The Inimitable Jeeves by PG Wodehouse, is a short novel comprised of 11 short stories which tell of the adventures and mishaps of Bertie Wooster and his genius servant, Reginald Jeeves. The prose of the book is short, sharp, and straightforward, accented with the occasional jargon of the British upper class. This style of prose serves the story well as it includes lot of comedic chippy dialogue. It also makes for an easy and enjoyable ready experience.
The characters in The Inimitable Jeeves are rather one dimensional, though a deep, complex plot is not what the book is about. The main character, Bertie Wooster, is somewhat of a blank slate stand in for the audience, though his pride and pettiness combined with his incompetence provide a comedic element to his plans as they inevitably go south. Jeeves is the most intriguing character as hints of pride and personality can be found under his extreme intelligent competence. He reminds me of Sherlock Holmes in that, while a deeper personality could exist, it is never shown to the reader in favor of a portraying a genius stereotype who always does the smartest thing.
The story of The Inimitable Jeeves is admittedly shallow and superficial, with the characters having no lasting arcs whatsoever. However, this does not prevent the book from being an enjoyable read. This brings up the question of the value in artistic works which are “one-note”. Are we to judge these works by how well they stack up to their intent or by their depth and resonance with the human spirit. I believe that The Inimitable Jeeves functions perfectly well as a set of short comedic short stories that one can read to pass the time on a rainy afternoon. However, the setting for a deeper story waiting to be explored can be found in the relationships between Jeeves and Bertie Wooster. This fertile ground for a story may well bear fruit as The Inimitable Jeeves is in the public domain and anyone can write and publish works with the characters. I guess I will wait in eager anticipation for a blockbuster film “Jeeves” to come out in the coming decades.