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Read Uncle Fred In The Springtime (2012)

Uncle Fred in the Springtime (2012)

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Rating
4.24 of 5 Votes: 5
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ISBN
0393343065 (ISBN13: 9780393343069)
Language
English
Publisher
w. w. norton & company

Uncle Fred In The Springtime (2012) - Plot & Excerpts

Pongo Twisleton is in need of cash so he applies to his wealthy friend Horace Davenport. Horace has troubles of his own: first, his uncle, the Duke of Dunstable broke up the sitting-room furniture with a poker and then Horace's fiance, Valerie Twisleton broke up with him because he hired a private detective to tail her while she was on vacation. Next, Horace took his dancing teacher Polly Pott out for a night on the town and found himself in a brawl with Polly's fiance Ricky Gilpin. Polly loves Ricky, despite his jealousy and still wants to marry him. The young couple are in need of money for Ricky is a poor poet. His uncle, the Duke of Dunstable, refuses to help the couple. The Duke takes himself off to Blandings Castle where he decides to take the Empress away! The Duke declares Lord Emsworth is in need of a brain specialist while Lady Constance fears it is the Duke who is in need of help. She sends for one Dr. Glossop to come to Blandings and quietly investigate the Duke. Pongo appeals to his Uncle Fred, fifth Earl of Ickenham, for monetary help, but unfortunately Pongo's aunt holds the purse strings and she is away from home. Never fear though, Uncle Fred to the rescue. He comes up with an ingenious plan that will help everyone. His plan brings all the character, plus Baxter and Polly's father, Claude "Mustard" Pott, to Blandings where the usual highjinks ensue.This story took awhile to get started. A lot of unfamiliar characters are introduced in the beginning when I really wanted to know more about dear old Lord Emsworth and his prize pig. I didn't really feel the need to keep reading to see how the story would all turn out. It lacked some of the usual punch of Wodehouse's Blandings Castle stories. The ending was very abrupt and left some plot points dangling. There wasn't enough of Lord Emsworth or his beloved pig. There's one great scene with the Empress that is great but it's her only major appearance. I just love her and want to read more about her and whatever it is she's eating! The regular cast of characters take a back seat to the new characters.The new characters in this story are largely recycled from previous Blandings Castle stories. As usual, there are the thwarted lovers torn apart by money and jealousy. I didn't care for any of them and wasn't rooting for them to get together. I can't stand these girls who love their men despite his intense jealousy and terrible temper. The young men are bland and uninspiring. Pongo has more brains than Freddie Threepwood though he's in similar trouble. He has potential to be a well-rounded character but mostly he stands there and wrings his hands. We at last meat Lord Boshom, Lord Emsworth's heir. He's not quite as dumb as his brother but he shares his brother's love for drama which causes some very funny moments. Uncle Fred is the main character in this story. He's the one who is "potty"! Lord Emsworth is absent-minded, the Duke is a tyrant but Uncle Fred rivals even dear old Uncle Gally for sheer lunacy. I didn't like him as much as Galahad though. Galahad is done with his wild ideas but Uncle Fred is eager and ready to go. Each scheme he comes up with his crazier than the last. Lies just roll off his tongue and he can come up with a new story at the drop of a hat. I didn't really like him because he didn't seem to have any common sense or a moral compass to tell him when to stop. I cringed as much as Pongo did. I would feel the same way having such a relative. Skip this one if you want another episode in the life of Lord Emsworth and his beloved pig. It's really more about Polly and Ricky and Uncle Fred.

Time was I read a lot of PG Wodehouse, in the pre-web days where series that were oversupplied in used bookstore had a special place in my heart. I eventually had to stop because while I loved them I couldn't remember if I'd read Carry On, Jeeves but not Right Ho, Jeeves. And since all the plots involved Bertie starting himself accidentally engaged while trying to help out a friend and ended with him giving up on his desire to wear a green tie or white pants over the objections of Jeeves, I simply ran out of options. (A friend implied you could remember which book it was based on which piece of clothing Bertie sacrificed at the end. If there's not already an app for that, there should be.) After twenty-five years later it seemed OK to start reading again, since the plots are interchangeable anyway and I certainly don't remember the jokes anymore. This book is from the Blandings series so a different cast of characters. Uncle Fred is an interesting sort--he's a sixty year old Earl with the recklessness, overconfidence and generosity of Wooster with something approaching the intelligence and savoir-faire of Jeeves. The rest are 20-somethings who got a little confusing, since it's too easy to think of Fred as everyone's uncle the romantic triangles get a little weird.I'll make one slightly serious point: In my twenties the 'old ball and chain' stereotype of all women over 50 must have passed by unnoticed, but it got old this time around. One of those annoying period jokes that just didn't age well, especially when the nominally good-hearted hero indulges in quips that come off a bit mean-spirited today. The book could have used an Aunt Dahlia.Stats for the PG Wodehouse app I mentioned:Plot Keyword: Pignapping, Number of brain specialists: 2Number of non-impostor brain specialists: 1Primary card game: Persian monarchsBest phobia: Fear of lambsLost clothing: None. This is a Blanding book, not a Jeeves book. Do pay attention.Worth Reading: Yes

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

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