Uncle Dynamite
Author: PG Wodehouse
Acquired in: April 2019
Amazon adventurer William Oakshott hiding from a reception committee while Uncle Fred looks out.
The dread of his nephew, the terror of his classmates and the man who changes tranquillity into calamity, behold, Uncle Fred! The readers' favourite but the characters' plague, Lord Ickenham or Uncle Fred sets off on his latest escapade at the idyllic Ashendon Manor to help his bungling nephew, Pongo Twistleton on his mission to woo his lady-love and placate her Grinch of a father. And that's all there is to the plot! With such a simple storyline, Wodehouse takes us for a ride; a foiled jewel smuggling attempt, a shy explorer, a clash of identities, an honest policeman's misadventures and a generous dollop of matchmaking. Or to put it in Wodehouse fashion, "the joining of sundered hearts".
Wodehouse’s books are very provincial; all of the ones I’ve read so far are set in remote peerages far from the bustle of London. Reading his books has now put a fixed notion in me of how the English countryside is, and I don’t think it has changed a bit from the way it was when he published his books in the mid-1900s. Yes, yes, it’s chock-full of high and mighty Lords and Ladies and Sirs served by the unique tribe of butlers (hello Jeeves!), but hear me out; all the Englishness is not overpowering. Whatever it lacks, it makes up in hilarity.
As you and I correctly predicted, the book is short. But that’s good in a way. I don’t think that 500 pages of slapstick comedy would make any sense; it would just be a bland drag in the end. There's a fair bit of funny nicknames like Barmy, Mugsy and Pongo and a peculiar writing style that is a trademark of Wodehouse, such as allusions to the classics, funny vernacular (bean= head, also to whack somebody on the head) and such nonsense that somehow makes perfect sense. You have to read it to believe it.
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