Customer Reviews

Indiscretions of Archie

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Poor Archie! Trying to win his stern old father-in-law over, only to land himself in deeper trouble! Getting locked out of his artist friend's apartment in a scarlet bathrobe, and many more such money-making schemes gone haywire, including those to get his f-in-law's approval. The portrait gone awry, and the shoes left outside the door.... Oh no! I'm not going to tell you anymore, you just must read this, and you'll find yourself laughing uncontrollably wondering how you ever thought the world was a drab place! With Wodehouse, there is always laughter in the world!

In addition to an avid enjoyment of the Drones, Jeeves, golf, and Mulliner tales, I find I am developing a marked taste for Wodehouse's light novels. Everything he touches, it seems, turns to laughter. Other places the commedia del arte takes place in motion picture studios, on cruise ships, at resorts on the French Riviera, but here the venue is the Hotel Cosmopolis, drawn, no doubt, from his observations of New York nightlife. And here's Archie, a good-hearted, bumbling Brit out to seek his fortune in the colonies. And of course he met a girl while vacationing. And of course she's a millionaire's daughter. And of course said millionaire is proprietor of said hotel. Does it sound like a formula? Right ho! a formula for fun. Richard Usborne says this book is a lot of stiched together stories. But so what? Ukridge is a lot of not stiched together stories. This book introduces one of Wodehouse's best heroines, Lucille, as the power behind the throne of the Lucy/Archie axis, together pitted against her anti-Archie father. How can you not order it?

What fun! Humorist Wodehouse was near, perhaps at his best when he wrote ARCHIE. The humor is gentle and old fashioned by modern lights, but loses nothing in the telling, as Wodehouse spins his fiction and observes the social landscape of this, his adopted country.

Wodehouse is not for everyone. But those who love him usually become addicted. You end up reading books just to find a few comic gems and it is usually worth the wait. Wodehouse creates his own world of well-to-do, superficial characters that somehow endear themselves to the reader.

This collection provides a great overview of Wodehouse staple characters, Jeeves and Wooster, the Oldest Member, Mulliner, Ukridge, and two funny pieces in which Oofy Prosser tries to outwit Freddie Widgeon. About the only thing missing are the characters from Blandings Castle. It will satisfy Wodehouse fans. But if the stories in this collection aren't your thing, you probably won't appreciate much more of Wodehouse.

I've read and enjoyed 20+ Wodehouse novels, Blandings, Psmith, Uncle Fred, Jeeves & Wooster, etc., and I think this one is the least successful.

Archie is kind of a Wooster without the Jeeves, or even Bertie's wit. None of the other characters are developed beyond simplistic sketches and Archie's pratfalls just aren't enough to support the book.

This fairly early Wodehouse concoction features the peregrinationss of Archie Moffam (pronounced "Moom") who is a young, dense Brit in the Bertie Wooster mold. Set loose in New York, he finds himself in all sorts of trouble without a Jeeves to extricate him, and is the progenitor of many later and similar adventures of the better-known Bertie. Without the brains of a Psmith or a Mulliner, he sometimes seems a bit _too_ thick, but as usual Wodehouse satisfies. Not the very best Wodehouse, it still rates five stars on the silly-meter, and as usual the dialogue and verbiage are sublime. With prohibition in effect, the search for alcohol is a theme, and one learns a lot about what the technically "dry" New York must have been like in those days. Archie prevails, not without some confusion-- but that's Wodehouse's specialty, so you'll enjoy the ride.

This early Wodehouse novel, first published in 1921, is a fast, enjoyable read. It is, I think, the only appearance of Archie Moffam and it's easy to see why. Although the book provides a good display of Wodehouse's brilliant use of language and ingenious plotting, Archie is very similar to, but not as good as, Bertie Wooster -- Wodehouse's finest creation. Like Bertie, Archie is a bumbler and something less than a mental giant. He is also plagued by an obnoxious relative; in Archie's case, his father-in-law, rather than Bertie's infamous aunts. Part of the problem is that Archie, although English, lives in New York City, in a hotel suite provided by his American father-in-law. Most of Bertie's stories are set in England. That allows Wodehouse to bring in the members of the Drone's Club and other eccentrics inhabiting Wodehouse's cock-eyed version of Edwardian England. Wodehouse may also have blundered in making Archie a veteran of the British army in World War I. Although that made the story more timely, the occasional references to Archie's experiences with trench warfare seem incongruous in the context of a Wodehousian farce. Not surprisingly, Bertie Wooster did not serve in World War I. Finally, of course, what makes the Bertie stories so great is the presence of Jeeves, his butler. Archie lacks such an inspired foil.

So, if you are new to Wodehouse, this book is a decent place to start, but you would be better off tracking down one of the Bertie and Jeeves books. If you have read a lot of Wodehouse, then you know what to expect with this book and will find it well worth reading.