Nothing Serious

P. G. Wodehouse was our greatest comic craftsman in the 20th century. His finely polished plots and similes slide through the mind like the finest ice cream does through the palate. That brilliance is always at its brightest in his short stories, and this collection is no exception. In the Shadow Passes, Bingo Little finds his life's enjoyment curtailed by the presence of his old nanny, brought in to raise his young son. Nanny knows too much about Bingo and is inclined to share too much of that knowledge with Mrs. Bingo. In Bramley Is So Bracing, Freddie Widgeon takes a trip to the seashore and finds that serendipitous encounters with a blonde get him into all kinds of unexpected trouble. In Up from the Depths, Feet of Clay, Excelsior, Rodney Has a Relapse and Tangled Hearts, the Oldest Member recounts tales of love and golfing complications. These stories all display the robust qualities of golf's ability to cleanse the soul and heart through gritty trials. Any dedicated golfer will be chuckling over these stories for years. In Birth of a Salesman, Lord Emsworth makes a rare appearance in a short story away from Blandings Castle and his prize pig, Empress of Blandings. He finds himself feeling the need to show that he could earn a living if he had to and proves his mettle in a most unusual way. In How's That, Umpire? dislike of cricket proves to be fertile ground for love. In Success Story, we have one of Ukridge's finest swindles in detail. It's one of my favorite of all the great Ukridge stories. What? What? What?