Author P.G. Wodehouse and narrator Jonathan Cecil are a match made in Audiobook Heaven!
OH...
MY...
BAA-LAMB!
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I haven't giggled, sniggered, chortlAuthor P.G. Wodehouse and narrator Jonathan Cecil are a match made in Audiobook Heaven!
OH...
MY...
BAA-LAMB!
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I haven't giggled, sniggered, chortled, laughed and been cracked up so hard since.... well, since I finished Uncle Fred in the Springtime approx. 2 weeks ago and this was even better! I think it may even have surpassed The Code of the Woosters in my estimation. (Hmmm..... I need to re-read (re-listen) to it to pass final judgement on it.)
Bottom line is: Everyone needs an Uncle Fred in their lives "spreading sweetness and light". ... ... Erm, on second thought, maybe not ... OK, let me rephrase it a little.
Bottom-bottom line is: everyone needs to read about people having an Uncle Fred in their lives "spreading sweetness and light" and laugh madly at them like nobody's business.
Honestly, I am here because of the delightful To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis made me see the light and realise that I simply cannot go on in my humble existence any more without reading this book.
And I have been putting off reading it ever since university days which are hidden in the mistily veiled paths of the distant past, etcetera.....
Also, as a Hungarian, I felt somewhat honour-bound to finally finish a book by an English author who was named after (Klapka in the "K.", in case you were not aware :) of one of our heroic generals in the Hungarian War of Indepence.
Was it worth the wait? Yes, mostly.
The three men in the boat (obviously in a dashing Victorian boating attire)
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read like 3 times the quintessential Bertram Wilberforce Wooster, alas, without the inimitable Jeeves, and with a dog, who is quite a character, but does nothing to help, so you can imagine the shenanigans they get into.
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JEEVES, WHERE ART THOU in their greatest hours of need?!
It made me chuckle and smile a lot, though I had to stop from time to time, as it proved just a bit too much occasionally.
Excellent narration by Ian Carmichael and currently this edition is included in the US Audible+ catalogue....more
The heroine was less level-headed than I expected and I found her constant righteous indignation outbursts rather tiring, but I 3,7 stars rounded up.
The heroine was less level-headed than I expected and I found her constant righteous indignation outbursts rather tiring, but I loved Lord Carlyon. :)...more
This has been a revelation: full of sunshine and literary delights and wonderfully narrated by Stephen CroI say, old boy, I got a new favourite book.
This has been a revelation: full of sunshine and literary delights and wonderfully narrated by Stephen Crossley.
It is a literary crossover between Sci-Fi-light (the time travel aspect), P.G. Wodehouse and Oscar Wilde (Lady Schrapnell must be a descendant of Lady Bracknell, surely ;).
Apart from the above mentioned authors (Jeeves & Bertie, anyone? ;) homage is paid to Jerome K. Jerome, Wilkie Collins, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Tennyson & Matthew Arnold in the best and funniest way possible.
"(...) So you see, my dear, how with a little polishing, life could become literature or at least fiction." -Barbara Pym in a letter to a f[image]
"(...) So you see, my dear, how with a little polishing, life could become literature or at least fiction." -Barbara Pym in a letter to a friend
I have loved Barbara Pym's books ever since I ran into them here on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ back in 2016 I think, even though I had never heard of her before. I also remember checking out her short bio here on GR and despite reading that Lord David Cecil and Philip Larkin "nominated her as the most underrated writer of the century in a famous article in the 1975 Times Literary Supplement" and despite considering her "the queen of trivia", I just went and underrated her as a person, while loving her books, totally insensitive to the irony of it all. So basically I did to her what her oblivious, self-satisfied, smug characters did to my favourite heroines (Mildred from Excellent Women, Belinda from Some Tame Gazelle, Ianthe from An Unsuitable Attachment) in her novels. Although maybe Pym would have appreciated that irony, I am just ashamed of myself now.
When this book came up as a recommendation and I checked it out, I conceitedly thought: oh my, how can a biography about Barbara Pym be 700 pages long?!
After finishing, here I am, humbly begging Pym's pardon. Because oh boy, what a life she had!! Fascinating and bizarre, colourful, happy and sad, a life worthy of literature and fiction and author Paula Byrne did full justice to hers.
I have made a ton of notes amounting to a full novella, hope I will have the time to work some of them into this review eventually.
Narrator Antonia Beamish also deserves high praise....more
Robert O. Bucholz series of lectures was just the ticket. It is also currently included for free in my Audible plus catalogue.
Over 24 hours, it was extensive and detailed, but never dry or boring. The lectures are easy to follow. They cover the period from 1485 (the start of the reign of Henry VII ) to 1714 (death of Queen Anne).
Every topic is examined from top to bottom and vice versa. We are told about the social/historical/religious/economic and cultural structure of every time period (every king's/queen's reign) and not only from the POV of the royal heads, but from all tiers of society.
What I appreciated the most is that Bucholz as a historian uses the benefit of hindsight in interpreting/examining the chains of events, but also always presents them in their proper context: with the mindset of people of their time. He never fails to remind us that we should never disregard the context!
Besides the reign of monarchs, there are always "extra" lectures about how their reign affected every aspect of people's lives from the poor people to the aristocrats and in-between.
He offers us balanced portraits of "good" and "bad" deeds and once again, always in context.
A flippant, irreverent and funny social and historical commentary despite the less than amusing subject.
A good appetiser and summa3,5 stars rounded up
A flippant, irreverent and funny social and historical commentary despite the less than amusing subject.
A good appetiser and summary of the age for "people in a hurry", starting with the reign of Edward I and finishing with Richard II.
It is in no way comprehensive or pretends to be so. If you want an in-depth study with a more serious tone, then this is not the book you are looking for.
Myths get debunked and historic figures stripped off of any false romanticism/glory hung around their necks by authors of fiction, TV shows or hugely inaccurate Hollywood films like Mel Gibson's Braveheart in a -for me- very satisfying fashion. Everyone gets the warts-and-all treatment, which is really refreshing....more
And once again, my review has disappeared without a trace (not that it was a comprehensive or lengthy one), which may or may not have been the result And once again, my review has disappeared without a trace (not that it was a comprehensive or lengthy one), which may or may not have been the result of the horrible GR App being totally out of synch with the website or it may have been sacrificed to the Amazon BOT-cleaning... I'll never know.
Even though I try and preserve my reviews in a document, apparently I did not save this one, a pity. :(
Anyways, I keep on enjoying Ed West's very irreverent and concise social/historical commentaries on all the historical milestones, this time: the War of the Roses.
Also, I am with him on the "Richard 3 did it or knew who did it and did not mind" question. (Occam's razor and what have you.)...more
I am not reading Thirkell's Barsetshire books in order, but for me this has been the weakest instalment so far (even disregarding the flippan2,5 stars
I am not reading Thirkell's Barsetshire books in order, but for me this has been the weakest instalment so far (even disregarding the flippant racism displayed by one of the characters)....more
"She looked at Dennis. “Don’t get in an uproar. I’ll be married just the same even if the procession is a bit lop-sided.� The Marchioness was relieved"She looked at Dennis. “Don’t get in an uproar. I’ll be married just the same even if the procession is a bit lop-sided.� The Marchioness was relieved. “That’s splendid of you, dear. I knew you’d be sensible.� “Sensible,� Dennis shrieked. “What about me? This wedding was my piece de resistance.� “Oh, stow it, Dennis,� said Mona. “Piece de resistance my foot.� “You don’t understand, any of you.� Dennis was almost in tears. “This was a work of art. A crescendo in anemones. You must put someone else in Sally’s place. I can’t have my work ruined.� Mona made a despairing shrug to her mother. “Hark at him. You’d think bridesmaids grew in the hedges in Sussex.�
Working class Cinderella gets her upper-class Prince Charming
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A very light and escapist 3 stars. It was entertaining, but I would have preferred a bit more content. ...more
The perfect comfort read: heartwarming, uplifting and helping you escape the stark and gruesome world around us.
DespiMrs Harris goes to Paris: 5 stars
The perfect comfort read: heartwarming, uplifting and helping you escape the stark and gruesome world around us.
Despite the unlikely scenario and the light, romcom-ish story, the writing and the characters deeply resonated with me, made me smile and tear-up several times and filled me with pure joy.
Mrs Harris goes to New York: 3,5 - 4 stars
Still lovely and heart-warming, but pales in comparison with the Paris book.
A nice, cosy, character-driven Regency-story with a protracted narrative, which still works if you happen to be in the mood f3,5 stars rounded up to 4
A nice, cosy, character-driven Regency-story with a protracted narrative, which still works if you happen to be in the mood for it.
As mentioned, the plot is superslow and stretches over to the end of the book and beyond. Quite a few storylines remain unresolved and you need to read books 2 and 3 to find out about them, but at the end I found myself caring about what was to happen to the characters and wanting to go on to book 2 right away.
It is also very easy on the "romance" side, if any of the relationships can be called that at all, but I did not mind. I found the realistic human approach and the absence of rakish aristocrats and heaving bosoms rather refreshing, though connecting to the characters was a bit hard at first as a result of the very slow-moving plot. It is tagged as Romance MPG, but I think women's fiction would be a much fitting term for it. As for "Christian Fiction", I think the religious aspect fits rather naturally into the Regency period, so it did not struck me as anything outstanding.
If you want a classic comparison (it is stretching it a bit, I know), I would say it is more Elizabeth Gaskell/Cranford - style than Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer. Or if it is Jane Austen, then it is Highbury without Emma and Mr Knightley around (although there is a Sir Timothy Brockton as lord of the manor, but with only slight appearances).
Currently all 3 books are included in my Audible subscription for free, so I am moving on to book 2 right away....more
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