This one is a bit of a dud. Yes, I’m being super controversial!
This book has so many problems, but the chief issue is really its length. At 320 pages, this might be Wodehouse’s longest book? And he has neither the plot not the characters to pull that off.
Wodehouse’s formula is to have an amiable doofus who is hopefully in love with a woman, and then there’s somebody slightly smarter (an uncle perhaps) or a lot smarter (a butler, perhaps) that helps getting them together. This one, however, combines the two into one character, so you end up with a pretty smart schemer who hounds a poor woman, and it starts feeling abusive very quickly. (Which is also acknowledged in the text.) Perhaps he’s trying to make a more Hollywood-like protagonist — one with agency and repartee?
There’s some other sub-plots, but nothing seems to actually develop: A hundred pages pass and you think “er… what’s up with Tubby now then?” and absolutely zilch has changed. It feels like Wodehouse is spinning his wheels, not knowing how to proceed with anything.
So there’s no charming characters to root for, and nothing happens. For 320 pages. For the first time ever, I started thinking about tapping out, but I persevered, and… it wasn’t really worth it.
(The final chapter is fun, though.)
I was really surprised — this was written shortly after some of Wodehouse’s best books.
Summer Moonshine (1937) by P. G. Wodehouse (buy used, 4.1 on Goodreads)