Nerd Picnic reviewed A Damsel in Distress by P. G. Wodehouse
For the first time, I've got a bone to pick with Wodehouse
3 stars
I think I've read about a dozen of PGW's books, and this one has as many gems of description and dialogue as any. (The Jeeves & Wooster stories really are better than the rest because of the first-person perspective; but there is plenty to love in the others.)
This time, though, it was impossible to ignore certain mean and lazy jokes, because he kept returning to them. First, everyone overweight is bad. Both our omniscient narrator and the "good" characters explicitly make fun of and are disgusted by their weight. Second, the servants are made fun of and the whole joke is that they are less educated and polished than the aristocrats.
I have no problem with Wodehouse skewering servant characters the same as he does to everyone else, like he does in other books, but this is the first time where their class characteristics are the entire …
I think I've read about a dozen of PGW's books, and this one has as many gems of description and dialogue as any. (The Jeeves & Wooster stories really are better than the rest because of the first-person perspective; but there is plenty to love in the others.)
This time, though, it was impossible to ignore certain mean and lazy jokes, because he kept returning to them. First, everyone overweight is bad. Both our omniscient narrator and the "good" characters explicitly make fun of and are disgusted by their weight. Second, the servants are made fun of and the whole joke is that they are less educated and polished than the aristocrats.
I have no problem with Wodehouse skewering servant characters the same as he does to everyone else, like he does in other books, but this is the first time where their class characteristics are the entire joke.
Still, there are so many good bits, and the plot device of the sweepstakes added extra irony. So I'll give it 3 stars instead of 2.
I'm disappointed in you, PG!