Right Ho, Jeeves, is the second full-length novel in the Jeeves series of books by P. G. Wodehouse.  This book is narrated by a young gentleman named Bertie Wooster.  The story is set in England during the early 1900s.  Bertie is wealthy, but naive.  Jeeves, of course, is Bertie’s personal valet.  Bertie is met by an old friend named Augustus Fink-Nottle, known by friends as “Gussie.”  Gussie is trying to work up the courage to propose marriage to a young woman.  He wants Jeeves to help, but Bertie insists on helping Gussie himself.  Bertie soon forgets all about it, until he receives a telegram the next day from his Aunt Dahlia.  She needs Bertie to visit her right away, because she needs his help to give away prizes at a school event.  Bertie suddenly remembers about Gussie.  In Bertie’s mind, this could be an opportunity for Gussie to boost his confidence.  This is also a way for Bertie to avoid helping his aunt.  So, he sends Gussie to do the job.

As usual, things do not go according to Bertie’s plan.  Bertie ends up visiting Aunt Dhalia and Gussie anyway, and they encounter all kinds of challenges.  Bertie only makes things worse as he tries to solve problems.  His failed attempts to help other people are entertaining as always.  Bertie has good intentions, but his plans always seem to go awry.

One of my favorite chapters is when Gussie becomes intoxicated just before the time arrives to give away prizes at the school.  He slurs and stumbles as he tries to share advice and anecdotes with the school children.  He gets everything mixed up and begins ranting about supposed cheating at the school.  He makes disparaging remarks about Bertie and others.  This is one of the most entertaining parts of the book.

This novel is absurd in many ways, but extremely humorous.  Wodehouse is an excellent writer, and very witty.  This book is light-hearted but well-written.  I have read it multiple times now because it is so entertaining.  Wodehouse is one of my favorite authors.  I would highly recommend this book, as well as all of the stories about Bertie and Jeeves.

Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

A Damsel in Distress is a humorous novel by P. G. Wodehouse.  The book appears to be set around the time of the publication date, which was 1919.  A young American composer named George Bevan feels empty and discontent with his life.  While visiting London from his native New York, he is thrust into a tumultuous chain of events when a young woman by the name of Maud Marsh enters into his life.  This mysterious lady appears one day and asks George to hide her from her brother Percy.  George falls in love with Maud, and he tries to find out where she lives.  However, the girl’s aristocratic relatives disapprove of George, and prevent her from leaving their castle.

I found this novel to be extremely entertaining.  I have always enjoyed stories like this, with a relatively small cast of characters.  This allows the author to focus on character development.  I consider P. G. Wodehouse to be one of the best at doing this.  He is very skillful at developing funny and interesting characters.  All of the characters are humorous in their own way, and the dialogue between them is very enjoyable to read.  For example, Percy Marsh is quite pompous and self-important, but his inept schemes against George always fail miserably.  Reginald (“Reggie”) Byng always seems to be upbeat and cheerful, even though he often gets pushed around by his overbearing relatives.

This novel was an amusing read from start to finish.  P. G. Wodehouse has great command of the English language, and his characters express themselves in ways that are delightful to read.  The story takes many funny twists and turns, but eventually arrives at a satisfying conclusion.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone in the mood for a fun and lighthearted story.