P.G.Wodehouse - Love Among the Chickens - Complete and unabridged Read by Jonathan Cecil

Jonathan Cecil is my favourite reader for P. G. Wodehouse, mainly for his rich rounded vowels, but also because he reads them unabridged, and Wodehouse is an author who rarely wrote an unnecessary word. Love A...more

I'd call this classic Wodehouse, if not quite up to his best; and then I realize it's his first novel, written at age 25. Astonishing that he had his characteristic silliness of plot and perfection of tone right from the start. Who else could write such a brilliant three-page description of a man...more

Such a funny story! I really enjoyed the slapstick-style Ukridge and the well-meaning Garnet. They get into all sorts of scrapes and land on their feet time and time again. But of course that won’t always happen. When Ukridge deeply offends the father of the girl Garnet has fallen in love with, G...more

“We are most of us wise after the event. When the wind has blown, we can generally discover a multitude of straws which should have shown us which way it was blowing.”

Pearl of wisdom or gem of witticism? Probably both. You can always find memorable lines like this in any Wodehouse book, which is...more

I’ve said it before, and I expect to say it again, when I feel down Wodehouse is my go-to guy. Love among the Chickens is his first novel to feature Ukridge, who is not the most reliable character when it comes to business. I think that is the politest way to describe him. The storyteller is a no...more

I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much as the other Wodehouse novels I've read recently.

The main character is a bit dull and was not really enough of him to justify the story. The story was a little too hard to believe - I know, I know, all of the stories are hard to believe, but this one wasn't...more

With each book of Wodehouse's that I finish, it is always with a little bit of regret. Even though P.G. Wodehouse is attributed to over a hundred published works, I've still got quite a bit of my life ahead of me, and it will be a sad day indeed when I've run out of fresh Wodehouse books to read....more

Love Among the Chickens represented Wodehouse’s first foray into adult fiction. Prior to Chickens, Wodehouse had focused on children’s or young adult literature, mostly “school stories” set in English boarding schools. These were often humorous, but one couldn’t help but feel like Wodehouse was h...more

Stanley Ukridge is no Jeeves,
His eccentricities make others grieve.
Garnet unlike Corky,
Is dull and dorky.
Phyllis is the one he loves,
Woos her like a lonesome dove.
Creditors swarm the farms,
Rummaging chickens with their arms.
Amongst a mass of satiric bliss,
It is acceptable to give this a miss.

Quite deliciously absurd with a sprinkling of genius dialogue and description. The story gets a bit bogged at times (oddly enough, I blame the chickens) but remains thoroughly enjoyable as the poor young hero does everything he can to win his lady love.
Well worth the read.