Very Good Jeeves - P.G. Wodehouse

I have been steadily climbing up in the charts of the most active Wodehouse adulator. But all the books that I had read so far had been full fledged novels. With so many books yet to read, I always preferred novels over short stories. But the time came, and eventually I picked up Very Good, Jeeves, featuring the good ol’Bertie and his gentleman’s gentleman, Jeeves.

Short stories tend to be tricky affairs. Having a satisfyingly complete plot is no mean thing. A lot of short stories tend to be purely about emotions, without a real story. (Either that, or I have been reading all the wrong short stories) And though my confidence in Plum was complete and unwavering, I was feeling loaded under my own expectations about the entertainment value of short stories by Wodehouse versus his novels.

And Bertie and Jeeves, under the masterful direction of Plum are up to the task.

The stories are essentially abridged versions of any Wooster-Jeeves novel that you might have read. Reduce the complexity. Reduce a couple of tiers from a multi-tiered plot and voila, you have a short story. It sounds like a formula, doesn’t it? But it would be naïve to vehemently oppose the idea. Wodehouse stories are quite formula based. But it’s the individuality of every plot within the formula which makes him so good. And that is exhibited in all the stories in this book. Each one of them will have u snickering and laughing at the situations Wooster finds himself in and they way Jeeves always manages to find a way out.

And over the course of the stories you will get better associated with Tuppy Glossop of whom I haven’t read that extensively in any other Jeeves book so far. He is an entertaining addition to the Jeeves ensemble.

So sit back in a comfy chair and let Wooster, Jeeves and the gang go about tangling and entangling their daily lives. Its all for your benefit!