A Man of Means
Gelesen von Tim Bulkeley (1948-2019)
P. G. Wodehouse
(4,473 Sterne; 366 Bewertungen)
A Man of Means is a collection of six short stories written in collaboration by P. G. Wodehouse and C. H. Bovill. The stories all star Roland Bleke, a nondescript young man to whom financial success comes through a series of "lucky" chances, the first from a win in a sweepstake he had forgotten entering. Roland, like many a timid young man seeks love and marriage. In this pursuit his wealth is regularly a mixed blessing. The plot of each story follows its predecessor, sometimes directly, and occasionally refer back to past events in Bleke's meteoric career. The writing style is crisp and droll, and shows much of the skill and polish of the later Wodehouse. The disasters that befall the hapless Bleke are entertainingly recounted and his unforeseen rescues surprise and delight. In the character of the butler, Mr Teal, we meet an early draft of the ingenious Jeeves. The stories first appeared in the United Kingdom in The Strand in 1914, and in the United States in Pictorial Review in 1916. They were later published in book form in the UK by Porpoise Books in 1991; the collection was released on Project Gutenberg in 2003. (Summary by Wikipedia adapted by Tim Bulkeley) (2 hr 58 min)
Chapters
Bewertungen
Diverting, but
dsuden
(4,5 Sterne)
There are some fun, funny moments in the book, but it’s not one of his best works, I don’t think. It ends very abruptly, like falling off a cliff. A little disjointed as a story. The narrator did a good job though.
mostly a very pleasant collection of episodes
K. Standard
(4 Sterne)
If you're a Wodehouse fan, you'll like this. It's so hard to find readers with an appropriate accent, but Tim Bulkeley did a good job capturing the tight wit. there are some pauses that began to distract me, but overall wow good. (Another of the "Favorite Readers" reads with a rather plodding American accent, and I can't stand it even if I speed him up.) I'd never read this PGW book, but now it's will be part of my regular commute rotation. I really enjoyed chapters 1-4, but 5 made me cringe a bit. Put me off for a while. but I'm not putting it away, just aside for a little bit.
Just an unassuming guy
Julia R
(3 Sterne)
Roland is just an unassuming, easy going guy, who starts running into lucky breaks at gaining money, which he really doesn’t get too awful excited about. The ways he gains his money, tries to spend and invest it, how other less scrupulously characters try to weasel it away from him, and how he falls in love and gets tricked into engagements to women he quickly discovers are totally not his type, all make for great comedy.
Entertaining!
April H.
(3,5 Sterne)
A humorous concept tackled by the authors, that of a man who doesn't desire riches but can't seem to escape them, this book is witty and amusing. The reader does an excellent job though his pace is on the faster side. It's pleasant to hear such a very English book read in an English accent!
Wodehouse with a twist
Gibbonstuffer
(4 Sterne)
PG Wodehouse didn't often write novels with others, which makes this book a little different. The humour is a little more cruel than classic Wodehouse, but no less funnier. The first chapter is praticularly good! The recording is superb.
Fun!
(5 Sterne)
Superbly read by Tim B. Have become a fan of his PG Wodehouse readings. Having listened to Wodehouse’s Jeeves books, I see the beginnings of this character in Mr Teal. Would have liked the story to continue after the last chapter.
Excellent text and wonderful reading
Ronald Newcombe
(4,5 Sterne)
More Wodehouse goodness and Tim Bulkeley is an excellent reader. Only thing keeping it from a full five stars is the audio quality was poor on a chapter or two.
Classic Wodehouse
Rivka D
(5 Sterne)
Can't help chuckling as poor naive Roland Bleke gets into hot water, usually coming out of it richer than before. Great reader, too