Monday, 6 February 2017

Money for Nothing by P.G.Wodehouse

I bought this book at the Blossom Book Store in Bangalore years back and never got around to reading it until July-2016. I read it partly during my commute to work and partly at home.

I started reading this book right after Innocent Erendira and Other Stories. After the depressing atmosphere of that book, I needed a strong dose of P.G. Wodehouse humour to bring me out of the gloom, and Money for Nothing really delivered.



The story is about a rich miser Lester Carmody who along with his acquaintances- Dr. Twist, Soapy and Dolly Molloy try to orchestrate a robbery of certain antiquities at Rudge Hall (owned by Lester Carmody) and cheat the insurers and make money. Dr. Twist, Soapy and Dolly in turn plan to rip Carmody off his insurance money. There are other characters at Rudge Hall- John and Hugo, Lester's nephews who are completely unaware of the grand scheme brewing. There is also Pat Wyvern, who is the lady love of John and a smart-ish dog Emily who is John's pet.

Hugo is a young man looking to set up a club in London but does not have the necessary funds for it and Carmody who is entrusted with Hugo's share until he is mature enough to handle his own affairs, refuses the money to Hugo and thinks of Hugo's best friend, Ronnie to be influencing him for the worst. John's pursuit of Pat and Hugo's pursuit of funds for his new business, unfolds the wretched scheme of Carmody et al in the most humourous manner possible.  In the end almost everyone is happy as expected.

The book really keeps one on tenterhooks right from the inception of the fraud, all the way to the end.  One really looks forward to turn the pages over and eagerly devour the story. The food descriptions in the book are not aplenty but whatever exists is sufficient to feed my appetite. This book is yet another gem by P.G. Wodehouse. It came to me especially at a time when I really needed a good laugh due to the stress I was undergoing at that moment.

On a scale of 5 , where 5 is excellent, I rate this book a 5.