Hot Water

In his introduction to the Penguin paperback of Hot Water, Robert McCrum notes that little-known books like this one are every bit the equal of the better-known Wodehouse fare. Maybe not every bit the equal, but certainly rather close. So why four stars? I can't give every PGW book five stars, although if PGW doesn't deserve five stars, who does? My first take is that this novel is even more convoluted than the typical Wodehouse offering, and the plot, such as it is, as McCrum points out, would be impossible to describe.So I won't try. Suffice to say that although you don't find Jeeves on holiday at St. Rocque, or Stiffy Bingham rendering the Chateau Blissac (which has burglars the way other houses have mice) unfit for man or beast, you do find a cast of hitherto unknown personnel engaging in similarly mischievous, conniving, and ultimately good-hearted antics, leading through the most unlikely turnings to one of those trademarked Wodehousian happy endings. In fact, the very absence of Drones, Crumpets, and the Oldest Member (and their assorted musings) make this 1932 French farce read like a stage play. Add a few songs and you've got a Guy Bolton-type musical. Even moreso than A Damsel in Distress, which hit the silver screen starring Gracie Allen (Burns), Hot Water is ready for the big time.This is one of the many nearly-unknown PGW novels being brought into print in Overlook Press' new line of PGW hardbacks. That will delight those PGW collectors who want library quality editions (and sell to libraries). I, however, find these new Penguin paperbacks to be just the thing to stash in the pocket or the backpack, the literary equivelant of tea time, so as always to have this light refreshment close at hand. David Hitch's illustrations seem to me to strike just the right note, and I hope Penguin brings us the entire line of Wodehouse in these editions.

Knew when I purchased the book that the language and culture would be outdated, given the original publication date. Still, an entertaining story and I did enjoy the twists and turns devised by the author. Would recommend.

I’ve read most of the Jeeves and Blandings books; Hot Water stands with them for the complex nonsense of the plot. If you need a break from reality, read this book.

I've read a vast number of Wodehouse novels and I keep asking myself: "How does he come up with these plots???" Yes, they all have familiar features, but the twists in plot, characters, episodes, and dialogues are fresh each time, as if the author is challenging himself to think up something even more clever than the last time around. In this one, you have some brilliant elements: the use of characters who can't speak French pretending to be French-speakers who simply want to practice their English, a thoroughly dislikeable wife who's trying to get her husband to become the American ambassador to France, a couple of Chicago thieves trying to break into a safe, the whole thing is crazy fun from start to finish.

It's Wodehouse. It's great. The plots are complex. Interestingly, while this comes to the typical Wodehouse resolution, it does NOT do it the way he usually does. If you're a serious Wodehouse fanatic (as in, know all the novels plus the obscurantous, not just Bertie and Jeeves), you'll find this book a pleasant surprise.

Classic Wodehouse with all the unexpected twists in the plot

The most amusing book ever written. Idiotic plot; it's how it's told that's so funny. Wodehouse is brilliant. The audio version is amazing - it's not reading, it's performing.

Quite enjoyable read! If you love P. G. Wodehouse, you are going to like it: imposters, love story, domineering women and typical Wodehousian humour.

Slightly less flowing than his Jeeves and Worster books, thus is nonetheless a lovely piece of escapism to read in Lockdown.

High class entertainment as usual

Giggling in bed again - haven't read a Wodehouse in ages and had forgotten how he could make me laugh. Better than yoga for some time out!

Super!

Mayhem from the start to the end with characters that could only be Wodehouse. A tale of love that is unrequited and humour that has disaster in the making. Wodehouse presents burglars, safe blowers and Americans into a French chateaux.