Despite my ignorance involving sports (what is the English sport "Fives"? is it handball?), once I got into this 'School Story' I really enjoyed it. It wasn't as humorous as many of his novels but instead was a good coming of age story from the early years of the 20th century. ( )

More entertaining that most of his school stories. You can start to see his progression as a writer. Most of the school stories had little plot aside from the big game or academic imbroglios and the like, but this one featured a story of failure and redemption that is more relatable to the modern reader. ( )

Despite my ignorance involving sports (what is the English sport "Fives"? is it handball?), once I got into this 'School Story' I really enjoyed it. It wasn't as humorous as many of his novels but instead was a good coming of age story from the early years of the 20th century. ( )

An early Wodehouse, this school story focuses on poor Sheen. He's ostracized by his house because of a moment of weakness and spends the rest of the book trying to figure out how to repair that. He wins the school's big scholarship and learns to box in order to show the other boys how valuable he is. ( )

Given that this is about a boy's school and a boxing champion, it was more enjoyable than I would have expected. Wodehouse was a talented writer, and his insights into life and characters are always, in my view, well done.

Worth reading by fans of Wodehouse, and as a piece of cultural history, albeit (I hope) slightly caricatured. But the gradual growth of a studious schoolboy into a strong fighter is nicely done, albeit rather depressing to those of us who prefer quiet, intelligent types and loathe any form of violent sport.

I read a Project Gutenberg free edition; as far as I know it's only currently available in electronic form, or second-hand. ( )