Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Right Ho, Jeeves - P.G. Wodehouse

There is a way a person breaks out into uncontrollable laughter that is signature Wodehouse. You can clearly tell that the person is afflicted by a case of Wodehousitis. I loved reading all his books and cannot have enough of them. So the other day when I was in a airport and had a long wait and a long journey ahead I went browsing for a book and I could find nothing better than a 'Right Ho, Jeeves' to up my mood. And it's been a long time since I laughed like that.
Arrow, 290 p, Rs. 299

Bertram Wooster (I know a couple of fellows who live life exactly like Bertie does) is unhappy with Jeeves because Jeeves does not like the new white mess jacket Bertie has brought back from a visit to France. Bertie decides that Jeeves has lost his touch and when two of his pals - Pongo Twistleton who is in love with his cousin Angela and Gussie Fink-Nottle who is in love with a poetess Madeleine Basset - run into trouble, decides to take it upon himself. Jeeves, he tells the man who has saved many a situation like the above, you complicate things. And when Bertie's Aunt Dahlia also summons him to her place where the entire party is now located, due to some troubles of her own, Bertie has his hands full. He manfully tries to find solutions to the rapidly disintegrating situation, gets the parties further asunder, gets the great cook Anatole to almost resign, almost gets married to the frightful Basset and in the end has to hand things over to Jeeves. It does involve some action and some blame taking by Bertie as always but all's well and that ends well and the right parties get hitched to the right parties . Except that despite all his precautions, Bertie finds that his white mess jacket has been burnt by an iron and Jeeves apologises for that indiscretion.

Anjali found it very funny to see me laughing uncontrollably. It is her first brush with Wodehousitis and I do hope she experiences it too. Loved it.

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