French Leave

//by P.G. Wodehouse//published 1956//

So, as I mentioned in my April Rearview Mirror, spring always puts me in a bit of a reading slump.  Two things brought me out of the slump:  a crazy werewolf-paranormal-YA series that was completely out of my usual realm of reading but completely engaging (review to appear whenever I finish the third book in the trilogy… do you have any idea how sad it is to wait weeks for the third book in a trilogy?!), and, of course, my hero: P.G. Wodehouse.

French Leave is a pretty average Wodehouse read, if I’m honest.  There are all the usual ingredients – a dashing and slightly-shady elderly uncle-type, a hardworking and handsome young man, a spunky and adorable heroine, an overbearing and terrifying mother/aunt, another nice although not-quite-as-smart young couple to get mixed up with the primary couple, and a bumbling law enforcement officer.  Why, and this is a legitimate question, why is Wodehouse so perfect?  How can he take the same ingredients and yet manage to consistently emerge with a book I can hardly put down and that makes me laugh out loud at regular intervals?  It’s not as though it’s the element of surprise – his books are frequently predictable – but there is something about them that makes each one unique, even if it is a variation on his favorite song.

I thoroughly enjoyed French Leave, and it was really nice to finally read a book I really wanted to dig into, after several very MEH reads, and even a couple of DNFs.  While there is still too much springtime in the air for me to be a full-on winter-reading capacity, French Leave definitely helped get me back into the reading gear.  Wodehouse is highly recommended whether you are in a reading slump or not because it is always a perfect time for Wodehouse!

4/5