What do You think about Uncle Fred In The Springtime (2012)?
When the absent minded pig lover Lord Emsworth entertains the obstinate and quick tempered Duke of Dunstable at Blandings Castle a clash of personalities was bound to happen even if the two do agree on one thing: the other is totally loopy! Throw into the melting pot a broken engagement, an engagement that cannot be completed for lack of funds, some serious gambling debts and a private detective that cannot forget that he was a former silver ring turf accountant and life at Blandings looks set to return to the default setting of farcical madness.When the Duke of Dunstable remarks that Lord Emsworth’s prize pig – the Empress of Blandings – is too fat and he is the man to whip the prize porker back into shape there really is only one man to sort out this mess. Step forward Uncle Fred - Lord Ickenham – who enters the fray by impersonating the renowned brain specialist Sir Roderick Glossop. As Wodehouse once remarked, “Without at least one imposter on the premises, Blandings Castle is never itself,” and here we have three. The Master of Mirth once again produces a hilarious novel where every single word has been crafted to fit precisely into the narrative; sublime comic genius.
—Steve Mitchell
Dire che mi e' piaciuto �� poco! Penso che sia una di quelle letture da raccomandare quando si �� stanchi, stufi, tristi, quando le giornate sembrano grigie e la testa ingombra di pensieri. Un libro di Wodehouse �� come una pillola per il buonumore. Immergersi nel mondo di Wodehouse e' come entrare in una fiaba, un mondo a se' stante in cui alla fin fine non succede nulla di particolare, ma i buffi personaggi che lo popolano non possono non strapparci una risata. Teatro delle vicende di questo romanzo e' il castello di Blandings, nel quale confluiscono prima o dopo tutti i personaggi, legati tra loro da un garbuglio di legami di parentela, fidanzamenti, furti, discussioni, truffe e lanci di uova. Due generazioni si avvicendano: quella degli "zii", zio Fred, zio Alaric e il padrone di casa, Lord Ersmworth, degli anziani nobili inglesi che sorprendono per la loro vivacit�� intellettuale e fisica e che sono il vero motore della vicenda, rivelandosi molto pi�� vivaci e indiscliplinati dei nipoti. E poi ci sono i giovani, Horace, Pongo, Valerie, Polly, Lord Bosham, Ricky Gilpin, spesso spettatori impotenti delle bizzarrie degli anziani, pilotati e manipolati soprattutto dallo spassosissimo zio Fred. (Consiglio di annotarsi i personaggi su un foglietto, perche' all'inizio c'e' da perdersi!)Riuscir�� zio Alaric a rubare nientemeno che "l'imperatrice di Blandings", ossia la scrofa da competizione tanto amata da Lord Emsworth? Riuscir�� Pongo a trovare le 250 sterline per pagare i suoi debiti di gioco? Riuscir�� Ricky a trovare le 250 sterline per rilevare uno spaccio di zuppa di cipolle? Riuscir�� l'investigatore Claude Pott a trovare qualcuno da spennare giocando a Monarchi Persiani? Ma soprattutto, riuscir�� zio Fred a farla franca, nonostante sia arrivato al castello sotto mentite spoglie, spacciandosi per un noto psichiatra?
—AnnaP
If not the best then, at worst, ‘Uncle Fred in the Springtime’ is one of the best Wodehouse novels. It is a sort of a ‘Best of Wodehouse’ with Pongo Twistleton and his Uncle Fred, whom we met previously in ‘Young Men in Spats’, flitting by Blandings Castle under an assumed name, as is traditional to first time visitors. The name in question belongs to Roderick Glossop, renowned psychiatrist, whom has had to pronounce Bertie Wooster certifiable on more than one occasion.Also present at Blandings are Valerie Twistleton whom has become estranged from her fiancée, Horace Pendlebury-Davenport, whose Uncle, the Duke of Dunstable is determined to remove Lord Emsworth’s beloved pig with the help of the efficient Baxter, Emsworth’s discharged secretary. Polly Pott is also posing as a secretary to secure the funds she requires to marry her estranged fiancée, Ricky Gilpin, a further nephew of Dunstable. Uncle Fred believes that it is his mission to spread sweetness and light throughout the world but to unite Valerie and Horace, Polly and Ricky whist separating Dunstable and the Empress and Baxter and Emsworth without driving Pongo to desertion will take all of his and Wodehouse’s guile. The sweetness and light is infectious not just through Blandings Castle but is easily caught by the reader. The symptoms are so great only a fool would seek a cure.
—Ian Wood
