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A review by apatrick
The Jeeves Omnibus by P.G. Wodehouse
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.