The Inimitable Jeeves (P.G. Wodehouse, 1923)

(225 pages)

I really want to like Wodehouse's books.  He has such a funny way of writing (always coming up with a phrase or word that I wouldn't expect); I think the books are considered to have aged well; I want to keep trying; but I usually end up wondering why I'm spending any time reading them.  Hmm.

My last Wodehouse attempt was 10 years ago.

This is the first volume in what became a lengthy series of books centered around the unflappable problem-solving butler, Jeeves. He is employed by Bertie Wooster - a youngish gentleman who is independently wealthy. In this volume, Bertie is beset by Aunt Agatha; deals with multiple romances experienced by his friend Bingo; deals with two miscreant cousins (Claude and Eustace).

With Jeeves around, everything turns out well.  

OK I will try the next Jeeves volume before deciding on whether to give up.

Excellent Women (Barbara Pym, 1952)

(231 pages)

Paul Jr. recommendation. 

Miss (Mildred) Lathbury is the protagonist - she (and several of her acquaintances) are "excellent women" - single, perhaps a bit frumpy, unlikely to ever attract a husband, reliable when it comes to church functions, etc.

During the period covered in this novel, Mildred experiences an unusual level of activity due to Mr. and Mrs. Napier moving into the flat immediately below Mildred's; Mrs. Napier's anthropologist connection Mr. Everard Bone; Mildred's close friends Father Julian Malory (who almost ends up marrying widowed Allegra Gray) and his sister Winifred; etc.  Mildred nonetheless remains an "excellent woman".

I liked this book; it was thought-provoking.  Something striking is the near-poverty experienced by the British in these postwar years - food choices, shortage of housing - this is seven years after victory.

More striking is the description of life for people who just generally aren't considered what later came to be called "cool", know it, and don't see a path to anything different. Yet they, or at least Mildred, is living a valuable life.  Descriptions of selecting clothes, hairstyle, eating meals alone - lowkey heartbreaking stuff.  Jockeying for position when it comes to determining flower arrangements for the altar; working through the "jumble" (rummage sale). This part was very effective, probably is the main driver of the book for me.

Things feel kind of dreary for all the adults involved - then I realized (only after reading A.N. Wilson's foreword) - that there are utterly no children in the story - none on the horizon for any of the adults. That seems like kind of an odd choice.