Sep 19 2008
Read a Book - P.G. Wodehouse
Every so often, I forget why I chose to become an English major. Don’t get me wrong, I read endlessly. But so often, I’m reading the same things because there is a comfort and familiarity there. Or I’m reading a cookbook or a magazine. There is enjoyment in all those reading activities, but little surpasses the experience of sitting down with something new (to you) and inspired.
I finally sat down this week with The Most of P.G. Wodehouse, a collection of short stories and a novel. I bought it for a little over ten dollars in order to buffer an Amazon purchase and get free shipping. Michael read through it and enjoyed it thoroughly. He’s begun amassing Wodehouse.
Michael and I have different philosophies on writing. We enjoy different styles. We have totally unique repertoires - minus the things every English major has to read: Shakespeare, Chaucer, Milton. He loves Agatha Christie, I can’t think of her without picturing Angela Lansbury. He’s much more well-read in terms of classic British Literature, I read crazy modern fiction that he’s not really inclined to read.
So, I took a shot on Wodehouse. I wasn’t sure I liked it at first. The writing didn’t seem that interesting, the characters were obnoxious. But first appearances are deceiving. The writing is fantastic, dry and witty, well constructed. His characters are obnoxious, but unfortunately they’re also painted so well that you sympathize with them and cheer for them. His stories are… well… sitcoms on television have pretty much stolen everything that redeems them from Wodehouse. He constructs these impossible situations and as a reader you sit on the edge of your seat because you know something awful and hilarious is going to happen.
He’s the first author who has made me laugh out loud in a long time. It will happen when you don’t expect it to. So I thought I’d give props to Wodehouse, who I never heard mentioned in an English class. Read him! Some works can be found at Project Gutenberg, but it’s not expensive to get The Most of on Amazon, and your library probably has some Wodehouse, too.
Michael’s uncle Bill turned me on to Wodehouse when I was about 12. It was the beginning of a long downward slide for me. “He was pale and shaken, like a dry martini”, and “He was a pudgy man and looked as though he’d been poured into his clothes but forgot to say ‘when’” - my two favorites.