They and I, by Jerome K. Jerome

Reviewed by Sarah
Start Date: a couple weeks ago
Finish Date: this morning
Star Rating: seven stars! *******
"Movie" rating: G

Woman knows nothing of simple mechanics. A woman thinks you can get rid of steam by boxing it up and sitting on the safety-valve.

"Feeling as I do this morning, that I'd like to wring everybody's neck for them," the average woman argues to herself; "my proper course—I see it clearly—is to creep about the house, asking of everyone that has the time to spare to trample on me."

She coaxes you to tell her of her faults. When you have finished she asks for more—reminds you of one or two you had missed out. She wonders why it is that she is always wrong. There must be a reason for it; if only she could discover it. She wonders how it is that people can put up with her—thinks it so good of them.

At last, of course, the explosion happens. The awkward thing is that neither she herself nor anyone else knows when it is coming. A husband cornered me one evening in the club. It evidently did him good to talk. He told me that, finding his wife that morning in one of her rare listening moods, he had seized the opportunity to mention one or two matters in connection with the house he would like to have altered; that was, if she had no objection. She had—quite pleasantly—reminded him the house was his, that he was master there. She added that any wish of his of course was law to her.

He was a young and inexperienced husband; it seemed to him a hopeful opening. He spoke of quite a lot of things—things about which he felt that he was right and she was wrong. She went and fetched a quire of paper, and borrowed his pencil and wrote them down.

Later on, going through his letters in the study, he found an unexpected cheque; and ran upstairs and asked her if she would not like to come out with him and get herself a new hat.

"I could have understood it," he moaned, "if she had dropped on me while I was—well, I suppose, you might say lecturing her. She had listened to it like a lamb—hadn't opened her mouth except to say 'yes, dear,' or 'no, dear.' Then, when I only asked her if she'd like a new hat, she goes suddenly raving mad. I never saw a woman go so mad."

I doubt if there be anything in nature quite as unexpected as a woman's temper, unless it be tumbling into a hole.

Ok, Jerome K. Jerome. How you entertain me.

I highly recommend this book, or any other by Jerome for that matter (though I haven't read them all. Yet.) The characters are ridiculous, flawed, and endearing, and the humor is the of the ironic, sarcastic, "It's funny because its SO TRUE" type.

This book was interesting in that, behind the humor, it was also a sort of exploration of family relationships--not only between husband and wife, but also between parents and children, and between siblings. So while it was funny, it also made you think a bit about families and relationships and just human nature in general... while, of course, you're laughing about the whole situation, so your thoughts tend toward the more positive direction, which is always a good thing.