Reviews for Jeeves and the tie that binds

The average rating for Jeeves and the tie that binds based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-05-23 00:00:00 Charles Heinrich "It was one of those heavy, sultry afternoons when nature seems to be saying to itself, 'Now, shall I, or shall I not, scare the pants off these people with a hell of a thunderstorm?'" One of the fine mornings Bertie Wooster decided life could not become better. He was right - it could not, but it very well could become worse. Right after finishing breakfast he received a phone call from his aunt Dahlia (the good one, not to be confused with the bad one - Agatha who according to Bertie eats nails and performs virgin sacrifices at the full moon). Apparently she decided to help a son of her former schoolmate; the said son nicknamed Ginger also happened to be an old buddy of Bertie. The guy was running a local election. Aunt Dahlia asked Bertie to come and help. We all know politics is a dirty business, but nobody ever had so much troubles being involved in it as our poor Bertie. This should be enough for a brief outline of the beginning of the plot. I will only mention that the people that kept appearing in the last books made an encore here: Aunt Dahlia, Madeline Basset, Florence Craye, and Roderick Spode. Speaking honestly at this point of the book I got a little tired of this crowd and would gladly see somebody else, like Betrie's biggest nemesis, Aunt Agatha. First things first: we need to acknowledge P.G. Wodehouse was 90 when he wrote the book. I can challenge anybody (including myself) to write something at least half as funny at this age. I do not think there will be many takers. Having said this, the plot feels familiar, some of the situations are rewrites of those from the previous books and some of the jokes are copied verbatim. For this reason the plot feels somewhat stale, but Wodehouse's "stale" is still miles ahead of 99% of humorous literature. Once again, keep in mind the author's age. I gave the book 3 stars and weak stars at that, but this rating only reflects he story's standing among the rest of the series. As a standalone it is quite good and a recommended read to any fan of P.G. Wodehouse. It was just me: at this point (fourteenth installment) I was only mildly amused, but I do not think I wasted my time read it.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-06-30 00:00:00 Jillian Page Aw, this makes me sad. Much Obliged, Jeeves is one of Wodehouse's last books in the Jeeves & Wooster series, just when it's starting to show some life after so many books by rote. The usual plot and characters are all in order. Finicky friends and daffy family members all seemingly conspire to thrust Bertie Wooster neck-deep into the soup, then jam him between a rock and a hard place. Hovering about the periphery is the all-knowing, gentleman's gentleman extraordinaire Jeeves, ready to extract his master and set all to rights. Where this book differs from other Wodehouses is in the little details. Bertie's narration makes it plain that Much Obliged, Jeeves comes later in the Wodehouse oeuvre by referencing past exploits, and I'm not just talking about that scripture prize he won in school or the article he wrote for Milady's Boudoir on "What the well-dressed man is wearing." I'm not even talking about the big reveal that Jeeves actually has a first name. The real difference is in how Jeeves interacts with Wooster. It's not a vast shift to the left, but there is a slight subversion in his tone, a sort of sauciness to his lip service, a kind of sass to his soliloquy. Yes indeed, Jeeves expresses himself here with more than just a raised brow and I found it shocking. SHOCKING, I SAY! Seriously though, it was nice to see an old familiar character being appropriately stretched a bit. After all the patience-straining nonsense Jeeves endures, it seems quite natural for such a clearly superior mind to grow a tad surly after such trying times. I only wish Wodehouse had started this process and expanded upon it years, nay, decades prior. In summary, Much Obliged, Jeeves is a solid book in the series, but if you're a newcomer, I'd suggest starting somewhere earlier. Perhaps, Right Ho, Jeeves or The Code of the Woosters would be more suitable. These books don't need to be read sequentially, and you'd be fine if you read this one first, but I think the Wodehouse newb would be better severed with a more elementary introduction. Wouldn't want to muddle the grey matter, now would we?