Verdict: Smashingly written and exquisitely crafted Fop-y Fun.

Any friend of Stephen Fry's is a friend of mine (as life mottos go, it's not a bad one) so I was happy to indulge in this, my first literary taste of Wodehouse. I say literary because I've previously encountered it in other media; namely the exquisite 'Jeeves and Wooster' series and a stack of book-on-tape cassettes my father periodically digs out to entertain the family during road trips to Colorado. Had I my druthers I would have started with a book from this Jeeves category, but patrons of second-hand book stores can't be choosers so Piccadilly Jim it was.

It was charming. I defy anyone to not appreciate Wodehouse. He is a master craftsman of an author; building dizzyingly complicated plots with each intricate bit dovetailing perfectly into the next and composing dazzling dialogue that falls somewhere between fencing and dancing. The whole effect is of an unusually amusing Swiss watch, or perhaps a coo-coo clock. I won't say too much about the story itself, partly because my words pale beside Wodehouse's but mostly because it's impossible to explain the plot without puppets and diagrams. It could perhaps be summarized as variations (tessellations? fractals?) on the theme of mistaken identity.

Typically I don't care for 'mistaken identity' stories. I am of the unfortunately empathetic disposition whereby I am made physically uncomfortable by the by the cringing of fictional entities. If you suffer a similar affliction then be at peace, Piccadilly Jim is safe. The discomfiture of the characters never really reaches the cringe level, no one knows enough of the whole story to grasp how embarrassing their predicament could be. The effect is jolly, madcap, slapstick - fun.

Piccadilly Jim is fun, fun to read and I expect fun to write as well. I recommend it, though I can't see my way to giving it above a 3. It's stolidly Light Entertainment; very amusing but not much of anything to say. Maybe this makes me a snob, I don't know. The book seems fine with itself, though. Happy with it's own cleverness and not harbouring illusions of grandeur. I respect it for that. I like Wodehouse and I think I'll have to try and get my hands on 'The Code of the Woosters' for my next foray. Now though, in keeping with my self imposed and somewhat arbitrary rules I'm off to read a depressing grown-up book. Stay tuned and find out if We Need To Talk About Kevin.

One of my favorite Wodehouse stand alone stories.

Ha ha ha....Really funny and extremely serious!

All the wit of Wodehouse applied to an amusing Anglo-American plot. It's filled with the colourful cast of characters that one expects from the author, with plenty of silly subplots and amusingly observed character peccadilloes.

There are so few people with such a wonderful whimsical command of language.

Takes a long time to get going (the titular hero doesn't even make an appearance until 50 pages in) but the premise is marvelous and the array of characters make this amusing and delightful.

While I do love this book, I'm somehow a little turned off by Jim. He wasn't quite as likeable as other Wodehouse characters so my sympathies weren't really with him.

Nothing but amusing! A comedy of errors, a mix of identities and plenty of misunderstandings. No further explanation necessary!

Wodehouse has amazing dialogue in this book, along with fantastic characters, together they make you laugh out loud.