Scan barcode
katemarguerite's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as others I've read from P.G. Wodehouse, but I had a couple of good chuckles. This is a good quick read if you feel like a laugh.
persey's review against another edition
3.0
The central conceit didn’t appeal to me. One of the key aspects of Wodehousian absurdity is that it’s conceivable if not probable; not so here. Funny takes on Hollywood, the perspective of the constantly snookered Englishman amused, the prose always delights, but I was just irritated by the premise.
hbkolb's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. 4 stars compared to the other Wodehouse books I’ve been binging. 5 stars compared to a lot of other books I’ve read. Where vaudeville meets Freaky Friday. Still plenty entertaining.
bethmitcham's review
3.0
Lots of laugh out loud moments and situations, interspersed with some awkward historical clunkers (catch a n---- by the toe, some Jewish slurs, etc.), and of course, it was completely predictable. But the last few tracks came together in a fun way, so that my son picked up his ears and laughed along with me.
ojaswisharma's review
2.0
This book made me realize I'm not a fan of his writing. Too ornate and overdone.
bruceolivernewsome's review
5.0
I often think of this novel as the pinnacle of one form of Wodehouse's fiction - the complex, insightful, meaningful satire of a real institution. In this case, the institution is Hollywood, which, a few years previously had been professionally disappointing for Wodehouse as a script writer, although it gave him great material for several novels based there. All are really satires. Laughing Gas in particular reminds me most of Waugh's satirical style: the rich complexity of the plot, the humor that is both entertaining but also bitingly insightful, the incorporation of larger social and political themes. Indeed, Laughing Gas is contemporaneous with Waugh's return to satire and maturation of the style (in particular: Scoop, coming two years later, was probably influenced by Laughing Gas). As one would expect from Wodehouse, Laughing Gas is memorable for several characters, of which I always remember the movie producers most: stereotypes indeed, but so well drawn. Laughing Gas is memorable too for a rare fantastical, other-worldly device: that of two characters switching bodies for a while (this starts while in dentist chairs succumbing to laughing gas). This device allows the adult British hero to experience life as a spoiled American child star, thereby exposing to the reader the dirty side of Hollywood, while the American child gets to wreak vengeance (mild) with the powers of an adult male body. Too much goes on in this novel to be summarized adequately here. Its complexity offers the joy of rereading and rediscovering, because much is unpredictable. Unlike some of Waugh's satires that end dis-satisfyingly inconclusive, this novel has resolutions and rewards for the characters' trials. You end with a feeling of a great journey, even an intellectual exercise, and narrative fulfilment, and much to ponder about the book even after you've finished reading the book itself.
groucho's review
4.0
A touch of the supernatural in this one, as a young English Earl swaps bodies with an even younger Hollywood child while they're both under the laughing gas at the dentists. Plenty of unusual situations here, and all the more enjoyable for it.
maddiewagner's review
4.0
A thoroughly enjoyable non-Bertie and Jeeves Wodehouse. A perfect light summer read.
More...