Pages

Pages 2

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Aunts Aren't Gentlemen by P.G. Wodehouse: A Review for #ReadingTheMeow2023




🐱
Bertie Wooster wakes up one morning to find red spots on her chest, and the doctor's (E. Jimpson Murgatroyd) order is to stay quietly in a peaceful place. So go Bertie and his smart valet Jeeves to Maiden Eggesford, a rural town where Bertie's Aunt Dahlia is staying with her friend, Colonel Briscoe, in a house called Eggesford Hall.

🐱 But will Bertie get his prescribed dose of the quite life in Maiden Eggesford? Of course not! As usual, a series of chaos would certainly ensue wherever he goes. This time in the shape of a stray cat!

🐱 There will be a horse race in nearby town. Colonel Briscoe and a man called Cook, who lives in a house called Eggesford Court, were longtime rival. Cook's horse, Potato Chip (what a name for a racehorse!πŸ˜‚) is very attached to a stray black cat. He always performs well whenever the cat is present.

🐱 When Bertie was calling on Colonel Briscoe for lunch, he mistakenly arrived at Eggesford Court (Cook's residence) instead of Eggesford Hall. He saw a black cat, and played with it. But, alas, Pop Cook saw it and thought Bertie wanted to steal his cat to sabotage Potato Chip's training. Bertie recounted this unpleasant incident to the 'old ancestor' (Aunt Dahlia), who has actually placed a bet on Simla, her host's horse. Knowing a way to secure her win, she arranged with a local poacher to steal the cat, and to place it temporarily at Bertie's cottage!

🐱 This then created a string of complex but hilarious misunderstandings, mis-timings, and whatever you call it that usually happens to Bertie Wooster! Add to it the romance between a headstrong girl (Cook's daughter), whom Bertie had once proposed to but regret it now, and a communist young man (Bertie's friend) who are now jealous of Bertie. To make it more complicated, Major Plank, whom Bertie had had trouble with in the past, happened to be staying as a guest at Pop Cook's!

🐱 If you're familiar with Wodehouse's Jeeves stories, you'll guess how chaotically funny these awkward situations can become, and how the ever reliable Jeeves could always save his master from the worst possible intricacies he's liable to put himself in.

🐱 As usual, one will always feel much satisfied after a dose of laughter along Jeeves stories. This one is no different. Though the cat seems not to appear very often, it did have an important and cohesive role in this particular adventure.

Rating: 4,5 / 5


**My second read for Literary Potpourri's Reading the Meow 2023 **



Getting to know the Meow:
I won't tell you my name, but I am very fond of my horse friend: Potato Chip.
I'm hanging around him during his trainings (he's a race horse, isn't it cool?)
My contribution to the story: I was catnapped! Poor Potato Chip refused to do what he's told because I'm not there with him. 
I don't understand why people make fuss about it, 'cause 
I'm having a good time, and I love following people around!

 

10 comments:

  1. Lovely. Wodehouse always creates the most chaotic of situations and still resolves them so well. I enjoy reading his books though this is one I haven't yet read. Thank you for the lovely review, Fanda :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Mallika. Wodehouse's are always adorable stories, aren't they? It never fails to make us laugh.

      Delete
    2. I agree. His books always cheer me up when I'm feeling low.

      Delete
  2. This sounds delightfully fun. But then Wodehouse always makes me laugh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And we are lucky that he's a prolific author! This book was actually his last Jeeves book. I happened to read the first, then the last. There's plenty of time to read the in-between.... ;)

      Delete
  3. I haven't heard of this one before! It doesn't appear in my complete collection, either. Will try the audio version.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, I've never tried Wodehouse's audio version. It must be more entertaining that reading the print! This one is actually the last of Jeeves series, I wonder why it doesn't appear in the collection - maybe it has a different title?

      Delete
  4. Haha, great choice for the week! I had forgotten there was a Wodehouse with a cat in it, I associate him more with pigs and angry swans.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I haven't encountered the pigs and angry swans so far - I need to read more Wodehouse!!

      Delete
    2. You have to read Blandings then, and meet the Empress (a prize winning pig!)

      Delete

What do you think?