BooksOfTheMoon

As fond as I am of Wodehouse, I’ve managed to never encounter Psmith (the P is silent) before. However, he’s quickly introduced as a dapper young man, in need of employment (anything but fish) but with impeccable dress sense and a can-do attitude. It’s the usual Wodehouse froth, but with an extra layer of action on top. Involving a “borrowed” umbrella, impersonating poets, diamond necklaces and even a pair of crooks, Psmith gets stuck right into the middle of things, all while trying to avoid the watchful eye of the Efficient Baxter.

Wodehouse characters are charming caricatures. This book doesn’t change that at all, but it doesn’t need to. I already know and love the inhabitants of Blandings (yes, even Rupert Baxter) and Psmith fits right in, as he tries to woo the library cataloguer whilst trying to bring a happy ending for his old pal Jackson (with a little light theft thrown in for good measure).

As always, there are double-crossings, misunderstandings and improbably complex plots, all with lashings of Wodehouse’s trademark whimsy and humour. I know what I want from a Wodehouse book, and they invariably deliver. I’d happily leave my problems to Psmith.

It’s always a pleasure to spend more time at Blandings Castle, with its, er, eccentric inhabitants and hangers on. This time round, the Empress of Blandings has been kidpignapped and the Earl of Emsworth is distraught. Meanwhile, his brother is writing his memoirs which will upset the gentry in a dozen counties and there are not one but two pairs of star-crossed lovers whose relationships need straightened out. Add to this the return of the Efficient Baxter and even the imperturbable Beach being perturbed and you’ve got a perfect storm.

While I had some trouble getting into this book, that’s more to do with circumstance than the book itself (I wasn’t in the best frame of mind, and I’d hoped a bit of Wodehouse would help. In the event, it probably wasn’t the best choice). Once I put it down for a bit and came back to it, the old Wodehouse magic worked its charm and I was hooked again. I love the outrageous characters, the Mild Peril™ and, of course, the happy endings. Huge amounts of fun, as always.

To try and explain the plot of this book would make it sound complicated and unfunny, neither of which is really true, but I couldn’t do it justice. Let’s just say that it has one or more of the following elements: the peerage, the suburbs, fiancés, love at first sight, formidable aunts, an old copper mine and a dyspeptic millionaire.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s got a different tone to the Jeeves books, but it really came together for me. The protagonists, Lord “Biscuit” Biskerton and John Beresford “Berry” Conway are very likeable and even (gasp) competent, if in that slightly potty upper-class way that Wodehouse could capture so well. There are fiancés by the handful (and Wodehouse’s fiancés usually are a handful), misunderstandings, plots, crosses, double crosses, and much fun to be had by all.

Wodehouse’s batting average is still incredibly high with me and whilst I may just be easily pleased, it’s funny, light of touch and marvellously easy to read. Both a great entry point to the world of Wodehouse and a fine addition to the collection of an existing fan.

I was slightly disappointed by the last Jeeves book, Ring for Jeeves, and I’m glad to say that with this one, Wodehouse is back on form. Although it’s still post-war and there are rumblings of social change, this time they’re just on the edge of the story and sort of fit better into Uncle Tom’s mouth (the long-suffering husband of the marvellous Aunt Dahlia).

This time round, ‘Stilton’ Cheesewright finds himself unable to beat Bertie to a pulp, as he’s drawn him in the annual Drones darts tournament, for which Bertie is a shoe-in. As usual, there are fiancées involved, while someone’s trying to poach the wonder-chef Anatole from Aunt Dahlia and there’s trouble in the household as Bertie grows a moustache, much to Jeeves’ disapproval.

This is an incredibly fun story that had me laughing out loud quite frequently. If you’re a fan, you’ll lap this one up, if not, you’ll enjoy it, although I’d probably start with one of the earlier ones as there are references to earlier escapades that Bertie found himself in.