Customer Reviews

The luck of the Bodkins

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great books unsually start with great 1st sentences, and Luck of the Bodkins doesn't disappoint with this classic Wodehouse gem: "Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French." How can you possibly put a book down that starts like that! And it only gets better.

The eponomous hero Monty Bonkin is also a minor character in the Blandings novel "Heavy Weather. " This book picks up right where we left him at the end of that book making it a sequel of sorts though you defininately do not have to have read "Heavy Weather" first. Set in London, New York and Hollywood this is a great farce, which will keep you laughing to the end. Another great thing about this is that it the longest Wodehouse novel I've come across at 358pgs. so there's more to love.

Most importantly, make sure you pick this novel up (as well as the other Wodehouse books available) in the exquisite Overlook edition -- the beautifully designed, well crafted uniform editions that will last for generations and only cost a couple of bucks more than the mass marke paperback.

There may be no Jeeves or Wooster, but the Luck of the Bodkins shows that P.G. Wodehouse is still able to produce a nigh flawless novel without his two most well-known characters. Wodehouse is at his creative peak with this comic soap opera about several folks on a transatlantic cruise.

The title character is Monty Bodkin who has pursued his erstwhile fiancée Gertrude onto a ship going to New York. A misunderstanding has made her break the engagement, and though it will soon be resolved, more misunderstandings will follow. Also on board is movie studio owner Ivor Llewellyn who is being coerced by his absent wife to smuggle a pearl necklace to the states; he incorrectly thinks Monty is a customs inspector and thus targets him for some bribery. There is also the actress Lotus Blossom, who is engaged to Ambrose Tennyson (cousin of Gertrude); Ambrose is contracted to work for Ivor, and is also jealous of his younger brother Reggie, who is also aboard and once had a fling with Lotus.

In addition to all these characters. there is the ship's steward, Albert Peasemarch, who in certain ways is the anti-Jeeves: he has a seemingly magic way of making any situation worse. If this is beginning to sound complicated, it is, which is why this is one of Wodehouse's longest stories. There's a lot going on, but it all comes together seamlessly.

As always, you don't read Wodehouse for deep looks at the human condition; instead you get light entertainment, which is a nice escape from the weighty issues of real life. Simply put, reading Wodehouse is fun, and the Luck of the Bodkins is Wodehouse at his best.

Great books unsually start with great 1st sentences, and Luck of the Bodkins doesn't disappoint with this classic Wodehouse gem: "Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French." How can you possibly put a book down that starts like that! And it only gets better.

The eponomous hero Monty Bonkin is also a minor character in the Blandings novel "Heavy Weather. " This book picks up right where we left him at the end of that book making it a sequel of sorts though you defininately do not have to have read "Heavy Weather" first. Set in London, New York and Hollywood this is a great farce, which will keep you laughing to the end. Another great thing about this is that it the longest Wodehouse novel I've come across at 358pgs. so there's more to love.

Most importantly, make sure you pick this novel up (as well as the other Wodehouse books available) in the exquisite Overlook edition -- the beautifully designed, well crafted uniform editions that will last for generations and only cost a couple of bucks more than the mass marke paperback.

This is a great book; it's my favorite Wodehouse book. It has a hilarious plot and is a book that's worth buying because you can reread it every year and it's great every time.

I love the writing style of P.G. Wodehouse, this is one of my favorites - so funny. It sort of reminds me of a well written Three's Company episode where everyone gets the wrong idea about everyone else. Attention Hollywood: this book would make a great screenplay! You can pay me a finders fee, of course!

I very highly recommend this book. It's very funny and entertaining. I really enjoy all of P.G. Wodehouse's books, and this is one of my favorites. He is truly a genius at writing and entertaining his readers. I'd give it more stars if I could.

"The Luck of the Bodkins" is one of Wodehouse's stand alone novels i.e. its not tied into other novels like the Blandings or Jeeves novels. Even so, it is a very entertaining read. The story is set on a voyage from Southampton to New york and we have the usual Wodehouse plot lines of engagements being broken and mended but in this case we have a novel feature of a hollywood producer trying to smuggle a necklace into New York without paying duty - this is key to the plot. The book is longer than the usual Wodehouse fare but even so, it managed to keep me interested and entertained until the end. I sensed though that there were not as many amusing descriptive passages as one finds in other Wodehouse novels but that may be just be because I was not sufficiently attentive.

This is a very fun P.G. Wodehouse book and I was excited about the earlier edition for my collection. The pages are a bit fragile but otherwise in good condition.

I read everything of Wodehouse I could get my hands on in the 1970's. I thought I was finished with Wodehouse, but then I picked up this book a few days ago and was delighted to realize I had forgotten everything in it. The biggest surprise was finding it could still make me laugh out loud. Wodehouse gets his characters into the kind of muddles that are the stock in trade of screwball comedies. But he does it better than anyone else. Anywhere you dip your spoon into this pudding you find comedy that is sparkling, gleeful, crazy fun.