Review: The Inimitable Jeeves (novel)

I'm so busy with Camp NaNoWriMo that I completely forgot there was supposed to be a review today. So I had to write one in a hurry. Luckily, I'd just finished this book 😄

The Inimitable Jeeves is the second of P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster novels, first published in 1923. It isn't really a novel; it's a short story collection. The stories are all connected, and all revolve around the extraordinary situations Bertie Wooster gets involved in.

All Jeeves and Wooster plots are very similar. Someone close to Bertie falls in love with an unsuitable girl. Someone -- usually Bertie's Aunt Agatha -- orders him to sort it out. Bertie only succeeds in landing himself in the soup, as he puts it. Jeeves comes along and sorts everything out. Then the cycle starts all over again.

Usually this would be a criticism. But Wodehouse's sense of humour and brilliant narration makes each repetition of the plot fresh and amusing. The characters' idiocy provides much hilarity, but even it pales in comparison to the wonderfully sarcastic narration. I absolutely love the bit where Bertie complains most of a café's menu must have "been specially prepared by the nastier-minded members of the Borgia family for people they had a particular grudge against" 😆

My favourite scenes include Bertie returning his aunt's jewels, the ill-advised "pushing Oswald off a bridge" plan, and Bingo pretending to be a communist to impress a girl. But of all the stories, my absolute favourite has to be "The Delayed Exit of Claude and Eustace". (Every time Eustace is mentioned, I keep thinking "There once was a boy named Eustace Wooster, and he almost deserved it" 😆) The twins, who are supposed to be on the way to South Africa, stay in London to fight over a girl who can't stand either of them. Bertie has to try to get them to leave while keeping the family (especially Aunt Agatha) from learning where they are. And of course Jeeves comes along with an excellent solution that leaves the readers in stitches 😆😆

If you want original, unique plots, this definitely isn't the book for you. But if you want to roar with laughter at every line, this is the perfect book to read!

Is it available online?: Yes, on Gutenberg.

Rating: 8/10.