Review by Shwetha H S
Genre: Humour, Fiction
Imprint: Penguin Books
ISBN: 0-14-005033-7
English humour with a heavy dose of sarcasm is what makes P G Wodehouse a favourite among readers when they want to stay away from the daily humdrum and escape the reality. Best known as the creator of Jeeves, P G Wodehouse also wrote the Blandings Castle series. He not only makes you laugh and sit back relaxing in your couch, but also makes you sit straight with surprise. P G Wodehouse was, and is, the man who tickles readers, generation after generation.
Clarence Threepwood, the ninth Earl of the Emsworth, who lives in Blandings Castle, is shocked by his sister, Lady Constance’s surprise visit. For an Earl, who prefers to be in his pajamas than uptight in suits all the time, the arrival of his sister, who insists on dressing up even for dinner, is a pain in the neck. But he is afraid of her and goes dumber than he already is whenever she is around. On top of it, Duke of Dunstable invites himself to Blandings Castle and Lady Constance is pleased. To avoid any kind of embarrassments and insults, the Earl seeks company and assistance of their brother, Galahad Threepwood a.k.a Gally. Lady Constance hates Gally. As the story takes turn, or turns, many other characters come into picture. Linda Gilpin, niece of the Duke, is in love with John Halliday, godson of Gally, but the Duke doesn’t approve of this due to selfish reasons. Vanessa Polk, a friend of Lady Constance, meets her ex-boyfriend Wilbur Trout, who is invited to the castle by the Duke. Howard Chesney, a shady young man, lurks among them. Where does the story lead the reader with half of the characters being eccentric?
Duke of Dunstable is more than enough to irk anyone. You will pity his niece, Linda Gilpin. Lady Constance and Clarence Threepwood, the Lord Emsworth are poles apart though they are siblings. Constantly pestered by others characters, Galahad Threepwood is not the man you want, but need on your side. Considering A Pelican at Blandings is the one before last in the Blandings Castle series, the reader might think that he or she might not understand anything of the story. But the genius P G Wodehouse is, he never makes the reader feel lost. There is enough explanation about each character to understand as much as required for the current story. It is difficult to put down the book unless it falls on your face when you have lost sleep trying to finish reading what P G Wodehouse has to offer.
This book is highly recommended for the sheer pleasure of humour. If you want to pick up sarcasm from this book, you have made the right choice.
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