The Gold Bat - P.G. Wodehouse

This is one of the earliest books by P.G. Wodehouse. And it reads like a fledgling author’s work.

The book is a part of the school series, which traces the adventures of school boys. Do not be misled by the title or the cover, the book is a lot more about football, or rugby, than Cricket. And story is loosely around a “Gold Bat”, with some politics around the football team selection for the school and a boxing match.

The writing, true to Wodehousian style, is lovely to read. And if someone, like me, reads Wodehouse for the fun of reading, this is quite an enjoyable book, especially since it is a pretty short book.

But otherwise, this is a really, really rough book. The plot barely hangs on to a theme without a definite flow and it seems as if hardly any thought was given to how the story would unfold. The main characters are built up reasonably well, but could have been better. Humour is not too impactful. Ending is abrupt. I really am struggling to find some point on which I can praise the book.
To sum it up, the book is strictly for people who aspire to read the entire Wodehouse collection. The book is no measure of Wodehouse’s skill and wit as an author and has none of the mastery that pours from his later books.