The Pothunters

Rating:
Summary: The Pothunters - Wodehouse's First Novel
Review: There is a glowing review appended as an afterword to the story in this novel about schoolboy adventures in England. That review would be 5 stars, and I would probably agree, except I want to save 5 stars for later Wodehouse works such as Luck of the Bodkins. I discovered Wodehouse because Douglas Adams praises him in his final book, The Salmon of Doubt. I love Wodehouse and think of him as an older, even more English version of Adams. In Pothunters, some trophies are stolen from a boarding school, and the adventures of the boys involved are intricate, extremely well written, and quite entertaining. Wodehouse peppers his prose with extremely clever phrasing, which causes me to laugh out loud. In the Pothunters I only laughed once per chapter. In Luck of the Bodkins it was every other page. Still, this book is worth the reading!

Rating:
Summary: Wodeghouse's first novel shows early signs of his genius
Review: Written in 1902, The Pothunters was the first novel of P.G. Wodehouse's 70-year career. As might be expected, it is somewhat immature, but shows signs of his eventual genius.

The Pothunters is set is an English boy's school at the turn of the centurry, an environment Wodehouse was familiar with. As such, it was written with those young readers in mind, and is consequently may not be very interesting to the modern reader.

The plot concerns some stolen prizes (the "pots" of the title). As a mystery, the book is not particularly well done, but the characterizations of the heroic though mischieveous boys would appeal to the young readers of the time.

As is the case in many of Wodehouse's works, characterization and plot are secondary to his amusing language and style. There are signs throughout of this development, which alone makes the book readable today.

Generally, one gets the impression that the book was written quickly, almost dashed off without the careful polish exhibited in Wodehouse's later works. Generally, the book would probably appeal most to a Wodehouse collector.