Wake Up, Sir by Jonathan Ames

The blurbs on the back of my edition of this book are all the same single word: "Hilarious." I'm inclined to agree.

The story centers on a young writer (and alcoholic, of course) who takes a brief visit to an artists' colony with his valet, Jeeves. Yep, Jeeves. It's so surreal that there is a valet character that there are times when I suspected it was all a figment of the protagonist's imagination. Thankfully, it was not.

Basically, Jeeves was hired after a bright bit of inspiration (and big lawsuit check) came to Alan, and he, Jeeves, feels like the real centerpiece of the book. Of course, Alan is the big character and he does all kinds of charactery things. He provides us with all the action, however drunken it may be. He was incredibly easy for me to identify with, and I imagine anyone with either literary leanings or a good dose of seemingly circular self-inspection would feel the same way. He's funny, he's smart, he's full of himself in the way that only the self-loathing can be. He is very very real.

The realism of his character, however, is perfectly offset by the ridiculousness of Jeeves's presence. Jeeves is frequently Alan's sounding board, witnessing his employer's life with "detachment." Aside from plot summary and praise for this book, it has left me thinking about the notion of a personal servant.

What good would a valet do any of us "normal" individuals? He could lay out my outfits in the morning, pour me a glass of juice while I am still in the shower, close the blinds when I do not want to get out of bed but the Sunday sun is bothering me. And, of course, be a sounding board. But would it do any good? Practical concerns are lessened and ostensibly your stress would be reduced as well. But, as an impartial observer and servant, Jeeves provides no true second opinion, offers no real advice, but merely "rides the wave" of Alan's personality and moods. He is non-judgmental, the type of friend we could all use. But he is unfamiliar with tough love, the type of friend we frequently need.

Whether Jeeves improves Alan's life is a moot point. I don't want to take this humorous novel too seriously. But, I find the notion of a personal servant for just some middle-class Jewish self-proclaimed Anglo-Anglophile intriguing.

Sorry for the short entry, but I'm getting back into the swing of things and I'm also very tired.

This book, like most of them, is highly recommended. A quick and easy read, but written by an obviously smart man, about another smart man, and a detached valet. I would love to discuss this with someone.