Bertie out of the stickiest problems.
The famous Jeeves-Wooster TV series featuring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry has finely succeeded in tickling the funny bone of the viewer. It is available for watching on youtube under the title ‘Bertie takes Gussie’s place at Deverill Hall’. I have watched it around 20 times but stumbled upon this book recently by sheer accident! It was even more thrilling since I did not know that this is the same book till I started reading it.
Some quotes to bring a smile:
In the days the knights were bold, girls used to hound fellows into going out and fighting dragons. But now times are modern, and dragons are one thing, aunts are another.
Madeline was from topknot to shoe sole, the woman whom God forgot!
Sam Goldwyn(the dog) came bounding in and flung himself on my chest as if we had been a couple of lovers meeting at journey’s end.
Gussie was a bit of an optimist if he expected a tie with a dove grey background to undo nature’s handiwork to the extent of making him look anything but a fish faced gargoyle.
It’s a fun filled book worthy of numerous reads- it would be blasphemy to say anything less!