Sam the Sudden- A Wodehouse Novel

As is the case with all Wodehouse books, Sam the Sudden is full of delightful misadventures that miraculously come together and make everything right at the end. I like to rate his books based on how hard I laughed while reading them, and this one's a clear winner, people. It's consistent, got a little bit of mystery in it, and promises you at least one giggle per page.



The Story - Sam Shotter is an adorable and whacky young man who's been given the boot from his uncle's import- export business in New York and shipped off to London to work at the Mammoth Publishing Company. A few interesting twists of fate lead him to the house of Miss Kay Derrick, the girl whose photograph Sam has been in love with. He decides to woo her, and becomes her neighbour by leasing the haunted house next door, "Mon Repos".

Contrary to what everyone thinks, Mon Repos isn't haunted - the nighttime noises are the handiwork of a bunch of small time crooks who are searching for stolen treasure that has been buried inside Mon Repos. Now that the house is finally occupied, how will the crooks continue searching for it? Some plan needs to be devised to get access to the house, isn't it! Throw in a pompous Lord Tilbury with all his meddling, fake detectives who're in love with their waxed moustaches, Amy the ferocious-looking but completely harmless dog, Hash and Claire's rocky love story, small time crooks Soapy and Dolly Molloy, and what you get is absolute delight packed in some 100 odd pages. Hard to believe how everything can be set right in so less space, but Wodehouse manages to do it fine.

This book marks the birth of some recurring characters - Chimp Twist, Percy Pilbeam, Soapy Molloy, and then we have Lord Tilbury of Mammoth Publishing House (this one's his second appearance).

Sam the Sudden made me smile when I was down in the dumps, and that's saying something. Makes for a nice weekend read. Go for it.