Indeed, this book
was something fresh for me! Books like these from P.G. Wodehouse make a nice change from the horror stories I usually read. I bought a whole series of these back in the summer, and I'm so glad I did, because I'm hooked on the series now!
The story is a part of the Blandings Castle series and follows Lord Emsworth, a fluffy-brained, forgetful, dreamy man, and his large family. Lord Emsworth is very eccentric, with an obsession for collecting things for his museum. His son - whom he isn't particularly fond of - Frederick, is engaged to a rich American man's daughter, Aline. He is asked to visit their town house one afternoon, and being so forgetful, he goes home with the equally-strange Mr Peter's prize jewel, the Cheops of the 4th Dynasty, in his pocket! Needless to say, trouble soon ensues, including two imposters at Blandings, both with the same mission in mind.
I find this story irresistibly hilarious, and I had a smile on my face the whole time! My favourite character, naturally, was Lord Emsworth, who forgets literally everything, which leads to so many misunderstandings on his part! He's like Bertie Wooster going senile - which is actually really sad when you think about it - but it is played in a really lighthearted manner in Something Fresh. His favourite activities included pottering about the garden with his flowers and messing around in his museum, plus, his pig. There's obviously nothing dark or mysterious going on in his world, one of the many reasons why I think he's adorable.
Ashe Marson and Joan Valentine were my other favourites, and make a really great couple, too! It was interesting to see things from their point of view, as they're not exactly well off like most of the characters in Wodehouse's books; so we get to see how things work downstairs at Blandings.
As for my least favourite characters, I can't really say I like the Efficient Baxter (or "Nosy Parker" as the staff at Blandings call him). He seems really alert and on-the-ball, but irritating and overly-suspicious most of the time. That's just my opinion though. But I suppose it mainly stems from the way he was trying to thwart my favourite characters' plans.
