P. H. CannonCritiques

One of my most treasured books and must for anyLovecraft fan!

What a treat for that small group (in which I am included) who are fans of H. P. Lovecraft, Arthur Conan Doyle, and P. G. Wodehouse!

The first half of the book is an okay detective story featuring Sherlock Holmes working with Lovecraft to retrieve some stolen letters. The second half is where all the fun is: Jeeves and Wooster face off against Lovecraftian horrors.

Not for those who are unfamiliar with the works of any of the three authors Cannon is parodying, but a quick, fun read for those who are.

This is a strange, piecemeal biography of the stranger still founder of a genre. H. P. Lovecraft was was almost unknown when he died in 1937. With few exceptions, his publications prior to his death were limited to what was then considered ephemera - pulp horror magazines.

I read this after Waugh's "Monster in the Mirror," which seems a little unfair, since that book's analysis is so dense that anything else threatens to be damned with faint praise. The advantage that Cannon has over Waugh is that his work is much more readable, serving as a good solid critique of Lovecraft's fiction without being overwhelming or intimidating. What is sacrificed in depth is made up for in breadth, and anyone with a more than passing interest in Lovecraft will get something out of it.½

While the juxtaposition of Lovecraftian dread and Wodehousian insouciance makes for some very funny situations and dialogues, it can grow to be a bit repetitive. Luckily, Scream for Jeeves is just about the right length; long enough to get as much out of the conceit without overplaying it. It's made up of three short stories:

"Rats, Cats, and Bertie Wooster" - Bertie visits his friend "Tubby" Norrys at the newly rebuilt priory that seems to have some sort of rodent problem.

"Something Foetid" - Bertie's jaunt in New York lands him in the company of a strange fiction writer and his even stranger Spanish doctor friend.

"The Rummy Case of Young Charly" - Art Jenkin, Erich Zann, and Charly Ward all get involved in this strange affair. As Bertie would say, "Life is a horrible thingummy."