The Man With Two Left Feet (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
Really early Wodehouse here, this collection might even count as juvenilia. No Wodehouse is pointless to read, but here we’re looking at the development of The Master - the faltering, sometimes strange steps of The Master - rather than The Master himself. As usual I’ve reviewed each tale as I've come to it: Bill the BloodhoundThe lead character’s name is actually Henry, but I remember from Robert McCrum’s Wodehouse biography that Bill was the name of Wodehouse’s best friend and his go to when bestowing a moniker on stolid, uncomplicated men in his fiction.Nowhere near as funny as later Wodehouse, instead we have what must be the sweetest story ever written centring on a private detective and a chorus girlExtricating Young GussieHooray! It’s the debut of Jeeves and Wooster!Well, I say it’s the debut of Jeeves and Wooster, but really it’s only Bertie (surname unknown). Jeeves does appear, yet it’s so perfunctory that it’s impossible to get a sense of the man or the genius lying within. Instead we have Bertie dealing with the romantic concerns of his cousin Gussie and reaching out for the support of the (to the best of my recollection) never seen again, Aunt Julia. (We also have Bertie’s first visit to New York. He’s an instant fan.) Both of these opening stories lack the polish of later Wodehouse, but it’s incredible to see that the impeccable prose style of Bertie Wooster is already there, even if Jeeves isn’t.Wilton’s HolidayThe light soufflé of Wodehouse’s prose really has no of how to deal with tragedy. I’m not taking about the tragedy of finding oneself engaged to Madeleine Bassett, but instead proper and actual tragic death. Wodehouse tries gamely to deal with the aftermath of a sudden demise here, before realising that he doesn’t have the tools and thus makes the tragedy not quite what it seemed at first – which has the effect of making the whole story distinctly weird. And weirdness is another thing the light soufflé of Wodehouse’s prose isn’t equipped to deal with.An unsuccessful tale then, and surely one of the most peculiar our fledgling Master after published.The MixerThat’s more like it!Funny, erudite and deliciously smart – and yet really not at all like Wodehouse. I suppose though that if P.G. was ever going to write a story from the point of view of a dog, making that dog sound like your typically bemused and naïve English gent was always his best option – and so it proves.An outstandingly entertaining and surprising tale. If only there was a way he could have made it longer without killing the novelty.Crowned HeadsAnother thing P.G. Wodehouse seemingly couldn’t do: write romantic dialogue for dashing young American types. Our hero here is so direct, abrupt and lacking in human feeling, that you could take the passages where he seduces the heroine out and use them in a serial killer novel. (It didn’t help that his name, Ted Brady, reminded me of Ted Bundy.) Once again an odd story then. Even the best authors are fallible.At Geisenheimer’sAnother rarity in the Wodehouse canon: a female narrated story. Actually our narrator here is so hard-boiled and cynical she could slide in her dancing shoes into any noir novel. This then really doesn’t read like Wodehouse. It’s a sweet tale though, with a twist which might be a tad obvious but makes perfect sense.The Making of MacsReminiscent of Damon Runyon in his prime, although a Runyon who hung out in Leicester Square rather than Time Square and was probably a connoisseur of fish & chips. Wholly told by a nightclub waiter, it captures the voice and has a good rhythm, but it’s once again sweet rather than funny.One Touch of NatureDid they really play exhibition baseball matches at Stamford Bridge? Our tale opens with the narrator dizzily walking away from Chelsea F.C.’s ground and I thought for a moment that P.G. had embraced proper English football (the fact I read this tale the same day as the FA Cup Final, probably meant I got a bit carried away), but no, as always he has his eye on the American market. Still, this story of sport conquering al is one of the best in the collection.Black for LuckIn one of the Mulliner volumes, there are two fantastic stories concerning a cat. This is nowhere near as good. It’s a boy meets girl aided by black cat tale, but there’s a moment of strange (and completely unnecessary) violence in the narrative which leaves a sour taste even at the happy ending.The Romance of an Ugly PolicemanMore than once in this volume we’ve seen the young, fledgling Wodehouse try things he’s not known for, and – if we’re honest – failing. Here though he gambles and wins. Sundered hearts and star-crossed lovers amongst the working men and women of down at heel Battersea is not the kind of thing P.G. generally goes for. You don’t expect him to take on the romantic triangle of a slightly depressed policeman, a maid with light fingers and a good time milkman – it’s just all too common and proletariat. And yet the tale works like a charm: romantic, sweet and genuinely uplifting. A Sea of Troubles A would be suicide suddenly finds a new reason to live. Unlike its central character, this tale is slender to the point of under-nourished, but laughs-wise this is one of the funniest on display.The Man with Two Left FeetWith the exception of the Wooster story, this is the most Wodehousian tale in the volume. A bookish man takes dance lessons in secret to impress his younger wife, but of course complications arise. It’s in short the kind of yarn you can imagine Gussie Fink-Nottle relating to a goggle-eyed Bertie. In a collection that’s without doubt a mixed bag, although an interesting bag, very much your talking point kind of bag – it’s good to finish with the inimitable P.G. Wodehouse given us a story worthy of his name.
I liked four of the thirteen short stories featured in “The Man with Two Left Feet” quite a lot. The others ranged between below average to average.The Jeeves story was a disappointment. Jeeves himself hardly features. The tale itself was lacklustre.Regarding the others that I wasn’t keen on, the amount of preamble is what put me off most of all. The overlong introductions don’t suit short stories. For fiction this length I believe that the sooner an author gets on with the main course the better. Actually, this should apply to epic novels too, but in-depth explanations can kill a short story. Of the ones that do appeal, “Mixer I” and “Mixer II” are the most original. They are both first person narratives by a dog. It’s not a talking dog, but the canine in question understands English perfectly. When he tries to speak the language, however, he only succeeds in emitting barks or whines, so it’s essentially set in a normal world. Anyway, these two stories work very well, proving humorous and engaging.“Bill the Bloodhound” – which is neither narrated by a dog, nor is it about one – is another favourite of mine. The star of the piece is a detective who is anything but a master of disguise. His lack of talent makes for an amusing tale. In fact, he’s almost the 1910s equivalent of Johnny English.“The Romance of an Ugly Policeman” is entertaining in that the title character has few issues to deal with whilst patrolling a quiet area every day, but his quiet life is disrupted when he falls for a young woman new to the neighbourhood. Problem is, she’s lost her heart to the milkman. Thus how can an ugly policeman compete with a dashing milkman?
What do You think about The Man With Two Left Feet (2007)?
Entertaining, from an historical perspective as well as giving us the first glimpse of Bertie Wooster (although with a different name). Wodehouse's skill with plots is evident in many of the stories as well. His writing is quite dated but no less readable for that - it may appear light and disposable but the very delicacy of the prose is its charm. "Extricating Young Gussie" stands out of the collection and Bertie appears to emerge fully formed, it's no surprise he went on to appear so often.I found it intruiging that so many of the stories are set in New York; I've now read a bit more about Plum's life and career and realise he spent a lot of time over the pond.One for Wooster completists but not lacking in entertainment value for all that. I remember my English teacher introducing me to Jeeves and Wooster but since school I've not really read much of them. Watch this space.
—Ian
The Man with Two Left Feet is a delightful collection of 13 short stories by P.G. Wodehouse. Each is clever and witty. Two are written from a dog’s point of view, which I appreciated, since my dog Charlie blogs (http://dogblog1.blogspot.com/). I loved that the dog calls himself a “mixer,” since my dog likes people, too; and it was so funny how the mixer’s sensitivity to the “shyness” of a gentleman carried the story. The little romances were sweet. “At Geisenheimer’s” was my favorite. I was hoping for more Bertie Wooster stories, but this volume included only one, “Extricating Young Gussie,” whose ironies and silly names I thoroughly enjoyed. I’ll finish with an example of Wodehouse’s subtle humor, taken from the anthology’s final story, titled “The Man with Two Left Feet.” Henry liked to read the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and he took notes as he read. “He read the BIS-CAL volume because, after many days, he had finished the A-AND, AND-AUS, and the AUS-BIS. … The ordinary man who is paying installments on the Encyclopaedia Britannica is apt to get over-excited and to skip impatiently to Volume XXVIII (VET-ZYM) to see how it all comes out in the end. Not so Henry.”
—Jane Hoppe
Some authors are wonderfully reliable. You can turn to Jane Austen for genteel romance. You can trust Edgar Allen Poe to say something macabre. Roald Dahl's stories for grownups will have a twist in them.I turn to P.G. Wodehouse for humor, clever language, and the knowledge that everything will turn out well in the end, even if I don't know how he'll get there.The Man With Two Left Feet and Other Stories did not disappoint in this regard. Clever, clever language (the man could put together a sentence!), silliness -- often based on awkwardness, and everything always comes out right. Very enjoyable.The stories are medium-length (20-25 pp), which makes them good for a medium-length subway ride, or winding down at the end of the day.The only things I found difficult were a couple of unexpectedly racist phrasings, which I think more reflect the time they were published (1917) than the author. I imagine just about every white person of the time said something like that occasionally, but in the early 21st century it's like having a really fun conversation with someone, and having them suddenly spit at your feet. (Surprise; concern; disgust; anger; hesitation; realization that they've continued yammering away without noticing.)Other than that, reading the collection was a wonderful experience. His stories from a dog's point of view were particularly entertaining, and it was lovely to hear from Bertie Wooster (of Bertie & Jeeves) again. The title story is heart-warming for anybody who spends "too much time" reading books (as if there were such a thing).Recommended for people who enjoy a well-written sentence, who enjoy the theatre (a theme in various stories), and who like happy endings.
—Robert
