Tag: Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize

Original Fiction, Plumtopia, Writers, Writers & Writing7 Comments

50 shades of Wodehouse homage

Honoria Plum

For some time I’ve been threatening to write a fictional homage to P.G. Wodehouse – a statement that will induce some of you to sadly shake your heads, for there is a school of thought among Wodehouse lovers that such homages ought not be attempted. Stern words have been written on the subject. Alexandra Petri leaps to mind. She makes a sound case for the prosecution in her review of  Sebastian Faulks’ homage, ‘Jeeves and the Wedding Bells is worse than bad fanfiction’ (Washington Post), in which she helpfully outlines the world of fanfiction (yes, it’s one word apparently). I would submit that … Continue reading 50 shades of Wodehouse homage

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Criticism, P.G. Wodehouse, Reviews, Writers11 Comments

The 2015 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize: a Wodehouse reader’s view

Honoria Plum

At last week’s Hay Festival, Alexander McCall Smith was announced winner of the 2015 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic fiction, for his book Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party. The prize is awarded ‘in the spirit of P.G. Wodehouse’. I’ve enjoyed many of the previous winners and shortlisted entries, but Wodehouse fans should not to expect great similarities between Wodehouse’s writing and these examples of modern genre. With that caveat in mind, let’s take a look at the 2015 shortlist. How to Build a Girl by Cailtin Moran “My life is basically The Bell Jar written by Adrian Mole.” Described as semi-autobiographical, … Continue reading The 2015 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize: a Wodehouse reader’s view

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Reviews, Writers7 Comments

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

Honoria Plum

Whenever I begin something new from (Bollinger Wodehouse prize-winner) Terry Pratchett  these days, I prepare myself for the possibility that it might not sparkle quite so much as old favourites, like Carpe Jugulum. I remind myself that Pratchett has given us so much already, and that he’s entitled to ‘slip’ a little since being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2007. But Pratchett isn’t slipping. Each new book is as fresh, engaging, and bloody marvellous as the last, and I consider recent works such as Dodger (2012) and I Shall Wear Midnight[ (2010) among his best. I feel an overwhelming sense … Continue reading I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

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Reviews, Writers, Writers & Writing3 Comments

A snowball in hell

Honoria Plum

A Snowball in Hell  by Christopher Brookmyre was recommended to me by someone who thought I’d like it because it was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize. I am always open to suggestions about modern writers I might enjoy, but as a general rule I rarely read modern novels. So the first chapter of  ‘Snowball’  was quite a culture shock. Brookmyre certainly bears no resemblance to Wodehouse! Snowball is the story of a serial killer who decides to host his own online reality show, in which captured B-List celebrities are ‘bumped off’ according to viewer votes. Unexpectedly, I found … Continue reading A snowball in hell

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