Callow and Jeeves - Spiffing
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This was my first Jeeves book and I have always had a soft spot for it. It is not the first one written even though the first story introduces Jeeves.
I always looked on Martin Jarvis as the master of the audiobook but Callow, like Jarvis, turns them almost into a dramatisation and they all sound fresh and hilarious.
I was going to buy the Jarvis version until I discovered that it did not include the American stories. This full text, 6 discs at nearly seven and a half hours is an absolute bargain. Buy it and listen to it once a year until it wears out. It'll still make you laugh
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Jolly good Jeeves
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You can't go wrong with a good bit of Jeeves. I rarely laugh out loud at books, but P.G. Wodehouse has never failed me and Carry On, Jeeves is no exception.
This book is an excellent introduction to the Jeeves genre, since it features several short stories about the gentleman's personal gentleman, including the story in which he first appears on Bertram Wooster's doorstep. Jeeves quickly makes himself indispensible to the fun-loving man-about-town and the stories which follow see him extricate Bertie and his friends from numerous sticky situations.
The real joy of any Wodehouse book is the language: the dialogue zips along at a wonderful pace, scattering fantastic images and outrageous '20s slang as it goes. This comes to a halt, however, in the final story, which is narrated by Jeeves rather than Bertie. The story and the characters are as perfectly-formed as ever, but as I polished off the last few pages in the book I found myself missing Bertie's garrulous companionship. Far from ruining the book for me, though, the unexpected end simply whetted my appetite for more in this wonderful series. If there is still anyone out there who has yet to sample the delights of P.G. Wodehouse they should read this book immediately.
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Carry Go Bingo Come
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`Carry on, Jeeves' is a collection of short stories starting with `Jeeves Takes Charge' which tells the story of Jeeves entering of more `shimmering into' the employ of Bertie Wooster with a killer hangover cure as a reference. As an encore Jeeves sorts `the rather rummy business of Florence Craye, Uncle Willoughby's book, and Edwin, the boy scout.' Uncle Willoughby's reminiscences being a scandal of youthful exuberance even painting Lord Emsworth of Blandings fame and Florence's father in a poor light. Florence, whom is at this time engaged to Bertie, is keen that book should not be published and engages Bertie to take possession of the manuscript but he becomes frustrated by the intervention of Edwin. Jeeves brings the tale to a suitable conclusion saving Bertie and Florence not only from themselves but also from each other.
Some of the stories are re-written from earlier appearances in `My Man Jeeves' such as `The Artistic Career of Corky' and although the re-writes do not really add anything to the original drafts they are such priceless gems that they bear repeating however they are of lower quality than the stories written for this volume and with hindsight waiting for five additional stories been written would have improved this book.
Appearances from Jeeves and Wooster regulars such as Bingo Little and Roderick Glossop as well as the Drones club and seaside resort Marvis Bay and especially the menace of Hermione make this essential reading for all admirers of P G Wodehouse. Also included is the story of genius French chef, Anatole, joining the employ of Bertie's Aunt Dahlia, without such background some of the detail in later Jeeves novels can be missed.
As usual the stories are narrated by Bertie Wooster in the first person in his own imitable way apart from `Bertie Changes His Mind' which employs Jeeves as the narrator. His style is as dry and functional as you would expect which makes it somewhat jar in the collection, he is better written about than writing where his being an enigma or cipher add to rather than detract from the story. So I should like to give the last word to Bertie who sums up the stories, and indeed life, with one carefully crafted sentence; `it's always just when a fellow particularly braced with things in general that Fate sneaks up behind him with a bit of lead piping.'
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Bit boring after a while...
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This book is written very well and there are a few funny moments but I got really bored by all the stories. They're all so similar and get very tedious after a while!
Bertie or his friends has a problem, Jeeves comes up with a solution, there's a complication, it's sorted. That's it! I found it really dull after about 100 pages!
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Don't we all need a Jeeves?
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Or those of us who are constantly tumbling into tricky situations and who therefore require repeated extraction from a variety of snaggles, by our own faithful, gentle and uncritical expert, need a Jeeves. Bertie Wooster is a lucky lucky man and it's little wonder that his friends, rivals and other 'low blighters' sometimes try to steal Jeeves away. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's man - it says so in the rules somewhere, doesn't it? In fairness to Wooster, he doesn't keep his treasure all to himself, but allows his predicament-prone friends to benefit from the problem solving genius of his man. He's such a decent chap. Listen to Martin Jarvis reading these 7 sprightly adventures of Jeeves and Wooster and you'll see what I mean. The 7 stories are:
1) "Jeeves Takes Charge", where Jeeves first enters Bertie's employ and makes himself indispensable almost immediately.
2) "Jeeves & the Unbidden Guest", where Bertie is constrained to accommodate the peculiar son of a friend of his bossy aunt Agatha, in his New York apartment.
3) "The Artistic Career of Corky", where Bertie, still happily exiled in New York, tries to help an artist friend to avoid being sucked into his uncle's jute business.
4) "The Aunt and the Sluggard", where (still yet in New York) Bertie's idle poet friend from Long Island has to be rescued from an energetic aunt.
5) "Clustering Round Young Bingo", where Bertie's aunt Dahlia and friend Bingo swap domestic staff by means of complicated, underhand jiggery-pokery.
6) "Jeeves & the Hard-boiled Egg", where (in New York again) one of Bertie's chum's is under pressure from his uncle and benefactor, the Duke of Chiswick.
7) "The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy", where poor old Biffy has carelessly lost the love of his life because he can't remember either her name or the name of her hotel.
Jeeves is the quiet and unassuming hero who saves Bertie and his pals from calamity every time. It's a box of gems. Martin Jarvis reads them better than well. There are 4 discs in the CD case and the reading time is about 5 hours. Highly recommended!
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