P. G. Wodehouse: Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves

Hi

This is my first Wodehouse. My father has loved his work for years (hence the gift).
It only has 211 pages and this series is very beautifully published.

“A Bertie and Jeeves classic, featuring an Alpine hat, a black amber statuette, and the dreaded Totleigh Towers.
In Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves, Bertie's newt-breeding friend Gussie Fink-Nottle must marry Madeline Bassett or Bertie will be obliged to take his place. Understandably, Bertie is aghast. It seems like certain suicide, but Jeeves must find a way to save his employer from the clutches of the drippy Madeline. If he fails, Bertie's bachelor days -- not to mention Jeeves's leisure time -- will be at an end.”

First of all, and most importantly, I enjoyed this a lot.
 It is a swift read; I just flew through this. It is light-hearted and charming.
The novel reads more like a play; I could see everything happening right before my eyes.
Wooster has a peculiar way of talking about himself but after getting used to this it didn’t feel strange anymore.
He’s so sweet, amiable and just plain stupid. Everything he said or did made me smile.
Not a laugh-out-loud novel, but a smile-the-whole-way-through novel.
AND some language jokes, which I always enjoy (whenever I get them because this is not my mother’s tongue).

The series is not meant as a serious, literary fiction worthy, fully developed series with well rounded characters and logical events. It’s (in my opinion) meant as a sort of ‘poking fun at’, sniggering and almost satirical play.

It would have been better to read them in the order they were published. Events from former novels play a part in this one and I didn’t understand the references and characters have a history I didn’t know of.

I still enjoyed it very much and I will continue the series in the order I buy them (because they’re not that easy to find here).
It was a pleasure reading this.

Happy reading to you too!
Helena