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2011 Book Review #113: The Man With Two Left Feet
Title: The Man With Two Left Feet and Other Stories
Author: P.G. Wodehouse
Genre: Classic humor short story anthology
Thingummies: 4
Synopsis: A collection of classic Wodehouse short stories. (Only one features Wooster, sans Jeeves.)
Thoughts: Wodehouse is endlessly charming in this collection of short stories. The breezy tone coupled with now-historical details makes humor writing seem somehow edifying. Look, you're being cultured!
There do seem to be a few repetitive themes here. I'm not sure if it's an indication of Wodehouse's fixations or that the editor deliberately grouped the stories together. We repeatedly examine the attraction of life onstage and the exhaustion of women whose job it is to dance with men in dance halls. One small problem is that, in addition to these recurring themes, Wodehouse seems to have a dearth of names to work with. There are multiple Bills and Henrys and Kates, plus one location that reappears, to the extent that I'm really not certain if there were intended to be recurring characters or not. Many of the stories blend together disorientingly after reading, which is a bit unfortunate.
But there's a warmth to his humor that keeps you reading, even if you can't quite remember what you've read. Some of his characters are idiots, or snobs, or even a criminal or two. But Wodehouse pokes fun so lovingly that you can't help but like the characters, even when they're being complete morons. The author is deeply cynical, but it hasn't made him bitter or hard. His creatures are falliable, even pathetic, but they win through to happy endings in the end, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Author: P.G. Wodehouse
Genre: Classic humor short story anthology
Thingummies: 4
Synopsis: A collection of classic Wodehouse short stories. (Only one features Wooster, sans Jeeves.)
Thoughts: Wodehouse is endlessly charming in this collection of short stories. The breezy tone coupled with now-historical details makes humor writing seem somehow edifying. Look, you're being cultured!
There do seem to be a few repetitive themes here. I'm not sure if it's an indication of Wodehouse's fixations or that the editor deliberately grouped the stories together. We repeatedly examine the attraction of life onstage and the exhaustion of women whose job it is to dance with men in dance halls. One small problem is that, in addition to these recurring themes, Wodehouse seems to have a dearth of names to work with. There are multiple Bills and Henrys and Kates, plus one location that reappears, to the extent that I'm really not certain if there were intended to be recurring characters or not. Many of the stories blend together disorientingly after reading, which is a bit unfortunate.
But there's a warmth to his humor that keeps you reading, even if you can't quite remember what you've read. Some of his characters are idiots, or snobs, or even a criminal or two. But Wodehouse pokes fun so lovingly that you can't help but like the characters, even when they're being complete morons. The author is deeply cynical, but it hasn't made him bitter or hard. His creatures are falliable, even pathetic, but they win through to happy endings in the end, and we wouldn't have it any other way.