The first of the eleven Jeeves and Wooster novels, Thank You, Jeeves bolts out of the gate, instantly funnier than the best of the (very funny) 33 short stories that preceded it. The novel opens with Bertie's horror at being forced to choose between his current flat and his beloved instrument, the banjolele, which his neighbours will not stomach. He makes the only reasonable choice - the banjolele, of course - only to find Jeeves handing in his notice. From there, it's one long descent into madness! ( )

As usual, P. G. Wodehouse never fails to provide an entertaining, humorous read. Inane? Yes. Silly? Yes. Predictable? Yes. But thoroughly enjoyable, familiar, comfortable. ( )

The short story collections I've read in this series so far do usually have some connection between some of the short stories. But this is a whole different feel, being the first full novel in the series. I mostly enjoyed that format, but I will say that some of the storyline went on a bit too long for me. But the continuity throughout and the setting being the same the whole time, did give the author room to expand on the humor, and he did a great job. It's definitely something of a farce, complete with constables coming across random men in sheds and garages, Bertie being snuck off a yacht by Jeeves, and many other outlandish scenarios. And to start things off, Jeeves actually leaves Bertie's employment because he can't stand his boss's playing of a banjolele. While I didn't truly expect that situation to last, that does not mean the overall story was predictable. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Jonathan Cecil, who did a great job, and I'm really looking forward to continuing! ( )

The first in publication order of the true novels that I have listened to. Tremendously funny in parts.It's not the plot, it's the language that makes for the hilarity. "lit-com" not "sit-com". ( )

Bertram Wooster has a problem. His neighbors are complaining about his banjolele playing. The building manager has given him an ultimatum: stop playing the thing or move elsewhere. And, naturally, being the man he is, he won't give up the instrument for anything. Not even when his trusty valet Jeeves proclaims that he will quit if forced to bear the music within the confines of the small country cottage Wooster proposes to move to. Take the cottage Wooster does, moving onto land owned by an old school friend, but when that friend falls in love with the daughter of a rich American man who tries to confine said daughter to his yacht, fearing that she's going to attempt to run off with Wooster, everyone falls into a tangle. Will Wooster be able to extricate himself and play successful matchmaker for the two lovebirds? Or will it all descend into chaos?

Originally written in the 1930's, this is a book that shows its age. In terms of the writing itself, you'll find a casual style with a lot of British-isms, many of which I didn't recognize, but in all cases I was able to rely on context clues to understand without much difficulty.

Apart from that, the simple style makes for a quick and easy read. This isn't a book that forces you to read slowly and thoughtfully as it presents depth of emotion or of thought. Instead, it focuses entirely on humor. The cleverness is in its humor. The most important feature of the writing is its comedic timing. And in this way, the book certainly excels.

But unfortunately, the slang terms and the lack of modern technology are not the only things that show this book was written in the early 1900's. And nothing quite kills a good laugh like racial slurs and blackface. There are other points as well, like sexism and some problematic attitudes regarding mental health, but the racism really takes the cake. And sticks around a good long while, banishing all hope that it might at least be over quickly.

It's really a shame, since I picked this up hoping for a good laugh and a lightened mood. It had everything else going for it. The situations created a compelling plot without ever being so serious that I worried for the characters instead of being able to laugh at their predicaments. The narrator was likeable and just the right degree of ridiculous. Several of the jokes were clever and not ones that I'd ever heard before. If only society hadn't possessed so many horrendous attitudes during the time that it was written, it might have really been something.

So should you read it? Maybe if you want to study it, for the sake of cultural relevance, for the sake of learning how to write in a similar comedic style. But if you're looking for a humorous book to enjoy, I'm sure you can find better options. Or at least options without these drawbacks. At the very least, you might try a different one of the stories featuring these characters, as I've heard they're not all quite so bad. I picked this one because of its appearance on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list, but since reading it I'm forced to wonder if it was chosen over others in the series simply due to its length (word count high enough to count as a "real" book) rather than its comparative quality. Maybe someday I'll pick up another one and find out, but I must admit this book hasn't made me immediately eager to do so. ( )