Frozen Assets

If you're already into Wodehouse's style of writing and storytelling, this might be a fun filler read. If you're new to Wodehouse, DO NOT start with this book - there are much better ones out there from his repertoire.

Wodehouse's books, especially his standalone novellas (?), are always pretty difficult to summarise simply because his signature style is having a convoluted plot with multiple threads of developments that somehow eventually converge into a single satisfying resolution for the character ensemble involved.

Edmund Biffen Christopher, or “Biff” in short, is the unexpected heir of a rich uncle who has just passed away - on one condition: in order to preserve the family name, the will states that Biff must not get arrested, especially not for misdemeanor, before he turns 30 in a few weeks' time. Another relative and a distant uncle, Lord Tilbury, starts scheming to get Biff to break this condition just so he can get his hands on the fortune himself. Along the way, we also meet Kay Christopher, Jerry Shoesmith, Percy Pilbeam, and Henry Blake-Somerset with what feels like a dozen other love triangles, espionage, and plot complications.

While I decently enjoyed this book, I wouldn't recommend this for those new or skeptical about Wodehouse. The subject matter felt a little too frivolous and the story wasn't as tight as it could've been. This is for Wodehouse's standards, which already has the bar set pretty high - another writer could not have pulled off the plot even for Frozen Assets. At the end of it all, you are left with a sense of “What did I just read?” - this is something I could forgive for Wodehouse simply because of how irreverent and deliberately frivolous his works can be, although his better books are at least much more satisfying than this.

The characters were decent, but I never reached a level of attachment with them as I would've with, say, Bertie Wooster, Jeeves, or even Aunt Agatha. I was also a little disturbed at the men's way of courting girls, which is simply to “kiss her senseless” (even if against her will) until she says yes. I get that this was probably the gender dynamic back at the time this was written, but - eh.

Overall, a decent, enjoyable read especially for existing Wodehouse fans, but not anything super stellar considering the rest of his repertoire and not what I'd recommend for readers new to Wodehouse.