Cocktail Time by P.G. Wodehouse Buy at: Amazon

"P.G. Wodehouse is recognized as the gretest English comic writer of the twentieth centry".

Don't be put off by the opening few pages, packed with "yo ho", "oh, rather", "bumps-a-daisy as billy-o" and the like. You have here a highly enjoyable story with some of the smoothest writing I've ever read. I was going to say "velvety", but "silk-lined tweed" may be more apt.

As for the comedy, for me it's the feel-good smiling-to-myself variety rather than the laugh-out-loud kind. Although I did the latter once. I can't say I'm a fan yet, but I'm not put-off. I've been told again and again that Wodehouse is the "greatest comic writer", and as this is just the first full-length novel I've tried, I'll persevere with others.

I'll also just comment that this hardcover Everyman copy is a lovely physical object. The size, binding, paper and print do suggest the publisher is making an effort to live up to their boast of this being "the finest edition of the master ever published".

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