Ben Schott

Paying homage to P.G. Wodehouse, the creator of the iconic series of "Jeeves" stories, Ben Schott nails it! As with all British humor, the 'dry sarcasm' often leads to laughing out loud. Point in case: "...The Seventh Earl of Sidcup is a sore for sighted eyes. It's as if evolution took a wrong turn, got stuck in a cul-de-sac, and just threw in the sponge..." The team of Jeeves and Bertie Wooster always leads to antics of the most remarkable sort, many of them strategized practical jokes that show more go far beyond most. For those who appreciate and embrace British humor, this is a book that you'll enjoy every chapter. Schott adds a "Notes on the Text" section at the back in order we understand the rather unusual elements of British nomenclature and life. Highly recommended! show less

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

What a treat to get an unexpected sequel to Ben Schott's excellent "Jeeves and the King of Clubs".

I'm usually wary of Wodehouse pastiches – anyone wanting to see what bilge they can be might want to consult any recent speech by our beloved PM – but Schott captures the joy of PG's writing. His linguistic dexterity is more than up to the task (this review could easily be a stream of quotes from the book) and show more he gets the often-unrecognised tightness of Wodehouse's writing. All with a brand new set of japes and angles for Bertie to be drawn into.

Just the thing for dark and gloomy evenings in dark and gloomy times. Top-hole. show less

A modern Bertie-Jeeves addition! And it works! The language and humor is excellent, especially at the beginning. There is also a welcome modern sensibility. Like Wodehouse's books, it trails off in the middle, and this is worse since it is longer than a typical Wodehouse. But overall I found it very enjoyable.

Lots of napping and waking:

"Saturday was as oojah-cum-spiff as a summer’s day could be. Not only was the lark on the wing and the snail on the thorn – comme par ordinaire – but show more as far as the eye could see every other member of the animal kingdom was suitably conjoined with its appropriate poetical appurtenance."

"I woke unusually early and unexpectedly refreshed, the way people pretend you do after a long cross-country run."

"An hour or so later I was lying doggo in the tall grass, checking the eyelids for holes, when Aunt Dahlia poked me with a croquet mallet." show less

At the best of times I love a comic novel, and these have not been the best of times. I really, really needed an entertaining read right now. And I found it in Jeeves and the Leap of Faith, Ben Shott's second homage to P. G. Wodehouse's classic Wooster and Jeeves novels.

Shott brings Wodehouse's eccentric characters back to life, embroiled in a zany and complicated tangled plot of comedic excellence.

Over the course of a week, Bertie evades matrimony, helps save the Drones club from show more insolvency, goes undercover for the government, battles fascism, challenges Jeeves choice of bedroom wallpaper, and stands up to his formidable Aunt Agatha.

Strange things go on. What's even stranger is that they are based on history! Like the annual Boot-Finding in Spitalfields Market and the Pavement Club, a Cambridge society that sat on the pavement on Saturday afternoons, and the Hysteron Proteron club of Balliol College that in the 1920s spent a day living backward. Also appearing are the night climbers of Cambridge and the daring leap that gives this volume its name.

Throughout the novel, Bertie struggles with the Times crossword puzzle, which is included in the endnotes for readers to solve!

I am fortified with gladness, ready again to face the chaotic world.

I received a free galley from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased. show less