Book Report: Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another classic Jeeves and Wooster story. Bertie once again travels to Totleigh Towers to try to repair the rift in Gussie Finknottle and Madeline Basset's engagement. Pop Basset and Roderick Spode (Lord Sidcup) think he is there to steal a black amber statuette for Bertie's Uncle Tom. How could things get complicated?

As he reflects on his predicament he says "But I must admit that as I crouched in my haven of refuge I found myself chafing not a little. Life at Totleigh Towers, as I mentioned earlier, had got me down. There seemed no way of staying pu tin the darned house. One was either soaring like an eagle on top of chests [to escape the dog Bartholomew] or whizzing down behind sofas like a diving duck, and apart from the hustle and bustle of it all that sort of thing wounds the spirit and does no good to the trouser crease. And so, as I say, I chafed."(p176)

As Coleridge said, comedy requires the willing suspension of disbelief. While the plots are hilariously complicated, we don't come for the plot; we come for the writing which is some of the best in the English language. That writing always causes me to laugh out loud; I did so at least 3 times on the bus!

One of my life's missions is to get people to read P.G. Wodehouse's stories about Jeeves and Wooster. If you only read 1 Jeeves and Wooster story, read The Code of the Woosters, which features the silver cow creamer. But this is excellent;.

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