The Man With Two Left Feet (by PG Wodehouse)

(Amazon UK link)

When I’m travelling, I take my Kindle rather than any physical books. I have a large collection of downloaded volumes, mostly free offers from Amazon or elsewhere, or - in the case of those which are out of copyright - from Project Gutenberg. The latter is the source of the PG Wodehouse collection of short stories, ‘The Man With Two Left Feet’. My books on the Kindle are not particularly well organised, and I’d entirely forgotten that I read this collection back in 2014, although once or twice, while reading, I did have an inkling that the plots were familiar.

I started reading this on a late night flight when I was tired, but needed something to relax with. Wodehouse’s books are ideal for that, and having a series of short stories means there’s no continuity - so it’s easy to read just one or two at a time, and then put the Kindle down for hours, even days at a time. We had a busy schedule seeing relatives after a long gap, so it took me nearly a week to finish this book. I enjoyed it very much.

The feel of the book is that of classic Wodehouse; apparently this was quite an early collection, but the author’s skill at light humour and satire comes through clearly. Many of the stories include dancing as a significant theme, although it’s not until the final one that the story of the book’s title is told.

The first story in the book is about a young man who works as a detective, and has fallen in love with a dancer from a travelling troupe. She won’t marry someone who is not in the same profession; not because she is prejudiced, or because she doesn’t love him, but because she believes that the travelling life she leads is entirely unsuited to marriage with someone who has a different kind of job. The story outlines his attempts to be accepted on stage, despite a distinct lack of talent...

I was particularly pleased that the second short story in this book involved Bertie Wooster, best-known of Wodehouse’s hapless heroes. In this story, ‘Extricating Young Gussie’, Bertie is sent to America by his hatchet-faced and coercive Aunt Agatha to rescue his cousin Gussie from the clutches of a chorus girl. Naturally he doesn’t entirely succeed.

Another story, rather cleverly written, was narrated by a dog - it didn’t take long before that was obvious, and the author gets into the mind and behaviour of a dog in ingenious ways, with an unexpected and entirely satisfying conclusion.

The final story, ‘The Man with Two Left Feet’, is about a young man of sober and structured habits who takes secret dancing classes in the hope of surprising and pleasing his young wife, who used to work as a dancer. His ability is minimal, although he does eventually improve - and, once again, the conclusion is unexpected but works well.

All in all, I thought these stories very well-written. They were enjoyable to read, if you like Wodehouse’s unique style, and made an ideal book for dipping into on a flight or early mornings since each short story is entirely complete in itself.

Definitely recommended.

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