Review: Ukridge

Ukridge by P.G. Wodehouse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ukridge, disdaining work, seeks to live by his wits. Unfortunately, his own estimation of his wits (and of the potential of his many ethically or legally dubious schemes) is wildly optimistic. Still, he can usually get by through touching one of his old school friends for a "loan", despite his early departure from the school in question when he deliberately broke a major rule and wasn't competent enough to avoid getting caught.

One of those old school friends is the narrator, "Corky" Corcoran, a struggling freelance writer who keeps getting reluctantly drawn into Ukridge's schemes (and "lending" him money, socks, shirts, and his dress suit, which Ukridge doesn't always bother to ask his permission to borrow before doing so). Ukridge's various adventures are amusing and farcical, there is the inevitable dire aunt, and a gem of a recurring character in the form of Battling Bilson, the overly emotion-driven prizefighter.

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