The Girl on the Boat

March 15, 1999
This is a typical Wodehouse farce: A beautiful young woman is romanced by three different men (hence its original U.S. title, Three Men and a Maiden). It has many of the qualities of the author's (Psmith in the City, Audio Reviews, LJ 1/98) more mature later novels (eccentric characters, clever farce, and inventive metaphors), as well as the additional charm of being a diamond in the rough. Wodehouse addresses his readers directly, explaining what the novel is trying to do and why it isn't going as he had planned. Frederick Davidson, as usual, adds to the fun with his energetic reading.--R. Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, CA