Truly Inimitable. Review on Inimitable Jeeves - P.G.Wodehouse

P.G. Wodehouse-The king of comic writing presents yet another hilarious write- up- The Inimitable Jeeves.

This book has a collection of almost independent short stories. They are loosely connected though.

Character description for beginners-

Bertram Wooster(Bertie)- The lazy but good at heart British bachelor. He gets into a soup every now and then while trying to help someone else who is in a soup! All stories in the Wooster series are narrated with this guy as the first person.

Jeeves- He's Bertie's butler cum valet cum adviser cum life saver (at times). He, by his sheer intelligence and wit, manages to free Bertie from the tightest of corners! He does disapprove of his master's dressing senses at times - it could be a pair of purple coloured socks or a hat with a pink feather or a loud fruity and flowery waistcoat. Bertie pays no heed to Jeeves' advice, much to Jeeves' disappointment, but he realises sooner or later that he will have to let go of his less popular assets since he needs his gentleman's gentleman Jeeves very often around him.

It would take some time for the PG writing style to sink in, after which there is no stopping you! I started reading the Wooster series some time back and got hooked to them. Each time I read a new book, I am forced to change my opinion on the best of the lot and thoroughly enjoy reading them again and again. Very often, I find a new joke each time I read the same book!

A brief description of a few stories from this book follows-

1. No Wedding Bells for Bingo - Bingo Little, Bertie's close chum, falls for every woman he meets. This time it is a waitress. He is dependent on his uncle for his pocket money. This uncle is a high class bloke who would never approve his relationship with a mere waitress. Bingo asks Jeeves to suggest one of his expert ideas to solve this predicament. Jeeves suggests that Bingo should read out some love stories to uncle to make him believe in love and then break the news to him. This idea works out a bit too much and now the uncle himself wants to marry the cook back at his home(who is engaged to Jeeves!!). What a deadlock!

   
   




2. Pearls mean tears- Bertie's aunt Agatha is of the opinion that Bertie should find a life partner and settle down in life. The aunt selects a simple, down-to-earth girl Miss Aline Hemmingway despite his meek attempts of protest against this whole idea. As Bertie and Aline meet up for dates, her brother always accompanies them. :P Now, will this girl succeed in impressing Bertie?

   
   




3. The pride of the Woosters is Wounded- Bingo has fallen, this time, for Honoria Glossop. Under the pretext of being a tutor of some kid at her place, Bingo is staying at her home. Bertie, keen on helping him with his love story, proposes that Bingo could save the kid from some disaster and consequently become a hero in Honoria's eyes. In the process, Bertie even agrees to push the kid into a pool! Meanwhile, aunt Agatha has started her own plans to patch Bertie with Honoria. Will Jeeves have to come to their rescue?

   
   




4. A Letter of Introduction- Bertie and Jeeves have shot off to US for a vacation but little do they know that it is not going to be very peaceful. Aunt Agatha has asked, rather, ordered Bertie to look after Cyril. This guy keeps himself busy with Bertie's friend George, who writes plays for theatre groups. Our friend is relieved to see Cyril in good hands but a few days later, Bertie receives a cable with the message- "Keep Cyril off theatrical groups!" Now, this Cyril guy actually has a craving for theatres and acting. What next?

   
   

His character descriptions will make you roll on the floor, laughing. Fancy these-

1. Aunt Agatha- We run to height a bit in our family, and there's about five-foot-nine of Aunt Agatha, topped off with a beaky nose, an eagle eye, and a lot of grey hair, and the general effect is pretty formidable.

   
   




2. Bingo Little's uncle- There I was, shaking hands with the fattest man I have ever seen in my life. The hand which grasped mine wrapped it round and enfolded it till I began to wonder if I'd ever get it out without excavating machinery.

   
   




3. Sir Roderick(Honoria's father)-He had a pair of shaggy eyebrows which was not at all a sort of thing a fellow wanted to encounter on an empty stomach.

   
   

Some similes worth mentioning-

He gave a little cough, like a sheep caught in the mist on a mountain top.

Jeeves lugged the purple coloured socks out of the drawer as if he were a vegetarian fishing a caterpillar out of the salad.

I was interrupted in my meditations by a noise like the Scotch express going under the tunnel. It was Honoria laughing.

Would I dare to give a rating below 5 stars? If you haven't started reading PG yet, this one would make a fine start. If this review made you smile even once, this book is for you.