Customer Reviews

Psmith in the City (The new autograph edition of the works of P.G. Wodehouse)

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

 

 

"Psmith in the City" marks something of a transition piece for Wodehouse. Here, two of his principle "School" characters are taken away from the school environment and put into the real world. Psmith is elevated to the principle character quite clearly - a trend which continues in "Psmith, journalist", and of course is entirely dominant in the concluding "Leave it to Psmith", where Mike is relegated to the background.

There is also an element of the autobiographical in this work, for Wodehouse spent his post school days in much the same position as Mike finds himself - working in a city job for which he had little aptitude and did not like. Dulwich College, Wodehouse's school, also makes a cameo appearance.

The character of Psmith (based on a real person, unusually for Wodehouse) lends himself well to Wodehouse's skill at dialogue. Psmith's unique character traits are generally revealed in his conversation, and Wodehouse makes the most of this - certainly more than he was able to in the earlier school settings for Mike and Psmith. The dialogue does not, perhaps, soar to the heights it achieves in "Leave it to Psmith", but this is a distinctly earlier piece of writing. Indeed, the reader is occasionally brought up with a jolt to just how early in the twentieth century this is, with some of the settings and phrasings.

Overall this is a very enjoyable book, and interesting because of the transition role it plays in shifting from the more serious "School" series to the more frivolous work for which Wodehouse is more remembered. The autobiographical aspect is also of interest, and though the historical reminders may shock a little, they are a reminder of how long Wodehouse was writing.

This tale of Psmith and Mike's entry into the banking world is a wonderful send-up of corporate culture (and more), circa 1900. But many of the situations are just as relevant today, and anyone who's tried to navigate the waters of a new job should enjoy (and envy?) Psmith's exploits. There are many passages that are absolutely hysterical ("...Mr. Waller was a widower, and after five minutes' acquaintance with Edward [his son], Mike felt strongly that Mrs. Waller was the lucky one.") This book doesn't quite equal "Leave It To Psmith" in terms of plotting or consistent, side-splitting humor -- but it is a very enjoyable read nevertheless.

Unable to afford Oxford, the young Wodehouse went to work at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, and this provided the background for this novel. At one point during his tenure there he opened a new ledger and began filling it with a story about an imaginary celebration over the wonderful event of opening a new ledger. When his superiors became aware of this misuse of Bank's office supplies, they were not at all pleased. In fact they went so far as to tell him that if ever there was a Bank Clerk Of The Year contest, he shouldn't bother to enter it.

And that's the tone of this book, almost from the moment Psmith arrives for work at the bank until he leaves it for the last time. When writing this early novel, Wodehouse was not yet the master of plot structure he would eventually become, so the ending is weak. But the situations and dialog presented throughout are first rate humor. Anyone who can read it and not gurgle with laughter probably just lost their dog, or has been watching Lassie re-runs.

"Psmith in the City" was first published in the U.K. on September 23, 1910. This makes it one of the earlier works by Wodehouse. This particular printing is another from The Collector's Wodehouse series being released by The Overlook Press (in the U.K. it is The Everyman's Wodehouse series from Everyman's Library). These are very nicely produced books, although it isn't clear what criteria they are using to select the order in which his works will be published. For example, this is the second in the Psmith series, and the first has yet to be published.

This particular story centers on Mike Jackson, a Cricket player who is looking forward to going on to the `Varsity at Cambridge. This dream is spoiled when his father loses most of the family's money (no mention of how). Instead Mike goes to work at a Bank where, by chance, Psmith, a friend from cricket, also happens to be starting work on the same day. The bank manager, Mr. John Bickersdyke, is their nemesis in the book. He just happened to ruin Mike's last cricket match by walking across the screen and distracting Mike. This caused him to fall short of his century and lose the match. The situation in this book is very contrived and forced. It is true that many of Wodehouse's situations are contrived, but for me this one seemed much more so. Perhaps it was because there really isn't a plot to this book. Instead there are some humorous situations and interesting characters, but there doesn't really seem to be a story until the final few chapters. There are some very funny parts of this book, but it was far from Wodehouse's best work.

I read this book a dozen times and it still makes me laugh out loud. In the ten years since I have read it, I have given it away as a gift, and lent it out to scores of people, all of whom have enjoyed and went on to read other works by Wodehouse. What makes it so enjoyable? Perhaps the autobiographical nature of it (wodehouse worked in a bank and hated it) that adds an authenticity, and is just as fresh as when it was written over 80 years ago. But mainly, it is the character Psmith, one of the most delightfully eccentric characters in literature; based on an aquaintance his cousin knew at a public school, who was "impeccably dressed in savile row suits", called his fellow students comrade and had a "fatherly" way of talking to his headmasters. Also highly rec. is "leave it to Psmith"

"Psmith in the City" marks something of a transition piece for Wodehouse. Here, two of his principle "School" characters are taken away from the school environment and put into the real world. Psmith is elevated to the principle character quite clearly - a trend which continues in "Psmith, journalist", and of course is entirely dominant in the concluding "Leave it to Psmith", where Mike is relegated to the background.

There is also an element of the autobiographical in this work, for Wodehouse spent his post school days in much the same position as Mike finds himself - working in a city job for which he had little aptitude and did not like. Dulwich College, Wodehouse's school, also makes a cameo appearance.

The character of Psmith (based on a real person, unusually for Wodehouse) lends himself well to Wodehouse's skill at dialogue. Psmith's unique character traits are generally revealed in his conversation, and Wodehouse makes the most of this - certainly more than he was able to in the earlier school settings for Mike and Psmith. The dialogue does not, perhaps, soar to the heights it achieves in "Leave it to Psmith", but this is a distinctly earlier piece of writing. Indeed, the reader is occasionally brought up with a jolt to just how early in the twentieth century this is, with some of the settings and phrasings.

Overall this is a very enjoyable book, and interesting because of the transition role it plays in shifting from the more serious "School" series to the more frivolous work for which Wodehouse is more remembered. The autobiographical aspect is also of interest, and though the historical reminders may shock a little, they are a reminder of how long Wodehouse was writing.

This is the first of the vintage Wodehouse; his previous books are for completists, or public-school story fans, only. Like his earlier work, the plot is still weak (I'm not even sure he had the ending in mind when he began writing), and the two dei ex machina don't really work. But, as in brief parts of the earlier _Mike and Psmith_ (a.k.a. _The Lost Lambs_), the style and characterization--especially of Psmith--start to show the true Wodehouse genius. In particular, Wodehouse starts to make use of his perennial low-style/high style apposition, here usually with Mike and Psmith, later most famously with Wooster and Jeeves.

I discovered this book by accident - in the bargain section of catalog (pre Amazon days). I paid $3.00 for it, but after reading it, would pay $300.00. Simply it is one of the funniest books I have ever read; I have given away over ten copies over the years, and lend it out countless other times, and have never had anyone be anything but delighted with it. The character "Psmith" (the p is silent) is one of the most unique, eccentric characters in literature. The goings on at the office ("city" refers to the financial district in London) are still relevant today, and amusing repose for anyone who has ever been less than happy with their jobs.

Wodehouse's stories are always set among the privileged and the few of his characters who do work for a living (with the notable exception of Jeeves) tend to be writers, artists, and performers. The world of offices and work days is one that most of his characters either never consider or avoid with everything they've got. This is one of Wodehouse's few stories set largely in an office, and though the hours, responsibilities, and automatic fast-track to promotion would make many of today's 9 to 5ers delighted, his recurring characters Mike, who is forced to work for a living, and Psmith, whose father became fascinated by business and found him a job, do everything they can to spend as little time as possible in the office.

Wodehouse writes with his usual exceptional command of language and descriptions and creates the usual absurd situations. Like Psmith, Journalist, this reads far more like school stories than Wodehouse's other books do; sports play a huge part and the emphasis is on the friendship between the two leads and the shenanigans that they get up to, without the usual romantic tangles that usually drive the plots in Wodehouse's other novels.

For an introduction to Wodehouse, one of the Blandings or Jeeves and Wooster books would be better, but this is still a very entertaining book that any fan of Wodehouse will enjoy.

Title: Psmith in the City by P.G. Wodehouse

Pages: 158

Time spent on the "To Read" shelf: Under a year.

Days spent reading it: 4.

Why I read it: P.G. Wodehouse makes me chuckle quietly to myself a lot. I enjoy his wit and humor, even if I have to concentrate to be entertained. I have read a few of his Blandings adventures, and enjoy the TV versions of Jeeves and Wooster.

Brief Review: Right ho! This was a jolly good tale of Psmith and his friend Mike as they have to briefly leave their lives of idyllic freedom and enter the workforce in order to relieve financial hardship on Mike's family. Wodehouse is the master of making a dull situation hillarious. His characters (Psmith in particular) are able to create elaborate plans about their futures and pull them off with humorous results. Psmith is a little more mean than say Jeeves and Wooster (in this short novel he blackmails, stalks, and harasses a manager), but he pulls it off with an attitude of complete civility, in a classic Wodehouse manner. He even explains how his mean actions are simply misunderstood (although clearly they are not, he is offering a humorous counter interpretation to his actions to get off the hook). It amazes me how Wodehouse has these crazy characters doing insane things, and it still comes off as light, good spirited fun. We need a little more Wodehouse in today's society.

Back to the story--Psmith is a smooth talker. He could, as the saying goes, sell ice to an Eskimo. For the most part, Psmith simply uses his powers of persuasion to slack at his job in the bank. Classic. I highly recommend Wodehouse. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this particular book, although there were plenty of chuckles along the way. Definitely check out Stephen Fry as Jeeves and Hugh Laurie (of House fame) as Bertie Wooster in the BBC's 4 seasons of Jeeves and Wooster. One word for them: genius.

Favorite quote from the book: "I shall toil with all the accumulated energy of one who, up till now, has only known what work is like from hearsay."

Stars: 3.5 out of 5.

The Final Word: Psmart.