Author Birthday [October] : P.G. Wodehouse

#AuthorBirthday is a monthly feature, in which I highlight one author each month, mostly the ones I have not yet read. Part of the aim is to get familiar with the author and (hopefully) encourage me to start reading his/her work.

For October, please welcome:

P.G. Wodehouse

Sir Pelham Greenville Wodehouse, who was born in 15 October 1881, might be by far my most difficult featured #AuthorBirthday. He lived such a fast-paced life as an English novelist, humorist, playwright, and lyricist, that it's impossible to write a proper mini-biography for him. But, I'd try my best to, at least, highlight his most accomplishments.

Wodehouse is a son of a magistrate who was posted in Hong Kong (as the British colony). He was born prematurely when his mother was visiting her sister in England - the rural village of Guildford in Surrey. He was baptized instantly, and named after his godafther: Pelham con Donop. It's from the name Pelham, that Wodehouse's been nicknamed 'Plum'.

Wodehouse spent most of his childhood in various houses with various adults. In the first two years he was raised by a nurse in Hong Kong. Then he was brought to England and raised by an English nanny, while his parents returned to Hong Kong, remained estranged to Wodehouse as he grew up. His biographer, Robert McCrum, said that this circumstance left psychological mark in Wodehouse, that he avoided emotional engagement both in life and works. Maybe that's why he wrote so many humorous stories?...

His father planned a naval career for Wodehouse, but his poor eyesight failed him. Nevertheless, his unhappy days in the naval prep school inspired him later to be parodied in Bertie Wooster's 'penitentiary prep school'. During holidays he spent hurly burly times with his numerous uncles and aunts, which also played important part on his early life and influenced his later characters. It was after he was placed at the Dulwich College in 1894 that Wodehouse felt at home for the first time, happily spent his time for 6 years. It also marked his first literary career, by editing the school magazine.

As his father's financial was declining, Wodehouse was forced to worked as junior officer at a bank from 1900 to 1902. As you can imagine, he didn't enjoy his work, but compensate it with writing serious articles about school sports for Public School Magazine at afterword hours. In November 1901 his first comic work: "Men Who Missed Their Own Wedding" got published in a magazine. In the next two years Wodehouse wrote not less than eighty pieces on nine magazines. Wodehouse finally resigned from the bank in 1902 to write full-time. At the same year his first novel was published: a school story titled: The Pothunters".

However, novel was not his only work, Wodehouse began to write musical comedy for the stage in 1904, the same year he visited America for the first time - he returned often to the US after that. But he would be widely recognized through his comic stories. It's in the year 1908 that his first original comic character was born: Psmith. But it is the duet of young bachelor Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves that made him most famous. The first story was published in September 1915, titled: "Extricating Young Gussie" in the Strand Magazine, where he has been contributing regularly from 1910.

When WW1 broke, Wodehouse was staying in New York. He later married an English widow, Ethel May Wayman, in September 1914. Sadly, the couple was not blessed by any children; however, Wodehouse eventually legally adopted Ethel's daughter from her first marriage: Leonora. His next adventure was scriptwriting. His first work was for a movie in 1915: "A Gentleman of Leisure". He even joined MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer) - though only for one year - in 1930. Wodehouse then tried his fortune in theater by collaborating on a musical comedy on Broadway in 1920.

In 1934 the Wodehouses decided to move to France due to tax reasons (since he has been living in US and UK). Most unfortunate for him, during World War II, the Germans captured Wodehouse and imprisoned him for about one year. In 1941 he was interviewed by a radio, which was broadcasted to the USA, where he humorously described his imprisonment and ridiculing the Germans. This angered the Britains since he'd done it in Germany, which was their enemy during that time.

Wodehouse finally moved permanently to America in 1947, and received American citizenship in 1955. The British government, however, announced that Wodehouse is saved to return to England in 1965, and in 1974 Wodehouse was granted a knighthood. The year next, he was brought to the Southampton Hospital on Long Island for a skin complaint. While still staying at the hospital, Wodehouse suffered a heart attach, which took his life in 14 February 1975.

Nowadays P.G. Wodehouse is widely regarded as the greatest comic author of the 20th century with a quite outstanding achievement: he has writen more than 90 books, more than 20 film scripts, and collaborated on more than 30 plays and musical comedies in his life - mostly takes the social atmosphere of late Edwardian era.

The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper

The Deerslayer is the first book of Cooper's Leatherstocking Tale series, although it was the last he had written. The Leatherstocking chronicles an American frontiersman called Nathaniel "Natty" Bumppo in the 18th century. Leatherstocking, if you weren't familiar with the word, means a man who develops survival skill in order to live in the wild, away from civilization. My first acquaintance with Natty is from The Last of the Mohicans, which I loved. Now I intend to read through all the "tale in five acts" as Cooper had called his masterpiece.

Natty "Deerslayer" Bumppo is on his journey to a rendezvous with a Delaware young chief: Chingachgook, who has become like a brother to him. The rendezvous spot is within the Ostego Lake, and the mission is to save Chingachgook's betrothed Wah-ta-Wah (Hist), who was kidnapped by the Hurons tribe. On the way to the Ostego Lake, Natty bumped into Henry "Hurry Harry" March, another frontiersman - a tall, handsome, ruthless young man. Harry himself is on the way to visit his longtime friend, Thomas "Floating Tom" Hutter, an ex pirate who has built a log "castle" in the center of the lake to house his two daughters: the "feeble minded" Hetty Hutter and Judith Hutter. The latter is actually Harry's main object, as he's keen to marry this girl with exceptional beauty.

Thus Natty and Harry journeyed together. Along which we soon learned that Natty is of a truthful and dignified Christian nature, while Harry is rough, arrogant, and selfish human being, who believes that the "Injins" are just one level higher than animals, whose scalps he'd be happy to take for money. Natty, on the contrary, is against taking scalps.

On arriving at the Hutters' Ark - a sturdy construction Hutter has built to float on the lake during wars (thus keep the family safe from bullets or tomahawks range) - the Hurons attacked them. Enraged by this incident, Hutter and Harry decided to take a canoe to the Hurons encampment to take scalps, but they were captured instead. Chingachgook soon joined Deerslayer and the girls inside the Ark, and they found way to ransom Hutter and Harry.

This mission accomplished, Deerslayer then kept his promise to help Chingachgook to free Hist. However, in the process, Deerslayer was caught by the Hurons, who're enraged because he has killed two of their best warriors, who have actually wanted to kill him in the first place. At the same time, the Hurons attacked the Castle for the second time when Hutter and Harry were alone, after their recent freedom. Harry was saved by the others in the Ark, but Hutter was scalped (alive!) by one of the Hurons. It was the most horrifying scene throughout the book, though it came as sort of karma for his ruthlessness! He's dead, of course, soon after, but not before telling his daughters that he is not their biological father.

After being orphaned, Judith is thinking about becoming Deerslayer's wife, as it would be impossible for the girls to live alone in the wilderness. Hitherto she is famous of being coquettish, too liberal with young men; she went to the soldiers' place too often to give her bad reputation. But after knowing Deerslayer, she gradually transformed into a different person. The question that remains, after they were saved from the Hurons, is whether Deerslayer would accept Judith's proposal, and what happen to her next.

The Deerslayer is not just about life and adventures in the wilderness. It talks a lot about death and after life; about God and religions, viewed from both the whites and the Indians. From these different views, I concluded that Cooper wanted to convey that, embracing the diversity is what God teaches us. It's impossible to own one's Chistianity while at the same time regards other religions and/races as one's inferiors. That to leave peacefully is to respect others who is different from us - their cultures, their believes, their ways of thinking. How beautiful is a friendship between two human beings, born totally different from each other, but can embrace their differences to create a perfect harmony based on equality, such as Deerslayer's and Chingachgook's.

Other theme which interested me is how society (in the voice of Cooper) treated women. I'm so disappointed on Cooper's decision on Judith Hutter's fate in the end of the novel. Yes, she is cocquetish and much into herself in the beginning of the novel (from Hurry March and Natty's conversation). But after that she reveals more and more qualities of a good woman: intelligence, bravery, independence, humility, and unselfishness. While Copper talked much about morality and Christianity in this book, couldn't he "forgive" Judith from her past follies and give her redemption? Why did Hurry Harry "escaped" from the scene unharmed (while his sins are greater than Judith's)? So, a man can kill others recklessly, and he's only been rebuked, but when a woman gets bad reputation (though it might just be rumors by the men), she is damned with nothing to have saved her. Hawthorne is, at least, more lenient to Hester Prynne in The Scarlett Letter, by giving her a second chance (though far from ideal). I don't know whether this "damnation" is really Cooper's view of women's role in society, or it is in accordance with his criticism of moral corruption of most of the settlers/frontiersmen. Hopefully it is of the latter; what do you think?

Rating: 4/5

The Classic Club Meme 2.0: September

Think about some of your favorite classics.

I picked three from my Personal Canon:
- Germinal
- The House of Mirth
- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

How do their stories, characters, or themes still resonate with you today?

Germinal by Émile Zola

The struggle of the poor is always relevant no matter in which century we live in. The capitalism, in particular, is even more relevant today, than in 19th century. The gap between the owner and the lowest worker is bigger - the owner becomes richer, but the worker is still living from hand to mouth, often in worst and inhumane condition.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

To commit murder is a choice, which makes this book always relevant, as long as we live. The choice, I mean, not the murder committing. Most of us will never come to that stage perhaps, but all the same, we could harm others with thousands of ways other than murder.


What can a modern day reader learn from these books written in very different times? This could be a positive or negative message, given constantly changing social modes. If a classic book no longer meets the social standards of our day, how do we best engage with its story or its themes in our modern world?

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Unlike back then in 19th century, nowadays marriage isn't the only way to choose a fulfilled life for women. Nonetheless, we learn from this book the machinations of society's (bad) influence against individuals, and how we should find courage to fight them, to protect the innocence.

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? is the most intriguing title of Agatha Christie's crime detective novels, and incidentally the one I'm sure I haven't read before. Actually, I didn't even realized Christie ever wrote it until about ten years ago. That's why I have expected eagerly to read it for the first time. The result? Not disappointing, and definitely fun!

This is one of Christie's amateur detectives collection. Bobby Jones and Lady Frances "Frankie" Derwent remind me so much of Tommy and Tuppence, but they are more amateurish, more foolish than T&T, which make the story much lighter and more entertaining than thrilling. Bobby Jones is the fourth son of a conservative Vicar - by fourth means least expectation has ever been put on him by his father, who thinks he's lazy and good-for-nothing.

One misty afternoon, Bobby was playing golf - and he sucks at it too! - when the ball flew over the edge of a cliff. While trying to retrieve it, he finds a dying man's body on the rock below. He stayed by the crumpled body while his friend goes for help, and found a photograph of a beautiful woman inside the man's pocket. Then the man suddenly opened his eyes, and utter "Why didn't they ask Evans?" before collapsed and breathed his last breath. Bobby was in dilemma, he didn't want to leave the corpse alone, but he must went home to play organ for his father at the church. Luckily another golfer appeared at the scene, and agreed to replace Bobby.

Bobby was thinking no further of the accident when he met his childhood playmate: Lady Frances Derwent aka Frankie, a rich but bored girl, eager to seek adventure. At the inquest, a Mrs. Cayman witnessed that she is the woman in the photograph, and the deceased is her missing brother: Alex Pritchard. It struck Bobby how the beautiful girl in the photograph could grow old as the coarse Mrs. Cayman. Not long after the inquest, strange things happened. Bobby suddenly got a great job offer from Argentine with huge salary - which he refused. Then he was poisoned when he fell asleep in a solitary picnic - which he miraculously survived. These last events are so suspicious, that Frankie thought Bobby has been targeted for murder. The local newspaper then published the photograph which supposedly found in the dead man's pocket, which Bobby realized is NOT what he'd actually found. They realized the only possibility is that the other golfer who replaced Bobby is the one who had swapped the photographs, a man called Roger Bassington-ffrench from Merroway Court. Thither then, the investigation must be performed first.

Like I said earlier, this story has some similarities with Tommy and Tuppence's. Both couples are amateurs-turn-detectives; they are all restless or even jobless, because post-war job opportunities were scarce; the girls dominate the guys and more brainy; they trust their friends too easily, while detectives must always distrust others; and they both witty and humorous.

Compared to T&T, though, this story feels more believable; what Bobby and Frankie did is what you would imagine you and your friend would do if you want to play detective - you would do some foolish things, you'd misjudged people, a lot! The villain would lure you into the trap oh-so-easily, that even the inexperienced reader would shout: NO! But maybe, that's what Christie wanted to accomplished: an amateurish detective story that is light, fun, and sometimes sweet. Just a nice change from the serious murders or political crimes.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

Positive Things 2020 Has Brought Me So Far

I see almost everyday in twitter how people hate 2020; how they wish it to be over, or even cancelled. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, I felt the same thing. It had promised great many things, but it was all smashed down by the virus. Everything was restricted, every plan was cancelled. I was terrified and tired all the time. But after about three or four months, I began to get used to it. New habits formed, and life began to make sense again - for me, at least.

And now, six month after the first Covod-16 case was confirmed in Indonesia (and you know how bad our government handle it), I begin to notice things I haven't realized before. It is my belief that there's always positive thing(s) that emerge from every ordeal. The current Covid-19 pandemic is no exception.

Hygiene and healthy habits

Before Covid-19 (when did you realize that your world would always be divided between before and after Covid-16?) - well before Covid-19, I said, I thought I'm a quite hygiene person. Apparently not. I have used to change clothes after coming home from work (I take online public transportation), but then just laid down and relaxing on my bed without taking shower first! I realized now how wrong that was.

Another thing, how often do you wash your hands during the day? I used to arrive at office in the morning without washing hands, and just sat down and work. Since I love snacking, I'd touch my cookies or fruits every now and then with my apparently dirty hands! I only washed hands before lunch (crazy, isn't it?). Since Covid-19 I have felt much healthier than ever. My allergy kept coming back, but it didn't turn to more severe illness like I used to have before.

What matters most

For the last six months I stay at home, except for work and grocery shopping. The church was closed, and we were forced to celebrate mass from home, through live streaming. I was devastated at first, but then I realized how online services could effectively eliminate distractions of regular mass, such as: too friendly parishioners who love to talk to you when you actually want to pray alone (we go to mass to pray to God, anyway, not to meet neighbors, right?) Some people even talk to me when I was praying! Then there's the fashionable people (sight distraction), or too loud a choir, or even the market stall outside the church who was roasting satay when the mass is still on, letting us to feel hungry by the smell!

I realized now how many distractions could occur in just one hour of mass, when we should have focused solely to God. No wonder I always felt so exhausted, bodily, after mass, but felt nothing in my soul. And these distractions are now completely eliminated by online mass. Nowadays I can attend the mass peacefully, wholly involved in the prayer and worship, feeling refreshed after each mass, and realize what matters most: my relationship with God.

Reading and blogging

You might have perhaps noticed how productive I have been, blogging-wise, since April. It's because suddenly I found time to do it. Staying at home, no visits to mall, no hangout with friends, no church events (which in the end don't really help my soul) - I thought I would be bored after a few months. But no, I spent hours every weekend for blog posts writing (usually two posts) and reading. And you know what, I've never felt satisfied and happier since long time ago. Hanging out with friends is fun, but at the end of the day, it's more exhausting than fulfilling. Not mentioning the quality time I can spend for... doing nothing!

I know that not everyone enjoys the same condition, many of you are probably struggling with either health or financial issue. The pandemic sucks, but please don't think about annihilating 2020. You'd never know what'd happen next. Being alive right now, and doing your best to keep your loved ones healthy and happy, isn't it nice and gratifying? And don't forget, Chrismast is only three months away (and I miss it very much!) Pandemic or not, you can always celebrate Christmas, if not with friends, artleast celebrate it with your self. Remember, there's always hope and positive things in every ordeal!

Dubliners by James Joyce

James Joyce is one of the authors I've been reluctant to read because I doubt I'd love them. So, before I plunge myself into a monumental read of Ulysses, I thought it better to sample the much lighter work of him: Dubliners.

Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories. The longest one is the last: The Dead, which is also the most beautifully written and I think, the best of all. I have always been insecured about writing thoughts on short stories collection - I tend to forget all the earlier stories, and so, often fail to find the real connection or the general idea. Maybe that's why short stories collection is never my favorite! But at least, I'm going to try with this one; and thanks to google, I've been able to find summary of all the stories to refresh my mind.

My method is finding the most striking themes of each story, and in the end producing some sort of clouds of ideas. These are what I had gathered from the fifteen stories:
- Death
- Religion (or Catholicism) and moral ambiguity
- Feeling of entrapped or trying to escape
- Loneliness
- Confused identity
- Unsatisfaction or envy
- Purposelessness
- Confused past and future

And so, from these themes, I think Dubliners is Joyce's media to capture the cultural changes of the Dubliners in the turn of 20th century - in particular for the youths. There are often these confusion of values, between their religious tradition and attraction of the modern capitalism; the typical problem of the turn of the century's generation, especially in Ireland, which was strong in their Catholicism. 

The stories also reflect the youths' longing to break the rigid tradition and old moral value. The college students' playing truant to seek adventure in "An Encounter" is one example. And then in "Eveline", the heroine is torn between running away with her lover or staying at home taking care of her demanding father. There is also in "A Little Cloud" this working class man who live modestly with his family, suddenly feeling revolted at his mediocrity existence. The most revolting one is "A Mother", where a mother defended her daughter who didn't get paid as promised in a show. While she is rightfully threatening the director, others (actors and management) condemned her. The more obvious example of the moral declining is in "Two Gallants", a story of two young men who lure maids to steal for them, money from their ladies. Although Dubliners was written before WWI, I sensed the same confusion and purposelessness in the Lost Generation - the lost of old values they have been brought up with, and the awkward effort to embrace the modernity.

Apart from the theme, Dubliners is also Joyce's way to express his affection of Dublin. I loved to read about the cultural interests within the stories. I learned, for example, about Barmbrack, Ireland's traditional cake, which closely resembles what we call in Indonesia: Ontbijtkoek, the Dutch spiced cake.

The goloshes is another thing that had interested me. I thought it means just boots, but apparently it functions as shoecover, protecting the shoes from mud or snow. It looks fashionable too!

Last but not least, I was amazed by Dublin's Pigeon House Fort, an Ireland national heritage I've found from "An Encounter". I'm grateful that the two boys have decided to take a one day vacation along the Canal Bridge and Wharf Road, then taking the ferryboat. It's a pity they didn't get to the Pigeon House - which fortunately, I have found this coverage of Pigeon House in YouTube:

All in all, this has not been a simple reading, there's death theme everywhere (which I didn't understand till now what it represents), and I didn't finish one story: "Ivy Day in the Committee Room", which I didn't understand at all. But on top of these difficulties, I have found a poignant beauty in the last story: "The Dead". So, I guess 3,5 / 5 is a fair rating, but maybe... no more Joyce for the time being!

Physical or E-book? My Final Answer

Physical book or ebook? It has been one of the hottest bookish debates for years. Some still love physical books, but some start opting for more practical ebooks. I have been mostly neutral these years, still loving physical books, but also enjoying ebooks. I owned a Kindle e-reader years ago, but nowadays I prefer Google Playbooks, as it's more eficient: only one gadget for all. In short, I was not fanatical when it comes to book shape, just so I can read. But the other day I saw one tweet that asked: "are you a physical copy or ebook person?" And all of a sudden, it has all settled for me!

You see, my reading range has lately been narrowed down to classics. About ten years ago I still maintained not less than three book blogs (what I was thinking back then?!): one for classics, one for hisfics, and the other for popular genres. Years later, I abandoned my popular genre one, and focused more on the classics (this blog), and the hisfic one. But in the last five years I've been more and more attracted to classics - and so now I focus mostly on Fanda Classiclit. This year, for instance, all of my read books are classics.

Even my book shelves are nowadays dominated by classics; the non-classics area has been largely invaded by the classics (sorry, NC guys!). I now see my future self as a classics reader, who at times would pick non classics if they interest me. I think this preference has helped me to settle my personal debate on physical copy vs ebook once for all:

PHYSICAL BOOKS

= I feel more connected to a story when reading it from physical book. It's like the sentences become alive - something I rarely feel with ebooks. Do you feel it too?

= I can freely annotate, highlight, underline, or dog-ear physical copy whenever I find something interesting, touching, or important. It's like when you exclaim: hear, hear! to something that really excites or defines you while listening to a speech, like: That's It! Well, you can still tap highlight in your e-reader and bookmark a page, but somehow it feels different. It's like you're reading a speech from newspaper, instead of listening to the live version.

I love to write in my book. My copy of Moby Dick, for instance, is full of penciled annotations (words I don't understand or subjects I'd like to google later on). And I also write summary below each chapter-end, because I'd soon forget what it's about after months later (and Moby Dick is a book you won't read in just a week or two, right?). These things, you can't do with ebooks. I read somewhere that handwriting is very different to typing, it's a multisensory activity that makes you understand and memorize better. Do you think so? However, I don't make annotation as a must. I write down on my book whenever I need to express or emphasize something. It can be just in once in a page, but sometimes all over the pages. :))

= Physical book promotes slow reading, better digesting, and deeper reflecting on a book, much better (for me, at least) compared to ebook. I tend to read fast with ebook. That's why I love reading mysteries or thrillers in ebooks, but for classics... it doesn't work as good as physical book.

= I often hear readers saying how they love the smell of a book... Well, I'm not that kind of reader. I'm also allergic to dust mites and molds, which can often be found in old books. No, I prefer new books really, and I never pay much attention to the fresh ink smell, or whatever, either. However, I love colors and paintings on physical books covers, something I can cherish as my own. I love my books, the substance as well as the contents. I don't feel the same with ebooks. And that's why I keep forgeting books that I keep in my Playbooks library - I feel that they don't really belong to me. Does that make sense?

= It's not fair to not mentioning positive points of ebook. Well, I like ebooks for the cheaper prices (even free for classics), space saving, and adjustable font sizes. Google Playbooks, on particular, giving samples for each ebooks. It's very helpful when I can't make my mind whether to like a book or not. I can always download the sample and browse a chapter or two. It's especially useful to get cheaper price for shorter or less famous books.

So that's it, it's settled now, I will focus more on paperbacks! What about you? Do you prefer reading classics from physical or ebook? Or both?