Just what is it that fascinates about Jeeves & Wooster

[[deleted user]]

I always am left with a warm glow when ever I read Jeeves and Wooster, I am sure these stories effect others the same way.

[Simeon]

Wodehouse always had a mastery for it.

[Dan, Tenth Earl of Emsworth]

Definitely. Jeeves and Wooster, along with most other Wodehouse books, are a great pick me up when you need one.

[Balaji]

If you read when in blues, they won't fail to bring roses back to the cheeks.

[Dan, Tenth Earl of Emsworth]

Balaji wrote: "If you read when in blues, they won't fail to bring roses back to the cheeks."

Did Wodehouse write that or is that a Balaji original?

[Balaji]

Wodehouse has used "bring roses back to the cheeks" in many of his novels. I just used it in my previous comment.

[Dan, Tenth Earl of Emsworth]

Balaji wrote: "Wodehouse has used "bring roses back to the cheeks" in many of his novels. I just used it in my previous comment."

It was good.

[Balaji]

Dan wrote: "Balaji wrote: "Wodehouse has used "bring roses back to the cheeks" in many of his novels. I just used it in my previous comment."

It was good."

Thanks Dan! :-)

[John]

There's a comfort in knowing that the characters don't change. Bertie will always be a happy dimwit and Jeeves will always come to the rescue in his impeccable way. I love the language, how Wodehouse uses short, simple nouns and verbs in unexpected ways. I love how Bertie is always petrified of his Aunt, and of women in general, and how he always needs some "refreshment" after any encounter with an aunt, or even if Jeeves doesn't agree with his choice of hat. I love how Jeeves has such an understated sense of humor. I have a list of other things I love about this series, but that's enough for now.

[John]

Another reason these books are so much fun to read, I think, is that they depict such a wonderful fantasy life. I mean, who wouldn't want to have Bertie's life? He's rich enough that he doesn't have to work, he has no worries or stress besides the occasional dustup with one of his aunts, and he has Jeeves to take care of his every need. It's like a fantasy world that you can visit whenever you need a pick-me-up.

[Aamir]

also, Bertie's self belief is quite hilarious

agree with John

[Badlydone]

John hit the nail on the head - the characters never change fundamentally. This is one thing that makes Wodehouse so special. I also love the intricate plots - how Bertie finds himself deeper and deeper in mud but we know that he will somehow (with Jeeves) find a way out eventually and a happy ending for all will ensue.

[John]

Aamir, you are right about Bertie's self belief! I love it when he reprimands Jeeves about something, usually saying something like, "I had to use the iron hand on the man," and then later has to admit that Jeeves was right all along. And Badlydone, the plots are truly intricate -- I once read an interview with Wodehouse where he said he had to have the plots all figured out before he could start writing. I too love how Bertie keeps getting himself deeper and deeper in trouble until Jeeves saves the day.



The Adventures Of Larry The Alien

[Somdutta]

Bertie is always in some trouble and Jeeves always has a solution for it. Bertie can always trust and rely on Jeeves to make his life simpler.Jeeves knows that the dimwitted Bertie will be in soup at some time or other and , Bertie is quiet convinced that there is no conundrum on this planet that Jeeves cannot solve.

[Judy]

Reading Wodehouse is like comfort food.

[Xiao_nie7]

John wrote: "Another reason these books are so much fun to read, I think, is that they depict such a wonderful fantasy life. I mean, who wouldn't want to have Bertie's life? He's rich enough that he doesn't hav..."

I know exactly what you mean John!

Unfortunately, the one book that moves away from this is Ring for Jeeves.
Unlike most Jeeves and Wooster stories, which only occasional refer to events in the real world, Ring for Jeeves is explicitly set in post-World War II England, where social changes have forced some of those who were formerly members of the idle rich to dispense with their servants and seek employment. Although Bertie Wooster has not yet been reduced to such measures, he has enrolled, prior to the start of the story, in a school that teaches the upper classes how to fend for themselves. In his absence, Jeeves has offered his services to William Egerton Bamfylde Ossingham Belfry, the Earl of Rowcester, who is in poor fortune.

I don't even want to imagine poor Bertie having to think of fending for himself.

At the risk of sounding dramatic, I intend to avoid this book like the plague!

[Dan, Tenth Earl of Emsworth]

While I'm planning on re-reading the Jeeves and Wooster books in 2012 (anyone else interested?), I'm going to skip Ring for Jeeves.

[Xiao_nie7]

Sure, it's been some time since I've read them too actually

[Paul]

These books for me are like chicken soup; I tend to read them when I'm down or have the flu. However it's been a while since I've read them all, so a re read next year sounds excellent

[Xiao_nie7]

Paul wrote: "These books for me are like chicken soup; I tend to read them when I'm down or have the flu. However it's been a while since I've read them all, so a re read next year sounds excellent"

Hey Paul,

We're just discussing the reading order etc. on this thread, in case you're interested:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/6...

[Bernard]

I think somehow the Wooster pantheon captures something vital and living in us, the way Mozart does. It keeps working for me. It's Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, or Laurel and Hardy. It doesn't stale and fade (if you're kind to them) because our own needs to have a Jeeves father figure, and our own Bertie Wooster pratfalls never fade. And because PGW is so kind and light hearted about it we can always escape into that sunny world. PGW escaped the real world on behalf of all of us.

[Robert]

Paul wrote: "These books for me are like chicken soup; I tend to read them when I'm down or have the flu. However it's been a while since I've read them all, so a re read next year sounds excellent"

That strikes a chord with me - they are a kind of literary comfort food!

[Algernon (Darth Anyan)]

Among other things, the joy of playing fast and loose with the English language, inventing elaborate insults and colourful similes, mixing the cultured references from Jeeves with the clubhouse nicknames and pranks of Bertie.

[Ed]

As John states, above, "The Language." Although Bertie's intelligence is "negligible" according to Jeeves, he has mastered the art of description in his own simple way and supplied us with some of the most amazing and roll-around-on-the-floor funny similes ever written. This is why, for me at least, Jeeves and Bertie never quite make it when turned into play, musical, or movie. Half the fun is Bertie's narrative.

[Ed]

To add to my previous comment, many people (especially Americans) who read Jeeves and Bertie for the first time think many of the phrases Bertie uses were in common English parlance during the time the works were written. Actually, with some exceptions, Wodehouse, through Bertie, simply makes them up.

[Cindy]

Ed wrote: "To add to my previous comment, many people (especially Americans) who read Jeeves and Bertie for the first time think many of the phrases Bertie uses were in common English parlance during the time..."

Is that right?? I was never quite sure...but I think that I do remember reading that. And I completely agree that Bertie has a flair for description!!

[Dan, Tenth Earl of Emsworth]

The slang is made up? I feel so disillusioned...

[Cindy]

And I also find these books very comforting. Whenever things are bad, I pick up some Wodehouse, esp. Jeeves. Things are so simple in his books. And everything works out....

[[deleted user]]

Some but not all of the slang is made up. Not all dramatizations lose the beautiful language of Wodehouse. The ITV series with Fry and Laurie lifts many passages directly from the books

[Cindy]

Ugh.. I need some Wodehouse today!!! lol

[Sharon]

Reading a Bertie n Jeeves for me is probably like having a go at one of Jeeves's famous pick-me-ups! It literally brings me back to life!

[Cindy]

Bertie is a buffoon!! But so sweet, loveable, selfless, and so willing to help a friend....And Jeeves, well self appointed caretaker. I profoundly wish that I had my own Jeeves!!!!

[Cindy]

Sharon wrote: "Reading a Bertie n Jeeves for me is probably like having a go at one of Jeeves's famous pick-me-ups! It literally brings me back to life!"

I could not agree more!!!!!

[Anne]

What amazes me is PG wrote humor during incarceration in concentration camp. Did anyone see fictional adaptation of that time on TV recently? In his memoirs, I do not remember like TV, a traitor always accompanying and influencing PG in Berlin before his wife could warn PG that Britons were misinterpreting his radio broadcasts.

[[deleted user]]

Wodehouse is the ultimate substitute for paracetamol.

[Annag]

Oscar wrote: "Wodehouse is the ultimate substitute for paracetamol."

I can't imagine reading Wodehouse after having taken paracetamol. The combination could well lead to a verdict of "laughed herself to death."