Lord Emsworth and Others by P.G. WodehouseReview by Jason Koivu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I doubt I've ever seen more mileage gotten out of an air rifle!
P.G. Wodehouse is a master at squeezing the most out of a very little bit. The reader of even a handful of his stories gets a sense of deja vu, but since those stories are always light, airy and full of fun, that's not such a bad thing.
In this collection of stories, based around a few of Wodehouse's recurring characters, it's the title story that struck a hilarious blow to my funny bone. Lord Emsworth is a hopelessly doddering old duffer with the tiniest bit of spark left in him, just enough left to make you love the old fellow.
A chunky section in the middle of the book is filled with a slew of Wodehouse golf-based one-offs, which are fine. I prefer his Blandings Castle work or the Jeeves and Wooster material, but the golf stuff has its moments, especially if you like the game. The remainder of the book is rounded out with tales of Ukridge, his overly confident ne'er-do-well character who never notices that he never does well. I wasn't a huge Ukridge fan, but these few stories revolving around his costly shenanigans actually improved my opinion of him.
All in all, Lord Emsworth and Others bounced between 3 and 4 stars, a respectable rating. Though, I would not suggest the uninitiated embark upon Wodehouse with this collection.
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