[ID: He had been gone about twenty minutes when Jeeves came in, bowler hat in hand, to say goodbye. A solemn moment, taxing our self-control to the utmost. However, we both kept the upper lip stiff, and after we had kidded back and forth for awhile he started to withdraw. /end ID]
Jeeves is about to go on holiday and Bertie’s writing about it as though it’s a parting of two lovers… ‘a solemn moment…taxing our self-control to the utmost’ ?? Also them ‘kidding back and forth’ as though neither of them want to part…
I shot a glance at Jeeves. He allowed his right eyebrow to flicker slightly, which is as near as he ever gets to a display of the emotions.
“Hullo?” I yipped.
“Let me in, blast you!” responded Tuppy’s voice from without. “Who locked this door?”
I consulted Jeeves once more in the language of the eyebrow. He raised one of his. I raised one of mine. He raised his other. I raised my other. Then we both raised both. Finally, there seeming no other policy to pursue, I flung wide the gates and Tuppy came shooting in.
“Now what?” I said, as nonchalantly as I could manage.
“Why was the door locked?” demanded Tuppy.
I was in pretty good eyebrow-raising form by now, so I gave him a touch of it.
I can’t remember if I’ve said this before but I think that if you make a Batman 1920s AU then you have to take into account that Bertie Wooster often spent time living in New York and Gotham City is just New York Noir and Bruce Wayne would probably cultivate the acquaintance of Bertie Wooster because Bertie is exactly the sort of person Bruce wants people to think he is, so it’s both birds of a feather camouflage and because he wants to observe Bertie for behavioural ideas.
Bertie, ray of sunshine that he is, thinks Bruce is jolly good fun and really quite barmy, but he already has a friend called Barmy and he can’t manage two Barmies so he affectionately dubs him Batty.
Consequently Bruce exists in a state of nagging uncertainty as to whether Bertie is the golden-hearted silly ass he so transparently appears to be, or is in fact one of his villains, knowing who he is and taunting him.
Thank You, Jeeves was written by P.G. Wodehouse and published in 1934. It is the fourth book in the Jeeves and Wooster series and the first novel in the series. This is a comedic series centered around Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. At the beginning of this novel Bertie is told by his landlord that he must leave his flat unless he will give up his newfound love of playing the banjolele. He refuses and decides to rent a cottage in the country. Jeeves does not want to put up with Bertie and his infernal racket in an even smaller abode, so he leaves Bertie’s service. When Bertie moves to the country however, he gets mixed up in his old school friend Chuffy’s love life and needs the genius Jeeves to help him and his friend out.
Did I Like It?:
It was interesting finally reading a Jeeves and Wooster novel after all the short stories. I was thinking I might prefer it more, but I’m still not sure. This delivered all the usual laughs. Bertie was hilarious as always. It’s always the lingo that cracks me up. Not just that, but also things like the hilarious over the top names of the characters. His friend ‘Chuffy’ or Lord Chuffnell Regis for example. This one didn’t age as well as the others though however as a good deal of the humor relied on blackface. I’m not one for banning books with problematic material, I think it reminds us how far we’ve come. All the blackface jokes were certainly startling though. Bertie did make a good point that it’s amazing how differently people react to you based on the color of your skin. That could have been taken as P.G. Wodehouse using a joke (acceptable in his time) trying to make a point about how stupid racism is. Yet, also it could have been a flippant remark and he was simply going for the laughs. Who knows. Regardless, I’m really glad we FINALLY stopped using blackface for comedy. Since a lot of the plot centered on this, it did lesson my enjoyment of this one. I’ve been reading a Jeeves and Wooster book once a year and while I’m enjoying them for sure and find comedic relief in them, I’m not sure that I totally love them yet. I will continue with my read of the series in a year though and continue to see what I think.
Do I Recommend It?:
I recommend this series for those that want some classic comedy. For those that like old timey British upper-class humor. This particular installment is worth a read if you’re trying to read the whole series, but if you’re just wanting to try one out I would not recommend starting here.
Currently Reading:Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
Every year I’ve been reading a book from the Jeeves and Wooster series, this is my fourth year doing so! So far, the books I have read were short stories, this is the first novel! Looking forward to diving in and getting some laughs!
