Maybe Mephistopheles was a bad idea after all...: You know things are going bad for Gussie (Agustus Fink-Nottle) when Bertie steps in to lend a able hand in his affairs..
The premise of this ridiculously funny book is simple, Gussie has fallen in love with Madeline Basset, friend of Bertie's cousin Angela, who (Angela) has quarelled with her lover and Bertie's longtime friend (the episode at the Drones notwithstanding) Tuppy Glossop over the matter of the latter not acknowledging the former's tryst with a shark at Cannes. Simple enough right? Take all these people and confine them in a country house, add a liberal dashing of Aunt Dahlia and that man of intellect Jeeves, not to mention a few assorted cooks and uncles, and you have a tale of horror (for Bertie) or a tale of absolute joy for the rest of us.
When helping convey Gussie's love to Madeline, Bertie convices Madeline that he loves her too. So when Madeline falls out with Gussie, she comes running to Bertie, who would rather she not. Tuppy, is also convinced that some low-lying snake has stolen Angela from him, and thinking that this l.l.s is Gussie. Gussie, meanwhile, to brace himself for the gruelling task of presenting the prizes in the Market Snodsbury school (for which he is down at Brinkley Court) tanks up on alchohol, and threatens to sully the Wooster name in a gathering of Market Snodsbury's finest. When the going gets tough, the tough ring for Jeeves. Can the man save the hour and untangle this absolute mess?
This is one of Wodehouses's finest Jeeves books. I say that in a different way in every review of mine, but I cant help it. The man is so good! If you cannot read this book in its entirety (shame on you!) just read the description of Gussie presenting the prizes. That one chapter will brighten your day, suffuse you in a radiant light of good cheer and make you feel that life is one great glad song.
Don't miss this book. It's an absolute ringer!

Another splendid Jeeves and Wooster, memorable in particular for the famous Fink-Nottle prize-giving speech, and the following exchange of telegrams

No, but dash it, listen. Honestly, you don't want me. Get Fink-Nottle distribute prizes. A born distributor, who will do you credit. Confidently anticipate Augustus Fink-Nottle as Master of Revels on thirty-first inst. would make genuine sensation. Do not miss this great chance, which may never occur again. Tinkerty-tonk. Bertie.

There was an hour of breathless suspense, and then the joyful tidings arrived:

Well, all right. Something in what you say, I suppose. Consider you treacherous worm and contemptible, spineless cowardly custard, but have booked Spink-Bottle. Stay where you are, then, and I hope you get run over by an omnibus. Love. Travers.

7.11.09 ( )

Lately I've been enjoying Wodehouse's Wooster and Jeeves books on unabridged audiobook, read by the talented Peter Cecil for Audio Editions. I finished Right Ho, Jeeves yesterday and thought it quite good, but not among Wodehouse's greats. This story takes place at the Travers' country home Brinkley Court, where Bertie has repaired to see if he can patch up his cousin Angela's engagement with Tuppy Glossop. Of course there is also another unhappy couple on the premises: the newt-loving, shy Gussie Fink-Nottle and Madeline Bassett (a fearsomely winsome girl whom Bertie calls "the Bassett" — haha!). Many complications and machinations arise, and Bertie is hard-put to it to sort things out. He's determined to try, though; Jeeves has gotten enough glory!

Bertie and Jeeves are again at odds over an article of Bertie's wardrobe. This time it's a mess jacket of... ahem... unusual cut and color. You can just hear the pain in Jeeves' voice when he mentions it! Again Bertie is pursued by a woman he can't stand, and again this woman is convinced he loves her devotedly. Wodehouse is very formulaic, but his formulas work, dash it.

It was different to see Bertie take a more aggressive approach with Jeeves, and his jealousy of Jeeves' reputation for brainpower is so funny. Jeeves' revenge is daring and dramatic; just wait till you see what he pulls. Of course the whole mess comes off perfectly once Jeeves puts his bean to the job, despite Bertie's blundering efforts. And even if the rest of the book is blah (which it isn't), Gussie's intoxicated speech at the prize-giving of the Market Snodsbury Grammar School would make the whole thing worth it. Oh, so funny!

I have to note that the audio quality didn't seem quite up to par on this recording. The louder voices such as Gussie and Aunt Dahlia seemed to saturate the microphone and distort slightly. It wasn't terribly intrusive, but I did notice it enough to be distracted occasionally. It's a pity, because Peter Cecil's reading is fantastic. But I was sorely disappointed that I didn't get to hear Anatole speak. It cut out right as the enraged French cook was opening his mouth, and I had to skip two tracks because the CD was damaged. I hope Judgment Day arrives with unusual severity for people who mistreat library CDs...

If you've never listened to Wodehouse on audiobook, you've got a treat coming. It's just another reason that this is a wonderful, splendid, amazing world, full of optimism and sunshine! Or so Gussie would say when under the influence... ( )

It's amazing to reflect that what are possibly the two funniest full-length Jeeves novels, Right Ho, Jeeves and Thank you, Jeeves, were both published in the space of a single year, 1934. Right Ho, Jeeves is of course the one where Gussie Fink-Nottle officiates at the prize-giving at Market Snodsbury Grammar School, in one of Wodehouse's most celebrated passages. But we also get a wonderful exchange of telegrams between Bertie and Aunt Dahlia, and Bertie's unforgettable midnight bicycle ride.

Bertie is in fine mid-season form as narrator, with some of his best inappropriate similes: "the face was pale, the eyes gooseberrylike, the ears drooping, and the whole aspect that of a man who has passed through the furnace and been caught in the machinery" (Gussie); "She unshipped a sigh that sounded like the wind going out of a rubber duck" (Madeline Bassett regretting that she can never love another); "it sounded as if Carnera had jumped off the top of the Eiffel Tower onto a cucumber frame" (Bertie crunching a piece of apple). But it's unfair to pick out particular passages -- there's linguistic treasure trove on every page. I can't think of any reason not to recommend this book... ( )

I have been reading the Folio edition of this and the numerous Paul Cox illustrations are wonderful, especially Gussy trying to get Anatole's attention through the skylight.
However, I have recently seen the Fry and Laurie adaptation, which is masterful, so that this novel in the series did not give the usual joy, as the adaptation is remarkably faithful, so that the book held little surprise, although the abbreviation slang is not in the adaptation.
A wonderful book, but I was just not in the right mood. ( )