Quitting at 18%. I find the strange writing style with constantly inverted word order annoying, the tone irritating and the 'plot' slow to develop. ( )

He's an engaging, albeit dated prose stylist, and he can be very amusing. But this book proceeds to it's conclusion, and then kind of meanders around for several more chapters. There are odd bits of business, like the ghosts of George Sand and Chopin dropping in on a central character's piano recital. Actually ghosts abound in this book. If you like Wodehouse you'll find things to like here, but it's reputation as a timeless classic is a little much. ( )

Maybe even 4½ stars... This satire of undergraduate behavior is still hilarious over 100 years after it was written! The basic story is about how the young men of Oxford react when Zuleika Dobson, the beautiful niece of the college Warden, arrives in their midst. ( )

What a pleasant surprise this book was. I found it at a paperback trade-in shop, and bought it because of the incredible cover. I didn't know until I was well into it that it's considered a Beerbohm classic. The prose can be challenging; I could have had a dictionary beside me constantly if I decided I wanted to look up every word I didn't know. I didn't. Maybe if I reread it someday. I didn't think it would conclude the way it did, because I never can quite believe what lengths men will go to for a beautiful, irresistible woman. Good grief! ( )

This is what one might call a romantic picaresque tale. For the titular character has many romances and is more often than not irresistible to men. This seems to be more of a curse than a blessing. Whatever happens this is a uniquely witty and fantastic satire on the mores of nineteenth century England. ( )