An enjoyable learning process.
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I read this book for the first time years ago and liked it very much, learning quite a lot in the process.
It's not just a 'funny' book, it was well researched and many of the observations are worth remembering. Also, the reader learns a lot about people's motivations and their socialisation.
Then I leant it to a friend who lost it, and now recently I ordered it from amazon and when it came, enjoyed it all over again.
Through it, one can learn not to make embarrassing solecisms, but also you can see through the insincerities of some classes and to the insecurities of others.
I think it's one of Jilly Cooper's best books.
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Satirical yet hilarious synopsis of the British class system
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This book was written in pre-Thatcher times but is still a great read. What would Jilly make of the British class system now? I suspect that despite all the surface changes, celebrity culture and apparent social mobility the class system is still much the same as it was when Jilly chronicled it in the 1970s. Class is a must for any Jilly fan, she makes constant reference to the foibles of class throughout her brilliant Rutshire Chronicles. For example, in the book Riders, superstud aristocad Rupert Campbell-Black smothers his posh fish dish in tomato ketchup before digging into it to the horror of everyone else. He also has a penchant for white sliced pan (supposedly very working-class but also great comfort food for public schoolboys) and in the book Rivals gets a white sliced pan for Christmas from a nouveau-riche friend with working-class roots. Meanwhile the middle classes pick crusty bread daintily out of baskets. Out of all the characters in Class I liked Snipe the labrador and Mr Definitely-Disgusting best. Buy this book, read it (you won't look up once until it's finished) and if you have any of the Rutshire Chronicles read them again. It will make them even more enjoyable!
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Breaking down the class barriers?
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When I first read this book, I really didn't like it. I thought it was quite insulting really, and was surprised that I felt that way, as I usually love Jilly Cooper's work. However, when
I read it again without my working class chip on my shoulder, then I really enjoyed it, and found it very funny. The trick is to realise that it is a humourous work, and not to take it seriously. It pokes gentle fun at all the so-called classes, and no one comes out of it smelling of roses! It is a clever book, I think, and one that I have since read many times. Read it with an open mind, and you'll laugh out loud, I promise!!
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Funny - very.
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Although this book is quite dated now (1999), it is still impossible to read it without laughing out loud. The reader will also find him/herself trying to work out which category they fit into - and probably not liking the result!
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