A Damsel in Distress - BookWyrm.de

Hardcover, 224 Seiten

Sprache: English

Am 8. Januar 2004 von Wildside Press veröffentlicht.

ISBN:: 978-0-8095-9831-1
OCLC-Nummer:: 56400502

Inasmuch as the scene of this story is that historic pile, Belpher Castle, in the county of Hampshire, it would be an agreeable task to open it with a leisurely description of the place, followed by some notes on the history of the Earls of Marshmoreton, who have owned it since the fifteenth century. Unfortunately, in these days of rush and hurry, a novelist works at a disadvantage. He must leap into the middle of his tale with as little delay as he would employ in boarding a moving tramcar.

2 Auflagen

Nerd Picnic hat A Damsel in Distress von P. G. Wodehouse besprochen

For the first time, I've got a bone to pick with Wodehouse

3 Sterne

I think I've read about a dozen of PGW's books, and this one has as many gems of description and dialogue as any. (The Jeeves & Wooster stories really are better than the rest because of the first-person perspective; but there is plenty to love in the others.)

This time, though, it was impossible to ignore certain mean and lazy jokes, because he kept returning to them. First, everyone overweight is bad. Both our omniscient narrator and the "good" characters explicitly make fun of and are disgusted by their weight. Second, the servants are made fun of and the whole joke is that they are less educated and polished than the aristocrats.

I have no problem with Wodehouse skewering servant characters the same as he does to everyone else, like he does in other books, but this is the first time where their class characteristics are the entire …

I think I've read about a dozen of PGW's books, and this one has as many gems of description and dialogue as any. (The Jeeves & Wooster stories really are better than the rest because of the first-person perspective; but there is plenty to love in the others.)

This time, though, it was impossible to ignore certain mean and lazy jokes, because he kept returning to them. First, everyone overweight is bad. Both our omniscient narrator and the "good" characters explicitly make fun of and are disgusted by their weight. Second, the servants are made fun of and the whole joke is that they are less educated and polished than the aristocrats.

I have no problem with Wodehouse skewering servant characters the same as he does to everyone else, like he does in other books, but this is the first time where their class characteristics are the entire joke.

Still, there are so many good bits, and the plot device of the sweepstakes added extra irony. So I'll give it 3 stars instead of 2.

I'm disappointed in you, PG!

Themen

Literary
Fiction - General
Fiction