I was less than impressed when I tried a story from Carry on Jeeves for a long dead book club. I picked up My Man Jeeves a couple months ago, but I read it slowly and had not finished it before I had to return it to the library. I got it back and finished it . . . and wished I had ordered more. So I think I will like them more as I try more. I shamelessly dog-eared the library book, and lo and behold these dog-ears were still intact when I borrowed it again (it was a large print which might explain its, um, popularity). Here are some delicious descriptions of Jeeves which I enjoyed greatly:
"Jeeves projected himself in from the dining room and materialized on the rug. Lady Malvern tried to freeze him with a look, but you can't do that sort of thing to Jeeves. He is look-proof." Page 47.
"Jeeves shimmered in with the glass . . . " Page 55.
"Jeeves filtered in with the tea." Page 59.
"In this matter of shimmering into rooms the chappie is rummy to a degree . . . He moves from point to point with as little uproar as a jelly fish." Page 64.
"He trickled into my room . . . " Page 66.
"Jeeves was standing on the horizon, looking devilish brainy." Page 73.
"For the first time in our long connection I observed Jeeves almost smile. The corner of his mouth curved quite a quarter of an inch, and for a moment his eye ceased to look like a meditative fish's." Page 165.
"I'd always thought of Jeeves as a natural phenomenon . . . " Page 175.
"Next morning Jeeves came round. It was all so home-like when he floated noiselessly into the room that I nearly broke down." Page 179.
"Then he streamed imperceptibly toward the door and flowed silently out." Page 180.
Other funnies:
Bertie's brilliant conversational skills : "Tea, tea, tea–what? what?" Oops, didn't get the page.
This made it as the first entry into my quote book. Brilliant, yes?!
"...he had seen his aunt to whatever hamlet it was that she was the curse of . . . " Page 188.
Wodehouse, P.G. My Man Jeeves. Sanbornville, New Hampshire 2004 Large Print Book Company.
Forgive my lazy quoting and citing.
Much of the rest of the humor was the slap-in-the-face-"you must laugh" type which isn't exactly my type of humor, but like I said, I think these books could grow on me.
Labels: Book Reviews, Classics Club