and completed his last in 1974, when he was 93. In between he averaged one novel a year – more than 70 of them – maintaining such a high level of hilarious excellence that millions of fans revere him as a kind of miracle worker. The miracle I finished most recently is one of his last books – Much Obliged, Jeeves , from 1971. Like most of Wodehouse’s plots it takes place in an imaginary Britain between the wars... a world of roadsters and gentlemen’s clubs, country houses and evening dress. It features Wodehouse’s recurring heroes: the foppish and feckless Bertie Wooster and his “gentleman’s gentleman,” the valet Jeeves. Much Obliged proved to me that Wodehouse never peaked. As an artist he reached a pinnacle early on and turned it into a plateau.
Tired of being dry and in fine temperatures, last summer we took our family vacation in Ireland where there are more Nobel Laureates in Literature per capita than any other country. (But I didn’t read any of them.) Instead, I went straight for the grimy crime genre where, it turns out, the writing is pretty darn good too. I have only one recommendation because it comes with about a dozen books: Adrian McKinty. There are two of his series in particular that kept me rapt during and well after our trip to the “Old Sod.” The Sean Duffy series follows a supremely flawed detective in Northern Ireland during “the Troubles.” True to history, though often fictionalized, the stories are a blend of mystery, political thriller, Irish humor, and solid writing. Musical and literary references bridge the action as if Nick Hornby teamed up with Tom Clancy. More than a guilty pleasure, it’s as if an ice cream sundae had nourishment. The Michael Forsythe books, three in all, are a variation of the theme with the hero this time appearing as a young Irish criminal exported to New York City to work with the mob. It’s a “Hitman with a Heart of Gold” story with the same nourishment we got from Sean Duffy. Tom Bodett If you haven’t read anything by P.G. Wodehouse, I envy you the fresh pleasures you’ve got coming. And you can start with just about any book. Wodehouse published his first novel in 1902, when he was 21,
Get the handsome Overlook Press edition and bask in the miracle. Andrew Ferguson
Daniel Silva writes spy novels about terrorism and cynical Israeli heroes. These books bounce around Europe (even to places like Corsica) as their protagonist, art-restorer Gabriel Allon, cracks wonderfully sardonic jokes under the tutelage of the ancient wiseman, Ari Shomron. There are 18 books in the series (the newest comes out this
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