Thank You, Jeeves (1934)

Feb. 2021 reread via unabridged digital audiobook from Audible Plus lending library

So funny! I had forgotten some of the details so I'm glad that I found this audiobook in Audible's Plus catalog. Jonathan Cecil is such a marvellous narrator who really enhances the humor of the book. ( )

The first of the eleven Jeeves and Wooster novels, Thank You, Jeeves bolts out of the gate, instantly funnier than the best of the (very funny) 33 short stories that preceded it. The novel opens with Bertie's horror at being forced to choose between his current flat and his beloved instrument, the banjolele, which his neighbours will not stomach. He makes the only reasonable choice - the banjolele, of course - only to find Jeeves handing in his notice. From there, it's one long descent into madness! ( )

The first full-length, plotted novel in the Jeeves series shows off what he can do for, with especially good results in comic effect of situation and running gags, and the language-and-literature jokes are starting to emerge. Marred by racialized language and situations. ( )

in box

Wodehouse can't really write a bad book, but the casual racism as a fundamental plot point left a sour taste in my mouth. Not that the English aristocracy WASN'T built on casual racism, but still, like cheese or a tennis backhand, Wodehouse's novels improved with time.

That being said, this book is still wacky, hilarious, tightly-plotted, and dripping with bons mots. Like the "My Old Kentucky Home" episode of Mad Men, treat the blackface as the viewers today do . . . with discomfort and concern, rather than laughter (although, to pretend that our generation is necessarily more enlightened when it comes to race/class relations could show a distinct lack of humility).

Bertie's off-and-on engagement reminded me of the goings-on at BYU, that's for sure! ( )