Needs more wacky antics ( )

Simply very dull. ( )

This is the most disappointing PG Woodhouse I have encountered because it lacks the usual Woodhouse sparkle. In addition, it is more or less a retelling of one of the Psmith stories where Psmith becomes a journalist in NYC.

Life is too short to waste on a bad Woodhouse... ( )

I like most of this author’s works but this is among the few that barely passes as being “okay”. It felt disjointed in that the first third of the book is set on an island close to France, whereas the remainder of the tale is set in America, which feels like Mr Wodehouse grew tired of the original storyline and opted for a radical change.

Another reason why this didn’t appeal is that those last two-thirds of the book are almost identical to events in “Psmith Journalist”, which I’ve read not long before this one, meaning I knew what was coming. There are subtle changes, such as a few different characters. The Psmith from other Wodehouse tales is the same character as the Smith in this one, except Psmith is English and Smith is American.

The main reason this didn’t appeal to me is owing to the amount of long-winded narrative and the lack of snappy dialogue that Mr Wodehouse was always a master at. In fact the first chapter features some of his classic witty character exchanges, which made me think that I was in store for another engaging comedy, but the waffling second chapter stated the real narrative pace and tone.

A few quality moments here and there persuaded me to rate this novel two stars instead of one. ( )

Did not expect the story to unfold as it did, it was Ok but didn't have quite the same pizzazz as most of his work. ( )