Pigs Have Wings (original 1952; edition 1991)

In which the Empress of Blandings faces stiff competition in the form of Sir Gregory Parslow's new pig the Queen of Matchingham, there is even more pignapping than usual, and there are three couples with romantic problems. Probably the most enjoyable of the Blandings Castle novels that I have read.

'You don't mean it's fatter than the Empress?' said Gally, cocking an eye at the stable's nominee and marvelling that such a thing could be possible.
Lord Emsworth looked shocked.
'I would not say that. No, no, I certainly would not say that. But the contest will now become a desperately close one. It may be a matter of ounces.' ( )

I really wish I could think of something else wonderful to say about P.G. Wodehouse, but I really have no words left for how much I enjoy his work. Up until now I had mostly been reading the 'Jeeves & Wooster' novels, with a few side trips to individual works. The 'Blandings' stories are fewer, but no less entertaining. A jealous competitor works to sabotage Lord Emsworth's chances of winning a regional agricultural competition by causing Emsworth's prize pig to lose weight. Emsworth's quick-witted brother comes to the rescue and sorts out a few local romantic entanglements along the way. The plot is inconsequential, since it loops and twists at such a rate that it often is difficult to keep all the strings together, yet Wodehouse has such a light touch that it comes off as effortless. Like almost everything else he wrote, the world of the novel is magical and trouble-free, a bright universe of comic invention that has the timing of screwball and the lyricism of well-practiced vaudeville. A gem.

(This review originally appeared on zombieunderground.net) ( )

http://www.lonelymountain.net/books/jan06.html#wodehouse ( )