The Clicking of Cuthbert

Silliness about a silly game. Up to snuff and radiating wit. ( )

Reliably hilarious Wodehousian characterizations, as well as descriptions of antics of serious hobbyists. ( )

This collection of P G Wodehouse golf stories is an end-to-end delight. You'd think that reading through 10 stories that all involve the same sport, and the same theme -- the game's effects on its players' love lives -- would be repetitive and quickly boring. This is simply not the case. Although the stories all start the same -- an unnamed golf club's 'oldest member' sits down to tell a tale to a youngster -- they diverge wildly over the great expanses of Wodehousian hilarity: oddball characters; crisp, unpredictable dialogue; slapstick physicality; ridiculous situations borne of human pride -- it's all here, it's just dressed up in loud plaid knickerbockers.

Golfers and Wodehouse fans will be in pure heaven reading The Clicking of Cuthbert, but the stories are so good that even the casual reader will find much to enjoy. Highly recommended. ( )

A collection of short stories about golf, which I listened to on librivox. Even though I know nothing about golf, I found these hilarious. :D ( )

The Clicking of Cuthbert was my first foray into the wonderful comedic writings of P.G. Wodehouse. I have to say that the man is brilliant. He takes the game of golf, which is a very quiet sport, and infuses it with more humor than I ever would have imagined.

The premise of the book is a simple one. The “Oldest Member” of the golf club tells various stories to younger members to illustrate a point, teach them a moral, or buck them up. The only departure from this formula is the story of a king of a fictional land that believes that golf is a religion, and converts his whole kingdom to it. I kid you not, that is the premise of the last story.

The refreshing aspect to these stories is that Wodehouse does not bash you over the head with humor as is so common today in the genre. He is subtle in his humor. Sometimes it is gallows humor. When a young fellow is dreading this Russian literati appearing at a book club he is attending only to impress a girl, he reflects that the Revolution is killing so many people; they have to run out of poets at some point. :D As I stated, gallows humor. That light touch is why this book is truly a must-read. I look forward to delving into more of Wodehouse’s works in the future. Highly Recommended. ( )