The Swoop!, Or How Clarence Saved England: A Tale Of The Great Invasion (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
"England was not merely beneath the heel of the invader. It was beneath the heels of nine invaders. There was barely standing-room."The Swoop!, or How Clarence Saved England is a very funny and quick to read satire on the Invasion of England by not one or two invaders; but nine simultaneous invading forces - the Russians under Grand Duke Vodkakoff, the Germans under Prince Otto of Saxe-Pfennig, the Swiss Navy, the Monegasques, a band of Moroccan brigands led by Raisuli, the Young Turks, the Mad Mullah from Somaliland, the Chinese under Prince Ping Pong Pang, and the Bollygollans in their war canoes.The invasion and its initial aftermath are narrated with great humor and descriptions of the reaction from the English press and general public to the invading armies exploits will leave the reader in a glow of delight that is signature of all Wodehouse tales.The invasion happens during a time when the entire military of England was disbanded except for Boy Scouts. The only hope for England is ‘Clarence Chugwater’ an epitome of a boy scout who decides to expel the invaders with his resolute character and brilliant strategies, which lead to more absurd, funny scenarios. An invasion is usually not a theme suitable for humor, yet Wodehouse makes the accounts of invasion delightful to the reader through absolutely silly plot developments and funny dialogs. Some of the dialogs from the book are incredibly funny with their inane humor and makes this parody of a book enjoyable. An excerpt taken from the scenario where Clarence overcomes the German camp is a perfect example for this ridiculous yet funny dialog making:"Resistance is useless," said Clarence. "The moment I have plotted and planned for has come. Your troops, worn out with fighting, mere shadows of themselves, have fallen an easy prey. An hour ago your camp was silently surrounded by patrols of Boy Scouts, armed with catapults and hockey-sticks. One rush and the battle was over. Your entire army, like yourself, are prisoners."Written by Wodehouse during the early days of his career, in 1909, The Swoop! is a brief yet amusing novel written with a preposterous plot and makes a perfect caricature of the then popular ‘invasion literature’. This is not a book, which is recommended for a reader who is not yet exposed to works from Wodehouse as it may take a bit of time to get acquainted with his style of narrative; but for a Wodehouse enthusiast this is an absolute delight. For those who are first time Wodehouse readers, The Swoop! will be better enjoyed after some dosage of other Wodehouse titles like the Jeeves and Wooster series or Blandings Castle series.
This book is really a classic, quick, read. It pokes fun of the many pieces of "invasion literature" from the turn of the last century and other things like the Boy Scouts.The stories of which he parodies warn the British of invasions from other countries, and therefore Wodehouse architects an invasion of 9 separate countries. This results in a cacophony of invaders with their linguistic confusion all over the place. Meanwhile, the English adults are too worried about cricket or football to keep up their military and the only thing that saves them is the dedication of Clarence Chugwater, one of many of the young boys trained and indoctrinated by the extensive Boy Scout movement to prepare these boys for a war that, in a few years, they would inevitably fight.This is ridiculous. It is somewhat confusing and a bit dated. I saw the phrase "give them the bird" and took it the wrong way initially. It is also a ridiculous, silly, classic that I strongly recommend if you know the background.
What do You think about The Swoop!, Or How Clarence Saved England: A Tale Of The Great Invasion (2007)?
"http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1350578.html[return][return]Michael Moorcock describes this as a ""funny, futuristic"" book, but it is really a parody of the invasion scare sub-genre. Moorcock is, however, correct to describe it as funny, despite the incomprehensible contemporary cultural references and unpleasant racial stereotypes (which as far as I remember are largely absent from later Wodehouse). England is invaded by nine different armies, ranging from the Germans and Russians down to the forces of Monaco and the Mad Mullah of Somaliland (the latter driven to further derangement by a meeting with Irish Nationalist leader John Dillon). The occupied English grumble about the disruption to cricket and the theatre caused by the invaders, but this is resolved when the German and Russian commanders agree to appear as music-hall acts. [return][return]Clarence Chugwater, the somewhat nerdy Boy Scout who is Wodehouse's comic hero, manages to sow dissension between the German and Russian leaders by way of his day-job at an entertainment weekly. The two armies come close to wiping each other out, the Boy Scouts capture the survivors, and England is saved. Hurrah! (In the unlikely event that anyone feels I have spoiled the ending for them, I would point out that all is revealed in the very first chapter.)[return][return]This is not a good starting place for reading Wodehouse's works. (Indeed, it wasn't even a very good starting place foir writing Wodehouse's works.) But it is an interesting intersection of the fringes of the sf genre with his rather different genius when both were at an early stage of development."
—Nicholas Whyte
This book is quite different from other Wodehouse books. It is a tongue in cheek story about England being invaded by 10 different armies including from Germany, Russia, Monaco, Italy, … Most residents either ignore the enemy or treat the marching and fighting armies as entertainment, but Clarence Chugwater, boy scout extraordinaire, encourages the leaders of the armies to fight among themselves and then surrounds and captures the remaining armies to save England. There are wonderful coments about the boy scouts and the personalities of the heads of the invading armies.
—Scilla
This is a super spoof about invasion, very different from other works of Wodehouse . England is under attack by nine invaders... all at the same time! Prince Otto of Germany, general of Monaco, Prince Ping Pong Pang of China, Young Turks, King of Bollygolla, Grand Duke Vodkakoff of Russia, Mad Mulla of Somaliland, Swiss Navy, Raisuli of Moroccan brigand had all landed on the England soil. There are ramifications for both the invaded and the invaders. Can England, essentially the land of the sight-seers, shoppers, sports-lovers, music and theatre enthusiasts and without an active army defend herself? Will the Boy Scouts save the day for England? This is a short and easy read and there are some laugh-out-loud moments - to be read in the spirit of the cheeky, goofy tale its meant to be.
—Poornima
