I do not know how to begin a review on one my all time favorite books. A short or a detailed review will actually not do justice to this wonderful piece of literature. You enter the Wodehousian world of English aristocracy where nothing bad happens. Probably the worst that can happen is that some trouser seats may split and some damoclean swords may hang. In Wodehouse’s idyllic world there is always some trace of kindred souls, ethereal romance, sublime humour and a plot that disentangles as fast it gets entangled.
I will try and keep the plot as short as possible: Bertie is invited by Aunt Travers to distirbute prizes in Snodsbury school. Bertie passes on this task to Gussie in the hope that Gussie will hit it off with Madeline Bassett who is in Brinkley manor. Tuppy Glossop has a tiff with Angela in Brinkley and that causes Angela to get engaged to Gussie. Gussie makes an inebriated speech in Market Snosbury school which forces Madeline Basseett to call off their engagement and get engaged to Bertram Wooster. Aunt Travers has problems galore - Anatole threatens to quit, Milady boudoir is suffering, she has her home full of kindred souls - how she comes out of this mess and how Jeeves bails out his master, forms the story of this book. I know that this is not an apt summary of the plot, but to try and summarise a Wodehousian plot is to try and catch water with bare hands. The more you try summarizing a plot, the more you feel that the plot is slipping away.
The speech that Gussie delivers in Market Snodsbury is believed to be one of the longest sustained pieces of comedy. Wodehouse is often credited with being able to get away with his comic timing despite having one of his poor characters caught in a wrong place. But Wodehouse is a master narrator and the sublime humour with its brilliant prose and execution just makes you want to read his works again and again. The best part of Wodehouse is that you never tire of his works. Everytime you pick it up, you feel the plot retains its freshness and charm. To tire of Wodehouse is to tire of life - this is an oft quoted saying and die hard Wodehouse fans will simply agree with this statement.
The circs leading to Gussie’s inebriated speech shows how wonderful the effect of alcohol, is, on Man’s senses. I dunno if water intoxicates alcohol or the other way around - but the decanter full of alcohol laced in Gussie’s orange juice and the drama that ensues has you in splits - if I were to have heard Gussie speak thus, I would have been found rolling helplessly on the floor with split sides and a severe attack of laughter. So beautiful and so spontaneous is the narrative that you just get carried away by the beauty of the prose and the elegant style of writing.
I can go on and on about Wodehouse, his great works, his humour etc etc. But I face a challenge - the longer I write, the lesser the people like - this is not an exam where I need to write pages and pages to score marks. But keep it too short and I am most likely to invite the wrath of the purists who expect solid information in the reviews written here. So I try to strike a balance and keep it crisp and to the point. For people who have not read Wodehouse - you are missing a lot! For Wodehouse fans - is there anything better than Wodehouse? On a rainy day when the rain just pours down, the day looks gloomy, the rain seems incessant - give me a good comfy chair near the window, a steaming cup of coffee and a WODEHOUSE. Nothing can be more idyllic than this.
I have read this’RIGHT HO, JEEVES’ a 100+ times and have never got bored of this. My favorites remain’Lord Emsworth acts for the best’ his shooting tirades against the spectacled Baxter’s trouser seats is fantastic - the ending lines are beautiful and wax eloquent of awe, sentiment and a character. I can quote Wodehouse any no of times - but to me he is the original and all his quotes are but hollow attempts of admiration in trying to imitate the master.
Long live the works of PG Wodehouse!
May the laugh riots last forever!
Tinkerty tonk!
pip-pip! Toodle -oo!
P.S: Wodehouse’s works are a class apart and are the pinnacle in humour. Very rarely does Wodehouse demean some real life character though there are various references.But with Wodehouse you are assured of a laugh riot. So be prepared to clutch your sides and roar with laughter as the magic unfolds. You will only wish to see yourself in this wonderful world that he created - Emsworth Arms, Blandings castle, the moor, the battlements, a portly butler, Sir Galahad, . Get set - laugh!