The Code Of The Woosters

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the greatest novel in the English Language.
Review: Too often short-changed as just "amusing satire" or "a send-up of a by-gone era in British society", at his best, P.G. Wodehouse is, in my opinion, the greatest pure writer of the English Language of the Twentieth Century. His economy of language, the precision of his metaphors, the perfect symmetry of his plot structures, and the sheer hilarity of his skewering insights into human nature are reminiscent of, but, I think, a cut above the writings of Mark Twain. I am hungrily devouring all the Wodehouse I can get my hands on, but this is the best I've read so far. I couldn't possibly recommend this book highly enough.

Rating:
Summary: Rousing good fun
Review: Wilfred Sheed in the forward to "Leave it to Psmith" classified Wodehouse, along with Gilbert and Sullivan, as anti artist artists. Anti artist artists were born something out of a reaction to English public opinion against Byron and Shelley and their questionable views and lifestyles. Their motive is to knock high ideals off their perspective horses. While Europe was taking art seriously, maybe too seriously, with rebellious Wagnerian operas and psychological probings of Flauberts and Prousts and such the English were being amused by Gilbert and Sullivan and other entertainment of high silliness. There is a method to the madness of Wodehouse and that is to knock down any art that takes itself too seriously.

Wodehouse can draw one sophmoric prank out into a mini novel which at time can be tedious and at times masterful. In the end not much is really said here or is it?



Rating:
Summary: Wodehouse at his farcical best!
Review: Wodehouse is in my opinion the most underrated author in the englich language. He is too often dismissed as merely writing 'amusing' and escapist fiction which offers no insight into our soceity or the lives we lead. I would like to point out to the advocates of so called "serious literature" that Wodehouse invokes in us the most basic feeling we can experience...laughter. I cannot help but be overcome by Wodehouse's unbelievably adept use of the english language to create the most hilariously subtle situation comedy ever written. I cant recommend this book strongly enough. Wodehouse exhausts all superlatives!