Customer Reviews

THE WORLD OF MR. MULLINER

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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There are so many levels on which this book is funny. Wodehouse's use of the language is wonderful, the characters are amusing yet sympathetic, and the plots are hysterically funny. Not to be missed!!

Exceptionally witty. Very relaxing -- read it on the night prior of my Ph.D. Candidacy exam at Princeton. If I had to select only one book, this certainly would be it.

In the preface PG Wodehouse explains that he is writing at his funniest, and cannot be held responsible for what occurs. And though I've read through a fair amount of the Wodehouse library, this book is without a doubt the most humorous novel yet penned by the prolific author.

This book revolves around a Mr. Mulliner who resides often on a barstool at the local tavern, and likes to tell tales about all his relatives. The tales usually involve a chap trying to win over a reluctant girl in some fashion, but every story is so original and has a wonderful twist in the end where things work out for the best.

I chose to read this book at work, and despite my best efforts couldn't stop myself from laughing aloud while reading this book during my lunch hour. It's absolutely hilarious, it is indeed Wodehouse writing at his funniest.

Quate. I especially like the Hollywood stories - Plum's Revenge.

This is a bundle of short humor stories by P.G. Wodehouse, known for the enormously popular series of novels featuring such protagonists as the Earl of Blandings Castle, Jeeves, and Psmythe. The stories in this book are of a slightly different conception, being narrated, supposedly, by Mr. Mulliner while sipping his outlandish cocktails in a bar, and invariably dealing with some near or more distant relative getting into all kind of complicated situations in the United States.

The humor (that's American for 'humour') in these stories, as in all Wodehouse's work, are based on a combination of silly situations and characters, which are perhaps mildly amusing by themselves, and an original, exaggerated and extremely Brittish use of the English language befitting the orations of Winston Churchill but being quite absurd when juxtaposed to entirely mundane and ordinary events. When first reading these stories I was quite unprepared and the effect was so strong that I literally fell off my chair laughing. After a few hundred pages of this, one gets the hang of it and it is still funny but perhaps not quite at the same level. And I am quite sure that some will find this kind of humor not funny at all.

For those who have read a lot of Wodehouse novels but missed the Mulliner stories this collection is guaranteed to give them hours of pleasure. For those who don't know Wodehouse yet this is actually a pretty good place to start, being short stories that can be read entirely in one sitting. Of course, if you already know that you don't like this kind of humor, then there is no point.

In summary, if you like classical English humor writing this is a must; if you do not, skip it; and if you aren't sure, this is a pretty good place to start.

I read this book originally about 15 years ago. I found it became funnier as I went along due to the cummulative effect of all the zany antics of Mr. Mulliner's many cousins. I also loved how Mr. Mulliner referred to his fellow companions at the Bar Parlor of the Angler's Rest according to the drink they were imbibing. I bought this book to read aloud to my teenage son, because like me he appreciates ironic British wit. If you are a Wodehouse fan you'll enjoy this book.