I wanted something to read on my Kindle, and found a Project Gutenberg edition of ‘The Indiscretions of Archie’ by PG Wodehouse. I had never read this before, and it’s a novel rather than a collection of short stories. It seemed ideal to read in odd moments while travelling, and then to finish on a three-hour train journey.
The hero of the book is a young man called Archie. Like the author's better-known Bertie Wooster he’s from the upper classes, not all that bright, and very kind. Unlike Bertie, he has no money, so has gone to the United States, somewhat at the urging of his family, in the hope of finding some employment. While there, he falls In love with a girl called Lucille and - unlike Bertie Wooster again - gets married and has no regrets, despite it all happening rather quickly. She’s a likeable young woman who clearly thinks that Archie is wonderful, something he never really manages to understand.
Unfortunately, Lucille’s father, Daniel Brewster, is not enamoured with Archie and thinks she has made a huge mistake. This is mainly due to the fact that Archie stayed in his hotel on arrival in the US, and made some disparaging remarks. For Daniel Brewster’s Cosmopolis hotel is supposedly the best one in New York, and he works hard to ensure it keeps its reputation.
The book is then a series of attempts by Archie to make his father-in-law like him better. It’s classic Wodehouse - Archie falls into all kinds of unlikely situations, some of them not his fault at all. One of them creates a very bizarre image, as Archie, posting for a magazine cover in a pair of swimming trunks, has to find a way of getting his clothes back and is mistaken for a burglar. At times I found it slightly stressful reading; the thought of some of Archie’s adventures made me shudder; they were light-hearted and exaggerated of course, and potentially amusing but I’ve never really managed schadenfreude and found them a tad embarrassing rather than amusing. I was perhaps identifying too strongly with Archie, which is a mark of good characterisation despite the obvious caricatures.
Happily, there are also several chapters where Archie shows his kind and generous heart although he then lands himself with extra responsibilities. I did find one of the later chapters quite amusing, when Archie takes a large painting from a friend’s studio for a gift, with a note promising payment… and it’s clearly a dreadful picture. But nobody quite likes to let him know. There’s also an incident with the pie-eating son of a health-food fanatic which was also well handled and I enjoyed that one too.
Naturally, since this is Wodehouse, everything works out eventually in unexpected ways. Archie is the catalyst for one man recovering his memory, and for another being able to break free from the restrictions of an overbearing wife. I did like Archie despite his flaws and was very pleased when he finally managed to do something that made his father-in-law treat him like.a beloved son rather than a complete idiot. Possibly predictable, but not something that had occurred to me.
Recommended if you like PG Wodehouse’s style, though it’s not up to the Jeeves or Blandings Castle humour. This is available free from Project Gutenberg as it’s long out of copyright, but it can also often be bought new or second-hand.
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