Joy in the Morning

I find that writing humor well is one of the most difficult things to do. It’s one thing to deliver a comedic monologue to a group of friends. In such settings you have at your command body language, intonation, verbal pauses, and other tools that can quickly have your friends in stitches. The written word does not provide many of these tools of humor and so I’m impressed when anyone can write comedy well.

P. G. Wodehouse demonstrates that comedic writing can be done, and done well. Joy in the Morning follows the mishaps and missteps of the bumbling English gentleman, Bertram Wooster, as he breaks up an engagement only to find himself inadvertently engaged to the rebounding bride-that-would’ve-been, unintentionally foils the lucrative shipping deal being plotted by his Uncle, and exacerbates tensions between his friend Boko Fittleworth and the guardian of Boko’s love, Nobby. Having stuck himself in all the trouble that a small English town might muster, Wooster must rely on his faithful valet to extract him from the trouble that surely follows incinerated English cottages, stolen police uniforms, jilted lovers, and, worst of all, an overeager boy scout. Joy in the Morning is a very enjoyable work of British comedy that will inject some laughter into your reading diet.