Thank You, Jeeves
P.G. Wodehouse
first published 1934
audio book – 6 hours, 8 minutes
How Right You Are, Jeeves
P.G. Wodehouse
1960
208 pages
I listened to Thank You, Jeeves and I read How Right You Are, Jeeves. And I must say, I’m quite proud of myself for introducing myself to Wodehouse in this way. Because I don’t think I would have fully appreciated the book if I didn’t have all those English voices in my head (oh, that sounds bad). I think to fully appreciate Jeeves and Wooster you need to be able to either hear or imagine the English accents.
Thank You, Jeeves and Right You Are, Jeeves are remarkably similar tales. Bertram Wooster, a well-off English gentleman, gets into a scrape and is simultaneously aided and abetted by his valet (the t is pronounced, by the way) Jeeves. Appearing in the stories are various friends, relatives and acquaintances with various ridiculous names.
While the stories are entertaining and the language is a hoot (I can get away with saying that when talking about Wodehouse), I’m not sure I could subsist on a steady diet of Wooster and Jeeves. The tales seem a bit formulaic. And besides, I’d probably start to talk like Wooster, which is to say I’d use even more clichés than I already do.
I hope to read my first Jeeves sometime this year. I’ll let you know what I think.
I have to try one of these – they sound like fun.
I read P.G. Wodehouse when I was about 15 at the encouragement of my dad. I think I was too young, because I didn’t really *get* it, and now I have no desire.
Yeah! I’m glad you got on the Wodehouse bandwagon … or at least, the audio book of Wodehouse bandwagon. I completely agree with you that listening to these is a great way appreciate them. I remember thinking that I never would have gotten the humor had I not heard it out loud.
By the way, what did you think of Aunt Agatha? She’s my favorite of all the odd characters.
Okay, so I picked up a copy of Wodehouse’s “World Of Jeeves” but what I’m wondering is if the stories have to be read in any certain order or can you enjoy them by just jumping in anywhere?
Joanne – you can pretty much start anywhere.
I was looking for what to listen to next!
Jeeves would be an excellent followup to what I just read – butler-theme, I mean.
Some of the old VHS tapes of Jeeves are so hysterical. You can really appreciate the accents. My library carries some of them or I think you can get them on netflix. The two actors are so perfect.
I understand completely! I try to get the audio book most of the time to let it “read” to me while I follow along so I get the best of both worlds: the pronunciations and if needed, the accents. Right now I’m listening/ watching Neil Gaiman read The Graveyard Book.