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Recently on the Late Late Show, Craig Ferguson was asked what he thought was the best book by P.G. Wodehouse. I would have thought that an impossible question, since they're all very high quality and very much alike. But with only a little hesitation he answered "Galahad at Blandings." Inspired by that, I got it from the library, and of the Wodehouse I've read, I'd have to agree with him. It is certainly the best plotted, with about eight intertwined plot threads, each filled with complications, all coming to crises in the last pages, and all miraculously solved to the good by the intrepid Galahad Threepwood. Galahad is apparently a Wodehouse regular, but I'd never met him before. He is a wonderful character, a man "rather wild in his youth," now in his fifties, who thrives on tobacco, alcohol, camaraderie, and very little sleep. He is quick, witty, a shameless liar, good-hearted, and utterly likeable. His efforts to be helpful often backfire; but undaunted, he continues to manipulate all the other characters, and eventually everything comes out just fine. Overbearing, dragon-like aunts are utterly routed, a horrible little boy gets what he deserves, feuding young lovers are blissfully reunited, the pig recovers from her terrible hangover(!) to eat healthily once again, debts are paid, the Empire is solid, and all is right with the world. I have recently read two Wodehouse novels, one written in his mid twenties, this one when he was eighty-one. It is the best so far.
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