P.G. Wodehouse: The Anti-George R.R. Martin

I just finished George R.R. Martin's Book 5 of A Song of Fire and Ice: A Dance With Dragons. Yes, the summertime is the best time to read these novels because unless you have lived under a rock: WINTER IS COMING! I had to take a break after I finished book 2: A Clash of Kings, because it was November and that ending is just too depressing. In June, I picked up book 3: A Storm of Swords and the ending was so good that I then swept through Book 4: A Feast for Crows and got to book 5, whew!

So, now I need my antidote: P.G. Wodehouse. It is interesting because both writers are writing about Great Britain, Europe and America, just in what I would say would be opposite ways. A Song of Fire and Ice weaves a fantasy based on English and European mid-evil history with all of it's disgusting details, with some necessary supernatural elements. In contrast, the works of P.G. Wodehouse are gentle satire about the lovable but numb-sculled Aristocratic class in Britain, Europe and America, being served by their gentleman's gentleman, a.k.a a butler like Jeeves.

I am not saying that as a bad thing. Just different. It is nice to read that the only thing that Bertie Wooster has to worry about is to get his friend engaged or unengaged and all-knowing Jeeves will see it through. Especially after finding out that one of the major characters in A Song of Fire and Ice got stabbed not once, but four times. See the difference?

A friend of mine is reading (I found out through Goodreads) Pride and Prejudice before tapping into the Fire and Ice books again. That is another good choice. After reading about Dragon fire, incest, beheadings and such; digging into some first world problems sounds pretty good.

By the way, as most of you know, A Game of Thrones is on HBO and is an awesome if somewhat condensed version of the books with each season covering a book. Although I hear that they do change the script from the book, they have the permission of Mr. Martin, as he is a producer for the show. This show (like MANY from HBO) are NOT family friendly. You have been warned...

What you may not know is that there are great TV versions of P.G. Wodehouse's works. My favorite is Jeeves and Wooster, a show done in the 90's with two of England's great comedic actors, Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster, and Stephen Fry as Jeeves. I really cannot see anyone else doing these characters. Yes, Hugh Laurie can play idiotic quite well (but anyone who has seen The Black Adder knows that), and Stephen Fry is pitch perfect as Jeeves, with the only thing being out of whack is his famously broken nose. This show is absolutely family friendly, although the kids might not understand the accents, the 1930's slang and such, and will head into their rooms to play. Which is all the better for the adults!