Rating: 
Summary: Audio edition a perfect reading
Review: By some wild chance, the appearance of the Audio Partners reading of "Carry On, Jeeves" is coincidental with the appearance of a musical about this very same very British gentleman's gentleman as well as the first two seasons of the British television series on DVDs. Having already reviewed the Audio Partners complete reading of "The Code of the Woosters," I am happy to report that "Carry on Jeeves" (41109) is even a tad more successful. Any Jeeves fan must have noticed that the full novels are really a series of wild incidents put in to to stretch out a pretty flimsy plot premise. In the short stories, we have the typical pattern of Bertie Wooster ordered (by an aunt) to or tricked (by a friend) into helping out in some manner usually concocted by Jeeves with the ability of a master chess player who can see a dozen moves in advance. The original collection of stories under the title "Carry On, Jeeves" contains 10 independent episodes, of which eight have been chosen for this recording; and each fits the expected pattern. We start with Jeeves' first appearance "Jeeves Takes Over." The other stories seem all to take place in New York City; and in two of them, Bertie is required to relinquish his flat so that some elderly relative of a friend will think it is the flat of the nephew. Telling the truth never seems to be the first course of action in any Jeeves story. The titles alone tell the story: "The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy," "Clustering Round Young Bingo," "The Artistic Career of Corky" are the ones that name the blighters who are thrust upon Bertie's good intentions and wallet. "Without the Option," "The Aunt and the Sluggard," "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest," "Jeeves and the Hard-Boiled Egg" are almost indistinguishable from the rest in plot and character, except that in the last one, the young man is actually admirable in his refusal to accept help from the Wooster largesse. Actor Marlin Jarvis does as good a job as did Jonathan Cecil in the earlier Jeeves recording, neatly adjusting his voice for each character; and indeed I would have thought I was hearing Ian Carmichael had I not known better. Another nice feature about these 4 tapes is that no story goes onto another cassette; and in only two of them do you have to turn the cassette over to hear the ending before the next story starts. Very considerately thought out by the producers.
Rating: 
Summary: hoity-toidy humour brings smiles but few laughs
Review: Carry On, Jeeves is my first P.G. Wodehouse work I've read and, overall, I am not particularly impressed. This collection of short stories about a rich young man, his valet (Jeeves), and his equally rich (and hapless) buddies. Jeeves is the savior to his rich employer whenever called to rescue him (and his friends) from some silly calamity. The stories are contrived and seem cast from the same mold, the setting is the hopelessly obscene upper-class 1920s society of New York and England (where no one works and everyone seems dependent on financial handout by some rich aunt/uncle), and one has to wonder why a clever domestic servant such as Jeeves puts up with such blithering ninnies. Having said all this, there are some clever comedic moments which are generally derived by the clever delivery of quips by Jeeves. One can have a pleasurable time reading Carry On, Jeeves. However it is little more than junk food for the brain, and much of this P.G. Wodehouse material has not aged well.
Rating:
Summary: You cannot get a better introduction to English!
Review: I am not a native English speaker, so my vocabulary consists of what I learned in school (a long time ago), what I hear on movies/TV, and what I read. Books and films most often these days come from America, of course, so that is the version of English that I speak (albeit with an accent). Reading P.G. Wodehouse, this or any other book, shows that the English language is not confined to the transatlantic variant; it can be so much richer! Add to that the wonderful, sarcastic sense of humour the man had and you end up with a truly sensational reading experience. Of course, you do need to know a bit of the society of which he writes. It makes me wonder what youths in e.g. the U.S. today would think if they read this book. I am still looking forward to many hours of delightful reading, as I have only read a few books yet. My own introduction to Bertie, Jeeves, and the others in fact came from the excellent British TV series starring Hugh Laurie (as Bertie) and Stephen Fry (as Jeeves). If you get the chance to see it, do so.
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining!
Review: I highly recommend this book. It's very funny and entertaining!
I'd give it more stars if I could.
Rating:
Summary: a balm and a comfort
Review: It's almost impossible to write funny about humor, and anyone who writes seriously about it is doomed to come off as a fuddy duddy. E.B. White, a funny writer himself, once said that analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog, in that the thing tends to die in the process and the results will be interesting only to the purely scientific mind. -Andrew Ferguson, Divine Comedy : P.G. Wodehouse's perfect pitch Two things the critics generally agree on are that : (1) P. G. Wodehouse is one of the funniest writers in the English language; and, (2) it's almost impossible to explain why. Among the various authorities cited for the difficulty in analyzing humor are Evelyn Waugh and Sigmund Freud, themselves authors of hilarious fictions. Suffice it to say, and I mean this in the very best sense, the enjoyments of the Jeeves and Wooster stories are much the same as those of the great TV sitcoms. Wodehouse created these two great comic characters, surrounded them in each story with oddballs, plunked them all down in trying situations, and then had the inimitable Jeeves extract Bertie and his upper-class nitwit friends from their difficulties through various stratagems and diversions. Though Andrew Ferguson and others deny that there is any deeper meaning or political content to the stories, it is at least notable that the finest young gentlemen in all of England are hopelessly overmatched by life unless Jeeves steps in to save them. The resulting stories have a certain sameness to them--of course, just try watching ten episodes of Cheers in a row and see if it's still fresh and amusing in hour five--but read in moderation they are immensely enjoyable and their very familiarity becomes quite comforting. GRADE : A+
Rating:
Summary: a balm and a comfort
Review: It's almost impossible to write funny about humor, and anyone who writes seriously about it is doomed to come off as a fuddy duddy. E.B. White, a funny writer himself, once said that analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog, in that the thing tends to die in the process and the results will be interesting only to the purely scientific mind. -Andrew Ferguson, Divine Comedy : P.G. Wodehouse's perfect pitch Two things the critics generally agree on are that : (1) P. G. Wodehouse is one of the funniest writers in the English language; and, (2) it's almost impossible to explain why. Among the various authorities cited for the difficulty in analyzing humor are Evelyn Waugh and Sigmund Freud, themselves authors of hilarious fictions. Suffice it to say, and I mean this in the very best sense, the enjoyments of the Jeeves and Wooster stories are much the same as those of the great TV sitcoms. Wodehouse created these two great comic characters, surrounded them in each story with oddballs, plunked them all down in trying situations, and then had the inimitable Jeeves extract Bertie and his upper-class nitwit friends from their difficulties through various stratagems and diversions. Though Andrew Ferguson and others deny that there is any deeper meaning or political content to the stories, it is at least notable that the finest young gentlemen in all of England are hopelessly overmatched by life unless Jeeves steps in to save them. The resulting stories have a certain sameness to them--of course, just try watching ten episodes of Cheers in a row and see if it's still fresh and amusing in hour five--but read in moderation they are immensely enjoyable and their very familiarity becomes quite comforting. GRADE : A+
Rating:
Summary: Classic Wodehousiana!
Review: Martin Jarvis' reading of Carry On, Jeeves runs circles around Jonathan Cecil's reading of anything (for more on Cecil, see Psmith: Journalist). He simply embodies the characters of Bertie Wooster, Jeeves, Biffy, Corky, and all the cast (albeit with the same typical attempt at an American accent). Carry On, Jeeves contains eight of the ten stories available in the print version (the remaining two stories appear on My Man Jeeves), so completists will want that, but for pure enjoyment, you can't go wrong with this. Even the titles Wodehouse writes are funny, my favorite being "The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy." They simply roll off the tongue. The stories here include "Jeeves Takes Charge" (chronologically the first as it tells the story of Jeeves' entry into Bertie's life). The others, namely "The Artistic Career of Corky," "Clustering Round Young Bingo," "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest" (about a young cousin of Bertie's who goes wild under his wing), and "Jeeves and the Hard-Boiled Egg" are all classics of the Wodehousian genre and show Jeeves at his problem-solving best. This would easily appeal to the casual Wodehouse fan, and is perfect for long road trips or any other situation where a laugh is needed. Wodehouse exceeds all others in humor and, one assumes, will remain that way for centuries to come.
Rating: 
Summary: My first Jeeves
Review: P.G. Wodehouse's CARRY ON, JEEVES, is a masterpiece of hilarity! Jeeves is Bertram (Bertie) Wooster's manservant in jolly old England. Jeeves is always there to get poor Bertie out of his farcical jams. This book was first published in 1925, but the comedy plays out just as well today. I especially love the variety of turns of phrases that pop up on every page. (Imagine being described by Bertie as: "As vague and woollen-headed a blighter as ever bit a sandwich."!) Each of the ten short chapters is another adventure, with the last adventure being told from Jeeve's own point of view. I highly recommend this book, and I can't wait to read the others in the series!
Rating:
Summary: Jeeves & Bertie #2
Review: Previous: The Inimitable Jeeves While some of the stories in this collection pre-date The Inimitable Jeeves, it was published as a collection two years later, and so I'm calling it the second book in the series. The stories in this set are all stand-alone and unrelated. While many of them are charming, there is one that stands out far and away more noticeably than the others - the ingenious Bertie Changes His Mind. I will not give away the wonderful twist of this story, except to say that Wodehouse pulls it off with flying colors, and it is surprisingly hilarious. If the first couple paragraphs throw you a little, keep reading - you'll catch on, and you will be utterly charmed. Another notable story in this collection is The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy, in which Bertie looks like a genius in comparison. Next: Very Good, Jeeves
Rating:
Summary: Corking Stuff
Review: These ten short Jeeves and Wooster tales originally appeared in 1925 and three-quarters of a century later provide an excellent entry point to Wodehouse's comic series. The Jeeves and Wooster stories generally follow the same template, the young, wealthy airhead Wooster or one of his upper-crust pals gets in some sticky social situation, and it is up to his genius butler Jeeves to devise an ingenious solution to the quandary. Often the stories involve some manner of deception, misunderstanding, or often, mistaken identity-and sometimes, Jeeves' scheme backfires, resulting in even greater hilarity (although as with every comic tale, all is set right by the end). The stories can fairly be compared to contemporary TV sitcoms, as they to reply on recurring (often over the top) characters, a rarefied setting, a single type of humor, and recurring situations. Simply put, if you like one Wooster story (and don't get sick of them), you're going to like them all. Much of this can be explained by Wodehouse's mastery of the language and constant deft turns of phrase, period slang, and comic timing. Those who deride the shallow subject matter and milieu of the Jeeves and Wooster series need to recall the context in which these stories appeared. Only a few years removed from the horrors of World War I-an event that is never alluded to in the series, despite the loss of an entire generation of British young men-the stories can be viewed as a bandage of sorts, an attempt to transport the reader to a world far removed from the traumatic recovery from the Great War. Not to mention Wodehouse's clear depiction of the upper classes as wastrels and idiots of the highest order when compared to the street savvy of the servants (as exemplified by Jeeves). Of course, one doesn't read Wodehouse for social commentary or as a salve these days, but for his dry wit and keen command of the written word.
| 
