Good stuff from the master

I love listening to P G Wodehouse audiobooks. He is such a good writer that it is sheer pleasure to go at the pace of the narrator so you can savour every word and chortle at every joke.

PGW is on top form in this quite short Jeeves outing. Dinsdale Landen is a fine narrator - really enjoying himself and bringing the book splendidly to life - but he goes just a tad too fast for my liking. Still, well worth a listen and excellent entertainment.

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7 people found this helpful

Narrator in a bit of a rush

Story was fine, a bit of a rehash of elements of other stories but some new material and characters too. I found the narration a bit too rushed, often had to skip back to listen again to sentences. Also the style for Jeeves wasn't quite right - intonation going up at the end of sentences, whereas I always think of Jeeves as being more sepulchral. All in all it was fine but I prefer Jonathan Cecil's reading, and the earlier stories.

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5 people found this helpful

Read too fast

What did you like most about Much Obliged, Jeeves?

The usual Wodehouse story. Fun and beautiful use of language.

How could the performance have been better?

This is read far too fast! It is read at such a rate that I had to listen to it on 75% speed - the first time I have ever had to use this facility. It's not too slow at this speed but it is sometimes difficult to know who is speaking as the characters are not differentiated sufficiently.

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6 people found this helpful

Fantastic - but why the hurry?

I have read PG Wodehouse over and over since I was a mere stripling and love his work to pieces. I have many audio books featuring Jonathan Cecil which are excellent, but when I saw this one narrated by Dinsdale Landen I bought it after listening to the sample.


And to (sort of) quote the master: "Mister Landen passes it over the diaphragm with no small amount of aplomb." His portrayal of the characters is great as are his range of voices. His reading is impeccable... yet, there is a but...


Others have alluded to the narration being too fast. But I feel it's the sound engineer who's the culprit. They seem to have been in something of a hurry to get this version mastered. Perhaps their own Aunt Agatha was after them with a hatchet?


Consequently, quickfire exchanges are indeed the order of the day. There are times when character B answers character A almost before character A has finished speaking. But that can't be DL's fault, not unless he can speak in two voices at once.


This fault makes for things sounding rushed at times and why I've given overall a grudging 4. I really felt a 3 was more apt but that would be unfair to DL who is really great in the reading.


Apart from that one niggle it's classic Wodehouse. Peerless prose delivered by a performer who's clearly very fond of the subject, and even though scuppered at times, one who does (as Jeeves perhaps might not put it) a 'bang-up job.'

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1 person found this helpful

Another Wodehouse classic

A particularly well-crafted plot and some outstandingly funny set pieces.

I think the criticism of the narrator in some other reviews is misplaced. It's not that he speaks particularly quickly, but rather that he speaks in the clipped tones that are in an authentic period manner. I think it adds to the atmosphere, and personally I found his delivery crystal clear.

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Wodehouse good as ever.

Wodehouse can be relied on to provide good light entertainment and this is no exception.
Not my favourite narrator, rather too speedy, blurring the distinction between characters speaking, and between speech and prose. Jonathan Cecil's expert rendering of the Wodehouse novels set a high standard which others can't quite match.

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5 people found this helpful

Another very good narrator for Jeeves!

I'm a huge fan of Jonathan Cecil as narrator of Jeeves books, he's just amazing. But this book I couldn't find by him. Dinsdale Landon turns out to have the same great energy and character, delighted!

I used the slider to listen at 80% speed for the whole book as he speaks very fast. This is fine, as sounds normal at 80% and has added benefit of book lasting longer.

It took a few chapters to get used to new author, but now I'm enjoying the characters and crazy storyline as much as ever.

I'm only sad that the series is near the end, as this is one of the last books. Might have to start back at the beginning again. I've found they actually are great on a second listen as I've done by mistake once or twice - as I pick up stuff I missed the first time. Also, like the TV series Friends, I know the characters better so find them funnier!

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As expected

As usual Jeeves saves the day. Not badly narrated but the voice of Jeeves isn’t quite right to my mind.

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A fun title

A fun and amusing adventure by Bertie once again and whilst not my favourite narrator he is still good.

I listened to this in 2 sittings and was very much amused, a great story and a great way to break the monotony of work.

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Great, relaxing listen.

Humorous stories with interesting twists. Slightly let down by the narrator, who read so very fast that at times I just could not work out what he was saying .

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1 person found this helpful