This is Wodehouse's last fully completed novel, "
Sunset at Blandings" unfinished at his death. Wodehouse's age shows up in this Bertie Wooster tale, as incidents that would have been funny in an earlier age seem tired cliches. Perhaps Wodehouse could not reconcile the present with the lifestyles inhabited by his beloved characters.
In a strange way, this reminds me of Agatha Christie's "
Curtain", the last
Hercule Poirot novel. That was, at a superficial level, a murder mystery, but it plays out as a tragedy. In "The Cat-nappers", Wodehouse reaches out to reference the cunning plot of one of his masterpieces, "The Full Moon", a 1947 novel written almost 27 years ago before his last book. But the writing is weary and, deep down, Wodehouse probably knew it.
The difference with "Curtain" is that Christie ingeniously wrote it in the early 40's at the height of her powers and had it published after her death. So the characters seem fresh and the plot follows the mood. The story of "The Cat-nappers" differs from the tone set by the writing and that is fatal.
Other titles of the book: [UK] Aunts Aren't Gentlemen
Tags: humor
