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rheren's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
gitli57's review against another edition
This is an omnibus edition with three titles. I finished the first novel and will come back for more later.
chungledown_bim's review against another edition
4.0
So wonderfully period English that at times I found the language nearly indecipherable! After years of people telling me I'd love these short stories I finally got around to reading them and quelle surprise- I loved them. Perfectly crafted bite-sized stories that never failed to make me laugh. A bally good read, what.
apatrick's review against another edition
4.0
I have read a couple of short Wodehouse stories, but never any Jeeves before this. I'm so glad I picked it up - it made me a fan. For those who only have a vague idea of what it's all about, Jeeves is the "gentleman's gentleman" (pretty much a valet/butler/manservant for Americans) to Bertram Wooster, a not-too-bright bachelor who lives off his Aunt Agatha, if I understand it correctly. Jeeves has a knack for getting Bertie and his friends out of trouble.
I don't know why this collection was ordered the way it was, because the story of how Bertie meets Jeeves is the last one in this collection. Goodreads describes this omnibus as containing books 3, 2 and 13, in that order, but it's like watching a movie, then seeing a prequel. I guess that's how they were released. Scanning Wikipedia shows me that Wodehouse was quite prolific, and many chapters in this omnibus, though connected, would be pretty good standalone short stories.
Half a century after they were published, and a century after they are set, these stories are still funny. Wodehouse is playful with the language, too. I don't recall another story in which the narrator has such a small vocabulary or is such a dim bulb. Jeeves is the smart one, yet Bertie is notionally in charge, but when things finally shake out, it's usually Jeeves that comes out on top.
I'll be trying to read all the Jeeves stories now, and trying to ignore the few scattered racist details as being the products of their time. That's my only point of discomfort with them. Well, that and the fact that after all this, combined with watching Downton Abbey, I kind of feel like it would be pretty awesome to have household servants.
I don't know why this collection was ordered the way it was, because the story of how Bertie meets Jeeves is the last one in this collection. Goodreads describes this omnibus as containing books 3, 2 and 13, in that order, but it's like watching a movie, then seeing a prequel. I guess that's how they were released. Scanning Wikipedia shows me that Wodehouse was quite prolific, and many chapters in this omnibus, though connected, would be pretty good standalone short stories.
Half a century after they were published, and a century after they are set, these stories are still funny. Wodehouse is playful with the language, too. I don't recall another story in which the narrator has such a small vocabulary or is such a dim bulb. Jeeves is the smart one, yet Bertie is notionally in charge, but when things finally shake out, it's usually Jeeves that comes out on top.
I'll be trying to read all the Jeeves stories now, and trying to ignore the few scattered racist details as being the products of their time. That's my only point of discomfort with them. Well, that and the fact that after all this, combined with watching Downton Abbey, I kind of feel like it would be pretty awesome to have household servants.
lushbug's review against another edition
4.0
Cant believe i'm thirty and only just discovering P. G. Wodehouse. I downloaded these for free on my phone via the Aldiko app and have devoured the collection of about 6 humerous short stories in less than two days.
The stories follow Reggie Wooster an upper class toff with too much money and too few brain cells and his extremely intelligent Valet/ Butler Jeeves. Most stories revolve around Wooster and his fellow clueless chums getting into farcical scrapes and Jeeves devising clever solutions to these.
I just love how sugar coated these books are. Noone has any real problems or troubles and life is one long adventure in 1920s London and New York. Pure escapism and a very easy read.
PG Wodehouse quote i like
'Flowers are happy things'
The stories follow Reggie Wooster an upper class toff with too much money and too few brain cells and his extremely intelligent Valet/ Butler Jeeves. Most stories revolve around Wooster and his fellow clueless chums getting into farcical scrapes and Jeeves devising clever solutions to these.
I just love how sugar coated these books are. Noone has any real problems or troubles and life is one long adventure in 1920s London and New York. Pure escapism and a very easy read.
PG Wodehouse quote i like
'Flowers are happy things'
erin_boyington's review
5.0
There is no one quite like Jeeves and his empty-headed but amiable employer, Bertie Wooster. Wooster is a hilariously non-self-aware narrator who is full of fantastic turns of phrase and the master of the apt description, but utterly reliant on Jeeves' superior brainpower to get himself and his assortment of hapless friends out of mildly uncomfortable jams. (This is a series that is wonderful to listen to as an audiobook.)
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