Maugham, W Somerset

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Not a Good Book
Movies vs. Novel
Excellent literature
Fascinating book
Read it and Weep.

The Painted Veil
W. Somerset Maugham
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Water for Elephants: A Novel

ASIN: 0307277771
Release Date: 2006-11-14

Book Description

Set in England and Hong Kong in the 1920s, The Painted Veil is the story of the beautiful but love-starved Kitty Fane. When her husband discovers her adulterous affair, he forces her to accompany him to the heart of a cholera epidemic. Stripped of the British society of her youth and the small but effective society she fought so hard to attain in Hong Kong, she is compelled by her awakening conscience to reassess her life and learn how to love.

The Painted Veil is a beautifully written affirmation of the human capacity to grow, to change, and to forgive.

Customer Reviews:

Not a Good Book.......2007-05-10

I found the story uninteresting and for the most part uneventful. The Painted Veil is about a one-dimensional, self-absorbed woman. She has an affair with man just like herself. She is married to a simple, self-restrained man who could prove interesting in the story but the writing stays with this boring woman. She has a few experiences that seem to change her and makes her aware that other people in the world exist and have feelings beside her.
But alas, she proves to be the same self absorbed woman that she always was but with her new realization she now feels bad about it.

Movies vs. Novel.......2007-05-09

I recently saw the 1930's original with greta garbo which is a must see for anyone reading this book. Still, the ending is quite different from the book. The newer version also doesnt include a reunion with her father. Both films fall short of this. I have to say that the Razors Edge on film was more faithful to the book. I guess directors in film dont like to see adaptations completely true to the novel.

Excellent literature.......2007-03-22

I bought the book to have a comparison with the recent movie version. Always interesting to notice the difference.

Fascinating book.......2007-02-20

I read this book because I was putting off going to the movie. I still want to see the movie, but the book was wonderful to read and very gripping.

Read it and Weep........2007-02-11

No, you don't get Naomi Watts or Edward Norton. Not even Liev Schrieber. But you do get lovely language, a vivid sense of place and of a time gone by. It's sadder than the film. But that's a good thing.

Average customer rating:

Great to a point.
Passion, Passion, Passion.
Engaging storytelling
The Maddening Life of The Artist
Desperately Seeking Beauty

The Moon And Sixpence
W. Somerset Maugham
Manufacturer: Books on Tape, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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The Razor's Edge
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ASIN: 073660068X

Book Description

Maugham, with his impeccable taste and style, deftly portrays a 19th century gentleman who abandons his profession and family to pursue his art in Paris. This book was inspired by Maugham's admiration for Gauguin. It presents a complex character as it explores artistic and social impulses of that time.

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On a trip to research French artist Paul Gauguin, Maugham sailed into Tahiti's Papeet harbor, where he imagined an exotic tale of the ultimate outsider, one who rejects his entire way of life to pursue an obsession. The result of his efforts is a story of rebellion and escape from civilization which continues to attract and captivate readers to this day.

Customer Reviews:

Great to a point........2007-03-05

Nice book, though it wanders away the last 40 pages. Not at the level of the brilliant "Of Human Bondage."

Passion, Passion, Passion........2007-02-28

I always chafe when I hear people downplay the talent and importance of Somerset Maugham. He happens to be one of my favorite writers and The Moon and Sixpence is by far--in my opinion--his best book. I reread it yesterday and continue to be moved by its emotion. No other novel describes the passion which motivates the artist in such intricate detail. With Strickland, our neo-Gauguin, we see that the force that drives is absolute even though it may not be noble or life-affirming. As a man, Strickland treats people the way most of us treat parking places--we enter them, leave them and then never give their existence a second thought; yet, the one thing he undoubtedly has is artistic integrity. The middle third of the book is the strongest and here, as elsewhere, Mr. Maugham tells an amazing story. Also of note, are his impressions of women which may be as sound as those of anybody else I have ever encountered. Overall, this is a vastly underrated novelist and a vastly underrated book.

Engaging storytelling.......2006-09-09

Based in outline on the life of post-impressionist painter Paul Gauguin, The Moon and Sixpence makes for an at times dark, at times lighthearted tale with a predictable ending. The fun is in the getting there and the brilliant characters and anecdotes that we find along the way.

In a disarming style successfully conveying that neither the narrator nor the author takes himself terribly seriously, W. Somerset Maugham opens The Moon and Sixpence in an academic tone, with the narrator disparaging the novel as a literary form, and using frequent footnotes to convey that academic sense of non-fiction that is ostensibly so much more respectable. With characteristic phrases like "blackheart", "dash it all", and Robert Strickland's favorite, "go to hell", we are guided from Strickland's family life in England to his impoverished Paris years and finally on his trail to Tahiti where he spends his final days toiling away at his magnum opus in an idyllic but ultimately tragic setting.

My favorite character was Dirk Stroeve, a Dutch painter living in Paris, with very little talent of his own but with the ability to recognize its expression--notably in the genius of Strickland's painting. Stroeve's kindness and generosity, both of which he lavishes on others to a ludicrous degree, act as an almost perfect foil for contrasting with Strickland's boorish contempt, even for those who help nurse him through a life-threatening illness. The stark disparity with Stroeve humanizes and better defines Strickland.

In the course of relating Strickland's story, Maugham reveals a keen sense of observation and ponders some of the fundamental questions of what it means to be human. Strickland's character encompasses both the contradiction between and the synthesis of opposing ideas--of how, for example, pursuit of the creative impulse can be destructive, and destruction of social bonds can lead to creativity. In the way he writes of Strickland's genius, some of Maugham's own is revealed.

The Maddening Life of The Artist.......2006-04-09

Maugham begins this book, as he does 'Razor's Edge,' with an annoying fussiness ('I'm really not qualified to write about it..what's the point of a novel,'etc.). But once he gets down to the narrator's trying to understand the strange life of Strickland (a thinly-veiled portrait of 19th-century 'dumped his family for painting' French artist Paul Gaugain), the book takes on a lyrical beauty you won't soon forget. What drives the honest artist, his eyes on the stars while his mortal existence sinks into poverty? Maugham doesn't have an answer, but the asking is what will keep you involved.

Desperately Seeking Beauty.......2006-01-13

Maugham's fictionalized biography of French Impressionist
Paul Gaughin presents a stark attempt to recreate the bizarre life of this amoral painter. Despite the action-less first two chapters (which seem to lead nowhere) this riveting novel dares portray the protagonist as an Englishman; the passive narrator attempts to reconstruct the history of a genius who remained unrecognized in his long-suffering lifetime. Shocked by the callous way this "unmitigated cad" treats his devoted, law-abiding wife, the narrator is both nauseated and appalled by Strickland's flagrant disregard for social proprieties-even to repaying the most generous hospitality with crass betrayal. Yet the unnamed narrator is gradually, reluctantly, drawn into a web of admiration for the passion of the iconoclastic Artist, who seems possessed by demons in his search for the ideal of Beauty.

Slowly but inexorably readers are introduced to the private actions and misanthropic attitude of an artist-in-training, one
Charles Strickland. Related by a decent observer/narrator the novel retraces the violent birth of genius: from his sudden inexplicable desertion of his wife, his flight to a meager garret in Paris; there the former stockbroker sacrifices all to learn a new, soul-driven craft. Long after Strtickland's death of Leprosy in Tahiti, the narrator interviews various persons who knew and/or loved him, thus piecing together a posthumous biographical patchwork of the tortured painter. Regardless of Maugham's adherence to (or deviation from) strict biographical detail, this novel mesmerizes readers as it spotlights the tormented life of a man who insists on metamorphosing into true Genius by sheer will power. The character of Strickland,
condemned as shameless and scandalous by polite Society, will fascinate generations of readers who appreciate the passion of a literary artist who proves Gaughin's equal. Judge him for yourself!

Average customer rating:

A look into another world in another time
A great book for the period
The book is a must if you have seen the movie
thought provoking
Not for me.

The Razor's Edge
W. Somerset Maugham
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Of Human Bondage
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ASIN: 1400034205
Release Date: 2003-09-09

Book Description

Larry Darrell is a young American in search of the absolute. The progress of his spiritual odyssey involves him with some of Maugham's most brilliant characters - his fiancée Isabel whose choice between love and wealth have lifelong repercussions, and Elliott Templeton, her uncle, a classic expatriate American snob. Maugham himself wanders in and out of the story, to observe his characters struggling with their fates.

Customer Reviews:

A look into another world in another time.......2007-06-26

Yet the writing is so full that we can feel part of this other world.

I came to this story by the back door. My first introduction to Somerset Maugham was through the movie "The Razor's Edge" (1946) staring Tyrone Power as Larry Darrell. I have no idea as to how much it was adapted from the book. Then in 1984 we watched Bill Murray as Larry Darrell. This film lost what magic the 1946 film had. So it was time to read the book. Yes I know very few films can do more than present the essence of a book. Turns out that even the older film wrote Summerset out of some of the scenes.

Larry is back from the war (WWI). As with many of us he is left with nagging questions about why one person lives and another must die. This problem leads Larry to search for the answers. He turns down opportunities and takes up a lifestyle to help him find answers. This story is told or narrated by Somerset Maugham himself. In the book Somerset takes more of an active part in the story. Larry came as close as any of us to the answer he seeks and we leave him much the same way one enters and leaves your life.

A great book for the period.......2007-05-31

The Razor's Edge is literature. It describes a time and a place that a few of us knew through our grandparents. But in the middle of class and humerous snobbery, there is a man who is on a quest for cosmic clarity and union with the infinite. His journey is so different than the people he associates with, that the novel becomes a story of contrasts. That is one of the enjoyable aspects of this novel. It is also rich in description, which allows us to be included in that time and that place.

The book is a must if you have seen the movie.......2007-03-20

This is truly a classic novel containing much more that the movie 1946 movie left out...if you have seen that movie, then you owe it to yourself to read the book.

thought provoking.......2007-03-16

After a short term of adjustment to the prose form and dated situation, the plot and characters were compelling. As the story unfolded I continually reflected on how my behavior would have either mirrored or differed from those being portrayed. Absorbing.

Not for me. .......2006-12-21

I did not care about the story, the characters or the writing. This was not compelling enough to hold my attention. I did not finish.

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Philip
wonderful
Love is a hurtin' thing
Just The Best!
All Time Classic a Disappoinment

Of Human Bondage (Bantam Classics)
W. Somerset Maugham , and Jane Smiley
Manufacturer: Bantam Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Cakes and Ale

ASIN: 055321392X
Release Date: 1991-06-01

Book Description

The first and most autobiographical of Maugham's masterpieces. It is the story of Philip Carey, an orphan eager for life, love and adventure. After a few months studying in Heidelberg, and a brief spell in Paris as a would-be artist, he settles in London to train as a doctor where he meets Mildred, the loud but irresistible waitress with whom he plunges into a tortured and masochistic affair.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Philip Carey, a handicapped orphan, is brought up by a clergyman, but Philip sheds his religious faith and begins to study art in Paris.

Customer Reviews:

Philip.......2007-06-21

When little club-footed Philip Carey's mother died, he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle, severe, religious relatives who knew not how to handle the child thrust into the midst of their lives. He grew up without coddling or affection, but with books and the fantastic worlds they brought to him, worlds he would strive his whole life to recreate in fact. From his experiences in school to an artist's paris, to the hospitals of London and the dregs of society, Of Human Bondage details his search for himself and for his own brand of reality as he waits, desperate for life to finally begin. I see a lot of myself in Philip's apparently directionless wanderings, which is the beauty of this novel. He is believeable to extremes, and gloriously ambivalent morally. The book is beautifully written and wonderfully unpredictable, avoiding trite cliches and overlong prosaic rambles alike. Read it for school, or for pleasure, or for the experience of seeing plainly a slice of someone else's life, someone neither virtuous nor sinful, someone wholly real.

wonderful.......2007-05-21

Little read these days, but Maugham remains head and shoulders above almost all contemporary novelists and this is his masterpiece.

Love is a hurtin' thing.......2007-05-05

Why, most have wondered, do people sometimes fall in love with someone almost absolutely worthless? And if they are loved by a wonderful person, why do they not love them in return? Maughham suggest it might have to do with the family the person was raised in. The narrator loses both parents at a young age, and is raised by a cold and self-centered man, and his wife who loves the young Philip with a desperate and clinging love. And what happens? He falls in love with a truly repulsive woman. I generally avoid "classic" novels, since I am one of those readers Mark Twain described -- I know the names but haven't read most. However, "Of Human Bondage" is an exception to that rule. I was absorbed in it from beginning to end, and found every insight in it to confirm my own.

Just The Best!.......2007-04-30

I have read this book many times over the years and it's different every time. Is amazing how one writer can get all those human emotions and write about them, one can actually feel what the characters feel and get involved into their lives. A book that is worth reading more than once...

All Time Classic a Disappoinment.......2006-12-02

I am sorry to say that I thoroughly disliked "Of Human Bondage." I know it is on every must read list for fiction (which is why I decided to read it) however, I just wonder how such a boring story can continually be relegated to such a hallowed position in literature? Not only did I find it dull but I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the main character's perception of women! I'm not a feminist in the least but most of the female characters were described in such pathetic ways. "Yellow teethed" "Sallow skin" "Dirty Hands" "Tear stained over powdered face", it goes on and on. I wondered if the author was uncomfortable women? I looked online for some information about Maugham. To my surprise I found out that Maugham was bisexual. He did marry and have a child but for most of his life it sounded like he was involved with men. In no way can I say this substantiates or confirms the tone of the book -- but in some way it answered my question or concern.

Instead of this book I'd recommend the following classics: Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Madame Bovary by Flaubert. At least in these books, maybe the female characters are not the most virtuous but the characters are written with such sensuality that even though they might not be described as gorgeous they are brought to life in the pages by the author with a kaleidoscope of words that makes them multidimensional -- good or bad.

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"She was like a clear, deep pool in a forest glade"
Well written but not his greatest.
Truth, Art and Artifice
The Muse of Youth
Good, but the least of the 3 I've read

Cakes and Ale
W. Somerset Maugham
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Mrs Craddock (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)

ASIN: 0375725024
Release Date: 2000-12-05

Book Description

Cakes and Ale is a delicious satire of London literary society between the Wars. Social climber Alroy Kear is flattered when he is selected by Edward Driffield's wife to pen the official biography of her lionized novelist husband, and determined to write a bestseller. But then Kear discovers the great novelist's voluptuous muse (and unlikely first wife), Rosie. The lively, loving heroine once gave Driffield enough material to last a lifetime, but now her memory casts an embarrissing shadow over his career and respectable image. Wise, witty, deeply satisfying, Cakes and Ale is Maugham at his best.

Customer Reviews:

"She was like a clear, deep pool in a forest glade".......2006-04-17

When writer Willie Ashenden receives a telephone call from second-rate writer Alroy Kear, he greets the urgent request for a meeting with some reluctance. On one level Ashenden admires Kear's "rise in the world of letters." Kear "had achieved so considerable a position on so little talent," and as a shallow toady, he also knows exactly how to market his skills, wooing and flattering any stray dissenters. Ashenden is well aware that Kear must want something from him, but when Kear finally hunts down his quarry, Ashenden is a little surprised to learn that Kear has been commissioned to write the biography of one of England's most venerable writers, Edward Driffield.

Driffield--recently deceased--left behind a widow, the admirable Mrs. Driffield. She was Edward's second wife, and she served as her husband's nurse prior to their marriage. When she married the elderly Driffield, he was already famous, and Mrs. Driffield began sanitizing Edward's reputation--slowly converting him into a living relic. Edward's early years are a bit of an embarrassment. Born in poverty to a lowly bailiff, he made an unfortunate marriage to the local barmaid, Rosie. The marriage ended in disaster, and it certainly proves to be an awkward period to include and explain in the vanity bio that Kear intends to produce. And this is where Ashenden comes into the picture. Ashenden and Driffield came from the same village, and when Ashenden was a boy, he knew Driffield. Ashenden's memories of Driffield as a young man could prove invaluable ... just as long as they are the right sort of recollections. Ashenden, unfortunately, remembers such details as Driffield singing "Come Where the Booze is Cheaper."

"Cakes and Ale" brilliantly weaves the connections between the three writers--Kear, Driffield and Ashenden as the novel goes back into Ashenden's memories of Driffield and his first wife, Rosie. While she is a black blot in Driffield's personal life, it cannot be denied that he wrote his masterpieces when they were together. Kear and the widow Driffield patronizingly dismiss Rosie as a "nymphomaniac," but Ashenden's recollections of her breathe life into the image of Druffield's muse. At once earthy and unaffected, Rosie also possessed an almost ethereal beauty. Ashenden remembers her as an amazing, unusual woman, and that, unfortunately doesn't fit the picture that Kear has in mind.

It's argued that Maugham based the character of Kear on novelist Hugh Walpole, and in the depiction of Driffield, it's impossible not to recognize Thomas Hardy. Maugham denied this--saying that both Kear and Driffield were mere composites. Druffield is seen in all phases of his life--careless joy of youth, the despair of adulthood, and the resignation and acceptance of his later years. He is depicted as a man surrounded by strong female characters--the elusive Rosie, the preposterous social climber Mrs. Barton Trafford, and finally his second wife, the indomitable, controlling nurse. Only Rosie gave without demanding something in return, and while the other two women were parasites of Edward's fame, Rosie remains--at least to this reader--the obvious and unforgettable model for Driffield's/Thomas Hardy's greatest heroines. "Cakes and Ale" is considered a minor Maugham novel, but it's a masterpiece laced with Maugham's characteristic biting wit and Maugham fans must not miss it--displacedhuman

Well written but not his greatest........2005-09-06

The reason that I read this book was because I fell in love with W. Somerset Maugham's writing style when I read 'Of Human Bondage'. Unfortunately, I was greatly disappointed to go from 'Of Human Bondage', which is now my favourite book, to 'Cakes & Ale'. From the very beginning I confess that I had difficulty with the storyline. I found myself constantly wondering what the setting was of a scene. I found the character of Roy rather distracting and dull. Despite the fact that the story would not exist if not for his character, I felt that he was of no importance.

The only time that I actually felt myself get interested in the story was when Edward and Rosie Driffield came onto the pages. I enjoyed their characters and the way that they interacted with Ashenden. From the very beginning I liked both of their characters, especially Rosie for her personality.

Although this book was beautiful and so well written I found myself staring down at the pages in awe at times, I did not enjoy it as much as 'Of Human Bondage' and 'The Razor's Edge', which I read directly after 'Cakes & Ale'. I would have to say the only good things about this novel were Edward and Rosie's characters and the last few pages. The one thing that truly turned me against liking this book was the ending. To me it seemed rather abrupt and not at all fitting of the story. It left me cold as the majority of the story did. I was unable to connect with the characters very well, which is something that bothers me to no end. I like to get involved in the book I am reading, feel what the characters are feeling, but there was so little of that here that by the time I finished this book I was admittedly a bit disgusted that I had wasted my time by reading it.

Truth, Art and Artifice.......2005-06-30

In the late 1920's, an aged literary lion, a venerated late Victorian novelist, Edward Driffield, has died and his widow thinks his life should be written down. She appeals to a younger novelist, Alroy Kear, who had attached himself to their society. In turn, he appeals to a friend who he knows must have known the legend earlier in life. The friend he turns to is the first-person narrator of CAKES AND ALE, Ashenden, also a novelist, who gradually reveals to the reader the truth of the deceased's early life. How much he will reveal to the other characters is another thing, and even if he did, the controlling widow, the man's second and much younger wife, would most likely excise what does not fit the public image she had worked hard to preserve. When it comes to pinning down a protagonist, however, the novel turns on the character of Rosie, Driffield's long-gone first wife.

Several things are going on in CAKES AND ALE. One is the real history of Edward Driffield (whose stature and career bear something of a resemblance to Thomas Hardy, who died in 1928), and the narrator's own interlinked coming of age. Then there is the narrator's scathing look at literary society and the machinations by which critical success and public favor are won. He drops a lot of industry insider jokes, and several actual personages are discussed, but he also returns to the eternal writers' theme of who among them will be read past their deaths. Lastly, the sharp contrast between Victorian life and 20th century existence emerges as a dramatic theme; there is the sense that those with one foot in each culture will never be able to fully absorb the rapid change in mores and fashions. The only figure who floats across the divide is the person who from the outset bucked convention of any kind, Rosie.

Maugham infuses the narrative with a sharp wit and good conversation. It is very shrewd and justifiably cynical about human ambitions and weaknesses. The dramatic story unfolds slowly but with tensions and secrets that keep going until the very end. This remains very satisfying reading 75 years after publication.

The Muse of Youth.......2005-02-06

In the development from squalling tyke to full-fledged adulthood, human beings tend to gather around them items of media that reflect back upon them their personal conception of the world, in all its myriad forms: music that invigorates the higher spheres, movies that confirm our own view of existence, and authors that speak directly to us, that seem able to give tangible expression to our individual perceptions. For me, reading Somerset Maugham is like diving into the ambivalent soup of my own viewpoint. With his dry wit, penetrating digressions and general psychological understanding of the foibles and frequent inconsistencies of human behavior, Somerset ~feels~ like a fellow brother-in-arms, a voice in the ether, a soulmate artist intoning over the distance of seven decades. It's like reading my own thoughts. Thus have I systematically perused the man's greater works, including his two masterpieces *Of Human Bondage* and *The Razor's Edge*, and returned again and again to the little jewels that fashion the glittering arraignment of his literary crown, being the short stories that are the condensed summation of Somerset's genius perception. Not that the man would agree with that last statement: Somerset considered himself the top of 2nd tier authors, far from `genius' status; and was condemned by critics for his popularity and lack of the experimental drive. Given that he did not delve into the symbolic/semantic abysses of his contemporaries Faulkner and Joyce, Somerset's oeuvre and reputation has remained 2nd tier for the Ivory Tower set, with his focus on `real world' examination paling before the tongue-twisting allegory-riffing of the literary elite. But I'd rather browse the *Collected Short Stories* for the nth time than be rebuffed by *Finnigan's Wake*, the resultant insights of those short stories revealing more in their brevity than anything I could possibly assimilate in the syntax swamp of the Dubliner.

Despite his so-called 2nd tier status, Somerset has survived the literary axe of indifference, gaining stature as the years march on and his works are continually reexamined; and it is curious to read, near the beginning of this novel, the author's alias Ashenden argue with a potboiler-scribe named Roy Kear about posterity - specifically which of their colleagues will endure their current era. Roy Kear claims that that the principle subject of their discussion, a one Edward Driffield, so-called "last of the Victorians", has put a permanent stamp upon the literary zeitgeist. Ashenden/Somerset refutes this with this simple opinion that he finds Driffield's works "rather boring." And later, around the halfway mark of *Cakes and Ales*, Somerset slips from the narrative into a long digression about posterity itself, concluding with the basic idea: "Longevity = Posterity." Driffield, loosely based on Thomas Hardy, wrote so many novels, and lived to such an advanced age, that he outlasted all his competitors and was eventually hailed as a "living genius" by a society desperate for continual applications to the Canon, especially those survivors who could be re-discovered and subsequently championed. If Somerset's theory is correct, then even Stephen King will be considered an essential stone in the Zeitgeist (... "NEVER! NEVER!" I can hear the Bloomites and literati shout, even now) with his accurate reflection of 20th century atmosphere - real-time horrors metaphorically transfigured into cheesy monsters - and, more importantly, by his vast, prolific staying power. Time will tell.

*Cakes and Ale* is a minor work of Somerset's oeuvre, but not insignificant: the author himself stated it to be his favorite work, and I must admit that, like the short fiction, this slender volume contains the essence of Somerset's talent and technique, a condensed viewpoint much easier and overall enjoyable than the emotional torment *Of Human Bondage.* The book concerns itself with the legacy of Edward Driffield, post-mortem; Roy Kears has been hired to write a glowing tribute/biography of the famous author, and he enlists Somerset, who knew the deceased long before his literary fame, to help with research. *Cakes and Ale* is thus a near-sequel to *Of Human Bondage*, as Somerset reflects on his boyhood days - the terrible conformity and isolationism of English villages; his eventual escape therein - a flight aided in part by Driffield and the central pivot of the man's career, his first wife Rosie. Rosie, free-thinking, vivacious and serially unfaithful, inspires Driffield's finest novels and serves as his golden-haired muse. Roy Kears and Driffield's second wife view Rosie as the stain upon the authorial page, the impediment which kept the author from his deserved glory: she is to be reduced as much as possible from the biography. Somerset thinks otherwise, although he is remarkably prejudiced, given his relationship with her; but with the concluding passages of *Cakes and Ale* he gives concrete evidence as to the importance of this wanton Muse, without which Driffield might never have attained his peak prowess.

(A side note: Rosie's character reminds me of Ida, from Graham Greene's *Brighton Rock*, and both can be viewed as an English author's artistic attempt to exorcise the puritan viewpoint of the day about "loose women" in general. "Rosie was made to love," Somerset gushes, biased by circumstance but psychologically keen nonetheless).

*Cakes and Ale*: A minor but extremely enjoyable text from one of the greatest observers/authors of the early 20th century. Highly Recommended.

Good, but the least of the 3 I've read.......2005-02-01

In addition to this, I've also read Of Human Bondage and The Razor's Edge. This is the least of the three, but still enjoyable. Not as controversial as one might be lead to believe, though I suspect it raised a few brows in its time. Maugham seemed to be big on having women as whores for central characters. Not all the women characters, but there seems like there is always one. This doesn't always mean they are bad people, just real real loose! This title isn't necessarily only for completists. If you are new to him, check out Of Human Bondage. It's his best that I've come across so far.

Average customer rating:

One of Maugham's Best Novels.
Good Maugham Book
Dr. exiled to tropics develops Buddhist non attachment

The Narrow Corner
W.Somerset Maugham
Manufacturer: Pan Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0330244620

Book Description

Three men voyaging together in a small vessel--an exiled doctor, a disreputable sea captain, and a young man fleeing from justice--are driven to take shelter on a small island in the Malay Archipelago. Their lives are soon shattered by a strange, exotic girl of English parentage, but oriental in her mystery.

The story contains humor and wit, exact and incisive observation of character and an ironical philosophy that mark this tale as another Maugham classic.

Customer Reviews:

One of Maugham's Best Novels........2004-08-25

This is one of Maugham's best novels. It really reads like one of his short stories which has been very extended and expanded. Highly recommended.

Good Maugham Book.......2000-02-21

Maugham writes about a British doctor who lives in the South Pacific. At the outset of this book, Dr. Saunders must travel to China to help out a wealthy man. Once there, he completes his task and must wait for a boat to take him back to his home. During the waiting process, he runs into a pair of traders, who offer to take him back part of the way. The traders, Captain Nichols, and his associate Fred Blake, are two very interesting characters who aren't what they seem to be. During their travels, Dr. Saunders learns more about the pair. Nichols is a scoundrel and has problems holding a job. Fred Blake, a young and handsome man, hides his past, but the reader is given clues that he had to flee from Sydney to avoid the authorities(which is later revealed). During a storm, the trio befriend fellow British people on a beautiful island. They learn some of the history and are introduced to Louise; a beautiful girl who is smitten by Blake. They have a one night fling, which causes the story's tension to begin -- Blake is haunted by his past and Louise's fiancée (who she loves, but not with her heart) commits suicide over the incident. Dr. Saunders is a spectator for the most part in this story. His life's philosophy is take what one can from life and learn to deal with it. He watches the various characters interact -- and Maugham does a great job with the characters. The writing is almost like Hemingway and the reader is drawn into the feeling of the South Pacific. The book is fairly deep -- with hints of Buddhism / Hinduism, karma, and detachment. The book was very slow to start (took about half way before any plot developed) but the writing hooked me and the ending was a gold mine.

Dr. exiled to tropics develops Buddhist non attachment.......1999-04-28

Although this book was met with less than glowing reviews and is little known today, it probably best exemplifies the expresson, "That (It) was right out of Somerset Maugham." It has all the trappings that we think of when we think of Maugham. If there is a "Greeneland" (Graham Greene) then this novel is most assuredly, Maughamland. It takes place in the East Indies and has the string of colorful characters, an Opiem taking Doctor, A broken down sea captain and a women who finds herself liberated by the death of a man she is attached to. Probably Maugham's fifth most important novel, it is rather like taking many of his short story themes and elongating them into one novel. The lead character, Dr. Sanders finally resigns himself to a lazy mans view of Buddhist Non-atachment and it becomes a theme Maugham would explore more deeply in the "Razor's Edge." Like most of Maugham it is a alot of fun to read. Even, or maybe especially, today.

Collected Short Stories: Volume 3 (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)

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Collected Short Stories: Volume 3 (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
W. Somerset Maugham
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Collected Short Stories: Volume 4 (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics)
The Razor's Edge
Of Human Bondage
Up at the Villa
Collected Stories (Everyman's Library)

ASIN: 0140185917

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Beautifully written novella
Dramatic Novella from a master story teller
slight and temporary
A snapshot of Maugham's genius
Short and Sublime

Up at the Villa
W. Somerset Maugham , and Somerset Maugham
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
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The Painted Veil
Cakes and Ale
The Razor's Edge
Mrs Craddock (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
Of Human Bondage

ASIN: 0375724621
Release Date: 2000-04-11

Book Description

Now a major motion picture from USA Films starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Sean Penn, and director Philip Haas (director of Angels and Insects).

In Up at the Villa, W. Somerset Maugham portrays a wealthy young English woman who finds herself confronted rather brutally by the repercussions of whimsy.

On the day her older and prosperous friend asks her to marry him, Mary Leonard demurs and decides to postpone her reply a few days. But driving into the hills above Florence alone that evening, Mary offers a ride to a handsome stranger. And suddenly, her life is utterly, irrevocably altered.

For this stranger is a refugee of war, and he harbors more than one form of passion. Before morning, Mary will witness bloodshed, she will be forced to seek advice and assistance from an unsavory man, and she will have to face the truth about her own yearnings. Erotic, haunting, and maddeningly suspenseful, Up at the Villa is a masterful tale of temptation and the capricious nature of fate.

Customer Reviews:

Beautifully written novella.......2006-04-09

This is the story of a young widow and three men, a respectable older gentlement who wants to marry her, a poor violin playing refugee, and a sexy rogue with a bad reputation. A brief affair and a death reveal the complexities of these four people. This is a beautifully crafted story.

Dramatic Novella from a master story teller.......2005-10-01

There is no writer who captures the haugtiness of Edwardian upper class culture better than Maugham and in many of his writings dramatic tension derives from cultural and class contrasts between upper class English expatriots and the local people that they become involved with.
Here the protaganist is a young unmarried and very attractive woman staying in Florence at a friends Villa who draws attention from all of the men she encounters. One of the encounters results in a tragedy and the event and it's aftermath drives the story to it's quick conclusion.
Maugham writes dialogue that is quick, witty and obviously adaptable to the stage or screen since he was primarily known as a playwrite as well as a novelist.This short work is no exception.
The action proceeds quickly and this makes Up At The Villa a short but very satisfying book to read.

slight and temporary.......2005-09-03

There is a certain sense of accomplishment when you read a book in one sitting. It is an achievement that can make you view a work more fondly than it deserves.

I spent a pleasant hour and a bit with this short novel and it was good fun but, despite the
one-sitting euphoria, I cannot pretend it was anything more than a slight diversion. Effectively an extended short story this is fairly disposable and won't be troubling my 'ones to keep' bookshelves.

A snapshot of Maugham's genius.......2005-02-21

As short as Of Human Bondage is long and as prosaic as The Razor's Edge is profound, Up at the Villa fails to inspire the way these aforementioned works of genius or other such timeless tomes as Cakes and Ale or Moon and Sixpence.

This book, however, was not all bad. It was eminently enjoyable and, as all of Maugham's efforts, was a pleasure to read. Maugham's gift with the English language is unsurpassed and vastly underrated. Unfortunately, Up at the Villa just didn't have enough Maugham. Not enough characterization or plot or theme development as I would have liked and have grown accustomed to with the genius of Maugham. I have yet to see the movie with Kristin Scott Thomas and Sean Penn, although I'm sure I will in due time. Overall, if you thoroughly enjoy Maugham as I do, check it out at the library.

"That's what life's for - to take risks."
- Rowley to Mary

Short and Sublime.......2003-07-07

Under the rubric of "Praise for William Somerset Maugham" on the first page of "Up at the Villa," none other than the New York Times calls this book "full of psychological and dramatic potentialities." To a large extent, this comment has merit. Maugham was nothing if not a writer full of dramatic flair, economy of language, and a penetrating psychical gift that enabled him to peer deep into the inner machinations of the human soul in all of its various splendors. His "The Razor's Edge" was, in my opinion, one of the best books written in the last century. "Up at the Villa" is another beautiful work of art; it contains all of the recognizable Maugham hallmarks but displays them in a short novella. It's entirely possible to read "Up at the Villa" in a couple of hours if one is so inclined. The first thing I noticed with this book was how little time it took for the author to completely grab my attention. Within a few pages, my enthrallment with the character of Mary Panton was complete.

"Up at the Villa" takes place in Florence, Italy shortly before WWII breaks out. A thriving colony of British expatriates spends each day and night basking in the warmth of the climate and attending endless parties where they reinforce each other's social position. The main character is Mary Panton, a young widow drifting into her early thirties without a concrete sense of direction. There is a lot of pressure for Mary to marry again, as her ravishing beauty draws all sorts of suitors out of the woodwork. One of the men who wishes to corral Mary is Edgar Swift, a distinguished British diplomat and old family friend who now hopes to take Mary with him to a new appointment as Governor of Bengal. One of Edgar's competitors is Rowley Flint, a dissolute bloke with money to burn and a fierce reputation as a ladies man. Mary's indifference to these men is apparent from the start; she considers Edgar's proposal only because of his social position. As for Rowley, she hardly considers him at all. Mary's beauty always brings her much attention, but it also brings out her strident vanity. When Mary meets a young Austrian exile by the name of Karl Richter, her beauty causes all sorts of problems, one of which could result in a legal entanglement of scandalous proportions.

There are more moral quandaries in this novella than in the entire Old Testament. Not only does Mary need to decide whom she should marry, she must deal with the emotional fallout of a personal calamity brought about by her overweening sense of self. Maugham masterfully moves the reader through the treacherous pitfalls of Mary's Florence experiences, and he does it in astonishingly few words. As I floated through the final few pages of "Up at the Villa," I remarked to myself that this prose style is the way I want to write myself: a clear, crisp style that conveys immense amounts of detail with precious few words. You won't find strings of compound verbs or unnecessary wanderings in this story. Within a few pages, you know the characters intimately, have a great sense of the surrounding atmosphere, and a profound understanding of Mary's situation.

Book Description

From an orphan with a clubfoot, Philip Carey grows into an impressionable young man with a voracious appetite for adventure and knowledge. Then he falls obsessively in love, embarking on a disastrous relationship that will change his life forever.

The Summing Up (Penguin 20th Century Classic)

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The artist is the only free man.
Like sitting at the feet of the master!
What a Pleasure!
Read the book if you are a Maugham fan
a conversation with a cultured friend

The Summing Up (Penguin 20th Century Classic)
W. Somerset Maugham
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Christmas Holiday
Somerset Maugham: A Life
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ASIN: 014018600X

Book Description

Autobiographical and confessional, and yet not, this is one of the most highly regarded expressions of a personal credo – both a classic avowal of an author’s ideas and his craft.

Customer Reviews:

The artist is the only free man........2003-07-05

Somerset Maugham sums up his vision on mankind, the English, morals and art (theatre, the novel). It is a penetrating and very modern view. The best book I have read from him.
It shows that he had a very profound scientific and philosophical background.

His stance on determinism, chance and free will was based on his philosophical and scientific readings (Hume and Heisenberg's Principle of Indeterminacy).
The same can be said of his view on mankind, which was highly influenced by Darwin and Schopenhauer: 'The essence of man is his egoism that we all inherit from that remote energy which in the unplumbed past first set the ball rolling'; or 'So long as some are strong and some are weak, the weak will be driven to the wall'.

Having read a lot of philosophy, he was upset by the low standard of the philosophy of his days, which dodged for him fundamental problems, like evil (war).

The author has sometimes been characterized as cynical (e.g. for his best novel 'Of human bondage'). He shows his cynicism again in this book: on the English, 'They are not an amorous race. They are of course sufficiently sexual for the purpose of reproducing their species, but they cannot control the instinctive feeling that the sexual act is disgusting.'
Or his virulent atheism: 'God is not so reasonable. He promises rewards to those who believe in him and threatens with horrible punishment those who do not. For my part I cannot believe in a God who is angry with me because I do not believe in him'.

His analysis of the writer (not one but many men), the novel and theatre is highly modern. It could easily be applied on TV plays today.

This is a sincere, still topical and highly recommendable book.

Like sitting at the feet of the master!.......2002-12-11

Maugham has always been one of my favorite writers. He was an Edwardian gentleman in every sense of the word. I can't really call this an autobiography because many chapters are concerned with Maugham's literary and artistic insights, as well as philosophy and religion. But, my God!...what an incredible conversationalist he must have been. The narrator here, Charlton Griffin, perfectly captures the suave, unflappable, urbane charm that Maugham exuded. I don't know what Maugham sounded like, but I can no longer imagine him without hearing this tape in my head. That world-weariness that descended on Maugham and his class in Britain is superbly realized in Griffin's voice. Make no mistake about it - this will be a classic recording for years to come...the definitive recorded edition.

What a Pleasure!.......2002-10-07

This audio presentation of 'The Summing Up' was masterfully presented by Charlton Griffin. I have read several of Maugham's works and consequently found the content of this book very enlightening. I thoroughly enjoyed Griffin's calming voice, with a subtle touch of Maugham's native British accent. At times, I felt as though I was sitting in an English pub with Maugham himself, listening while he talked of his life, philosophy and writings. I would highly recommend this recorded piece of literature, especially to other W. S. Maugham enthusiasts like myself.

Read the book if you are a Maugham fan.......2001-08-25

I do not mean to discourge pepole from reading this book if they are not Maugham's fans. I have read the book twice or three times. In the book he summarizes his life and he has something to say just about everything. I found his philosophical discussions intersting. He is also a master of literary criticism and you learn a lot about the art of fiction as well as many artists, writers and famous people of his time. This is not a book for people interested in his biography, but a philosophical book about how he lived his life and how you should live if you go by his opinions. I highly recommend it to Maugham's fans and people studying literature and arts.

a conversation with a cultured friend.......2001-03-07

This is much more a rambling collection of random thought that occassionally organizes around a subject such as theatre or philosophy and then moves on. Reading it is like sharing a conversation over a brandy with a congenial and intellegient old friend. For fans of Maugham this is an enjoyable read which provides insight into how much of his personal experience is reflected in his works such as Of Human Bondage and Moon and Sixpence. While not necessarily agreeing with him on every point that he makes ,I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and would deem him a person well worth knowing. Like all his works ,this is extraordinarily well written and lucid. If you are unfamiliar with his novels or short stories or are looking to try reading him for the first time I would recommend starting elsewhere. This requires some experience with his work to be fully appreciated.

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