After hearing family members talking about this series/author for years, I finally gave it/him a try. I don’t know if I started with the right book, since this seems to be one of those kinds of series that is published in a weird order and has short stories, and novels, and I don’t know what else. It was a good introduction to Jeeves and Wooster, and though I don’t always fully get British humor, I did enjoy it for the most part. Some parts of the story made me think that sitcom writers (mostly older sitcoms) may have gotten some ideas from this author.

I decided to go with the audiobook, because I thought it would help to hear the British accent, and while at first I wasn’t sure about Kevin Theis, he grew on me, and I liked his interpretation a lot by the end. I plan to continue on with him, if I can get his versions. ( )

Bertie Wooster (30ish) is part of the titled class with inherited money, no profession and idleness. His valet is Jeeves. From what I can tell Jeeves is hired to adult sit Bertie. Jeeves dresses, feeds and looks out for Bertie's wellbeing. Bertie and his friends aren't too bright but at the end of the day Jeeves always manages to save them from themselves. I could see it as a sitcom tv show. The 1920s slang is rummy. I don't need to read anymore books in this series. It was fun while it lasted but it was starting to irk me. ( )

The very first Jeeves book. Episodic, but in parts quite funny. ( )

The Inimitable Jeeves is a collection of early Jeeves and Wooster short stories - all published individually between 1918 and 1922 - which form an episodic novel. (The seams are well hidden, but each story can really stand alone.)

If you're keen to read the Jeeves stories in order, I recommend the omnibus The World of Jeeves which collects all the short stories, and includes these in their "definitive" versions, which include some reworking.

It's worth noting that Wodehouse was past 40 when this collection was published - and he still had another 50 years of writing Jeeves stories to go! Bertie's narrative voice, Jeeves' exquisite manner, and the gallery of grotesques and incompetents who surround them - they're all fully formed this early in the game. It's a satisfying collection, however I strongly believe that Wodehouse is at his best in novel form. The short stories can begin to tire if read in excess - Wodehouse is, after all, like eating a packet of sweets or drinking an entire bottle of fine wine. The pitch-perfect conjunction of interlaced plots would be the hallmark of this series, once he started writing long-form versions in the 1930s.

Still, rather marvelous. ( )

Some good parts, but not my favorite Jeeves & Bertie book. Kind of repetitive.

Listened to audiobook. ( )