*** P.G. Wodehouse – The Works of P.G. Wodehouse

Seriously, all I did from late April until early June, books-wise, was plow through this gigantic Wodehouse tome (thank god I didn’t have to carry it around on actual paper). I spent a solid 5-6 weeks on it and am still only 30% finished, and I read fairly quickly. I gave it up not because I didn’t like it but because dear lord that’s a lot of Wodehouse. So, recommended. Now, everyone knows that the jewel in Wodehouse’s crown is Jeeves and Wooster, and this is mostly stuff that isn’t quite that good. On the other hand there are some real gems hidden in this collection. For all their good qualities, the Jeeves books are fundamentally static comedies. Like a sitcom, whatever situation is set up at the beginning in order for hilarity to ensue must be resolved by the end with everything basically back to how it was when it all started. In other words, neither Jeeves nor Bertie ever grows or changes as a character. There is essentially no character development, no growth or change; and so there’s a limit to how compelling these people can be in the long run. Now, I think every piece of Wodehouse I’ve ever read has been of the light comedy type, but there were several in here that involved actual character complexity and development that I really enjoyed. I’ll be returning to this later.