This is one of my favourites! Have read it twice and it is fantastic. Maugham wrote quite a few good books and quite a few not so good books, or at least books that I don't care much for.
This is my second read of this novel, and it is even better than the first time. I have read a lot of Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence is my favourite. I've only read one I didn't care for, Cakes and Ale. And I'm on the fence about The Painted Veil.
You have hit the nail on the head - it's very human. That's why I loved it upon my first reading in my early 20s, I have never stopped singing it's praises. Everyone one in their early 20s should read this book. It hasn't dated at all. 💌💌.
You are really quite right, I really hope people aren't intimidated by the length, it is so easy to read and the story is so wonderfully human. Thanks for writing!
As an American in his mid 20s, I feel myself drawn to British writers over American novelists- especially those from Maugham's time period. Dickens, Kipling, Maugham, Sir Conan Doyle. GK Chesterton... Not only the style in which they write, but the things they choose to write about is important, deep to the soul, and pondering.
Thanks for writing. I just finished reading Brideshead Revisited, so I know what you mean. There is something quite deep in 20th Century British literature the really resonates with me.
I just finished watching the Leslie Howard movie an hour ago. I commented how psychologically and socially authentic it was in portraying the relationship with the Modern Woman. I lived it all. The movie does focus entirely on his experiences with women culminating in finding his self respect and staying away from lower class women. I feel it was remarkable even if shortened. Probably more suitable for a dozen installment mini series on PBS TV. I just wish I'd known about the colorized version.
Have you read the novel? I highly recommend giving it a try. It is quite long, but the chapters are short. Try reading one chapter a day. The childhood scenes are a bit slow-going, but when he goes to Paris to study art it gets Really good! Thanks for writing!
For what it's worth, I'm Australian, and I think I prefer British literature over American. I think I've read more British. Having said that, I've probably read and enjoyed more popular fiction from America than from anywhere else. "Of Human Bondage" was the first big chunky grown up literature I ever read just for fun and what fun it was. I think I've read it three times now and it just better with each re-read. I can't believe I just watched that twenty minutes of gushing though and you didn't even mention Philip's obsession with Mildred, which is one of my favourite things ever! Thanks for another wonderful video. I am slowly getting to them :-)
Hello Susan, Thanks for the message. The last few years I've been trying to be a lot more broad in the books I've been reading. It did seem like there was a time of my life where I only read American lit. When I moved to Budapest and I got a library card at the British Council, it took me a while to figure out that they only had books from The Commonwealth. It was surprisingly pleasant. Even though I can't seem to help myself gushing over 'O.H.B.' I wanted to shy away from mentioning Mildred, which is really the best part of the book. I try to leave plenty of material for anyone who hasn't read the book for themselves. I've been pressed for time lately and haven't had a lot of time to plan out what I want to say before making the videos. Now I just press 'record' and start talking, which is not a very systematic way to go about it. But, my university studies are important. Hope you are well, and I hope life in Australia is amazing. I hope you don't live in one of the 'Plague of Mice' or 'Plague of Spiders' cities.
Thanks for a very interesting review. I recently read the book in Ukrainian translation. This is the first William Somerset Maugham book I read. In my opinion, it is one of those that can be said to be the pinnacle of the author's creativity. It is easy to understand, without excessive moralizing, and at the same time, there are enough philosophical reflections, which are competently embedded. It still hasn't lost its relevance. More than once I compared it with the previously read novel by Thomas Mann "Enchanted Mountain". Mildred Rogers was a bit annoying, her possible demonization and the fact that the main character had a crush on her for a long time and was in a relationship with her. It would be interesting to imagine how Philip Carey and Sally's future family relationship could develop.
Hello, thank you for writing. I am happy you enjoyed this novel so much. I don't know if a novel can ever be described as perfect, but I would say this comes as close as possible. It was such a treat to reread this one so many years later in my life. It was really quite nice when I was in my early 20's, but it was even better when I was in my late 40's. Sadly, I haven't read anything by Thomas Mann yet. My entire life I haven't seemed to be able to discover any of his books when I go to the used book shops. Which is very surprising because he would be located so close to Maugham. I am glad you enjoyed the review. I always try a little harder when I love the novel and hope that others might be persuaded to go out and find a copy!
Hello Patricia, it is quite long, but I think if you take it chapter by chapter you will soon find you can't put it down. It is a little slow at the beginning, but once you get to the end it feels as though you have lived this life in someone else's skin, and it is incredible!
Studied English lit as a major in China. Read the book during college, didn't understand a lot, but was touched by the sensual language I was studying, with the beginning of young girl's understanding of love, romance, loneliness... Read it recently again, decades later. I understand a lot more, about everything the book was saying, and not said. Thanks for your thoughts.
I'm happy you read the novel again and got so much more out of it. It is such a wonderful thing to go back to a novel that you read when younger and discover a whole other world.
I only know him from the Bette Davis movies, of this one and The Letter. And I have The Magician on a shelf for some years now, still to read. From what you say, he sounds like a Dostoyevsky. I will have to start reading him next. Need to find out about this humanity thing you talk about. Thanks for the encouragement. Will go back to re-watching the movie of this for now. Ms Davis, BTW, was a big fan of his, and wrote that she had read every word he'd written
Maugham is an amazing writer, and this is one of the best places to get started. It does seem kind of long, but it is very easy to read and I am sure you will be happy you picked it up. Why is there so much interest in Of Human Bondage recently? All of a sudden there has been a massive increase in people writing to me about this book? Any ideas?
@@grantlovesbooks How interesting. I had an inkling of the novel being represented somewhere, somehow, recently, in a way that re-stirred my own interest in it. Couldn't recall anything specific. So I've lain down and entered a daze to find out for you. Eventually, all of a sudden, actually, I recalled hearing or seeing "Of Human Bondage" mentioned in the movie Oppenheimer. There you go. Perhaps the title character was reading it, or quoted from it. I can't be confident in the details
@@rotagorretni That would explain it! The last month my video has been really going crazy with views, and I couldn't figure it out. Sometimes if one of the books appears on a university reading list, there is a small jump in popularity, but nothing like the last month. Thanks for letting me know, I'm really glad you could fill me in. It was a real mystery!
I enjoyed your thoughts, thanks for sharing. When I was a teenager (a long time ago) I worked part-time at a bookstore. The young manager pulled me aside one day as she yanked "Of Human Bondage" off the shelf, saying: "Read this. Trust me. You'll fall in love with Maugham's writing." Well, that turned out to be an understatement. I was mesmerized by OHB, and have collected and read much of Maugham's writing over many years. He remains my favourite author. In my opinion, his greatest talent is his power of observation. I encourage anyone to give this novel a try.
Thanks Lucas! I totally agree with you about Maugham. He is one of the real giants of literature. One of truly rare authors with so many great books. I find most authors have one great one, and then a couple of so-so books. But with Maugham there's just so much to read.
I loved the novel when I read it. I live in Michigan and I read both English and American in probably equal amounts. I agree there are some aspects of a writer's life I do not need to know about in order to appreciate their work.
I agree. One time I tried to read Kafka's journal and didn't manage to get through it. It was far too personal, and affected the way I saw his writing. I decided not to read an authors letters, as it is either dull or too personal.
In one of the great and much under appreciated novels of the 20th century, Anthony Burgess’s “Earthly Powers” , the story’s protagonist is based on WS Maugham. Burgess, who knew Maugham does a wonderful job of characterizing him in the novel but without absolutely identifying him as Maugham.
Thanks a lot for this Deirdre, I just found a copy of Earthly Powers in a thrift shop and it was in such good condition I had to take it home. Thanks for writing, I'll see if I can move it up the list a little.
@@grantlovesbooks I know you will enjoy EP. Even though it’s a doorstop of a book (my first edition hardcover runs around 600 pages) it never bogs down. It is one of the few books which after finishing, I immediately started reading again, and typically reread every three or four years. I hope you do a review of EP when you’ve read it. I would love to hear your opinion!
@@deirdre108 Thanks a lot for all the enthusiasm and motivation! I have always been so curious to read something else by Burgess, and wonder why it has taken me so long to get round to finding another one of his books. I will keep it in mind and try to get to it sooner rather than later!
Thanks for bringing this masterpiece to my attention, just finished it the other day and it lingers with me like my shadow, even tho i think it's more suited for younger readers, i got so much of it, i've never read anything faster except maybe The Brothers Karamazov, but that's a story for some other video. Cheers
I'm very happy you enjoyed it, and I could recommend a great book that can be read many times. It is really a great book to go back to, maybe after several years, to re-experience it at another stage in your life. Thanks for writing!
Truly, i'll cherish it until the rest of my life, we all have some "Philip" inside of us, maybe that's why it hits so hard. "I don't wanna understand him, i'm not a critic.I'm not interested in him for his sake but mine."
I read it at 19 and it changed me. Time to read it again. I share the same Birth date as Maugham, Jan 25th. Robert Burns, Virginia Woolf…many writers. Kinda cool to find out when I grew into an adult REVERING this work.
I find both to my liking but on one side of my family are British citizens. Plus I attended American private schools modeled on the English Public Schools. Both parents met in Canada and one took us for summer holiday each year in Canada. I think we do enjoy educational TV and its BritBox BBC productions. I suppose in the end we like our heroes American in character because they are outspoken and full of surprises.
Thanks Tracy, it sounds like you had.a nice cultural upbringing. Canada is a funny country, it is mainly a reflection of both British and American culture. These days it feels much more American than it was in my childhood.
Something occurred to me when you mentioned preference for American or British literature. I'm Malaysian, so I'm not someone your question is aimed at, but my friends and I don't actually categorize literature by region. In a sort of 'racist' way, we just think of all 'western' literature to be of equal footing 😅. In high school we had to read a bit of Shakespeare, Guy de Maupassant, Roald Dahl, John Steinbeck, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Gaston Leroux, on top of some local authors. Typically these are in the form of short stories or heavily abridged version of the novels. I don't remember our teacher ever bringing up the background of the authors involved (our literature programme wasn't very in-depth, and during my time it was just introduced into the curriculum), so at the end of the day, if a Malaysian have any preference for American/British/Russian/whatever literature, it is likely to be a personal choice developed outside the influence of the school. In recent years, though Japanese literature has gotten very popular here in Malaysia 🙂Haruki Murakami is the most popular, although in recent years we have started devouring books by Mishima, Tanizaki, and others. P.S. By 'we' in this comment, I mean my friends and I. Not a huge sample size, but just a clarification in case someone gets offended.
Thank you for this wonderful observation! Wow! Malaysia, reading all that amazing literature in school, I'm totally impressed. The consideration of where an author come from might be a particularly Canadian thing. When I was a small boy one of my teachers told us, 'A Canadian spends half their time proving to the Americans they are not British, and the other half proving to the British they are not Americans.' Because the country is so unbelievably big, and the population quite small, Canada is a very hard country to really understand. I feel like the years I spent living in Europe helped me to know my country, by living away from it for a long time, but now I am back, I have a lot of conflicted emotions about Canada. Murakami seems to be everywhere these days. I will include one of his books on my 2023 TBR list. (Coming next month!) Hope you are well, thanks for the great insight!
@@grantlovesbooks our literature programme was pointed in a good direction, even if the execution was rather clumsy. It wasn't a standalone programme; it was part of the English curriculum. We usually get a book containing a selection of poems and short stories by various authors, so it serves as a 'sampler set' of sorts. Then we have to read some novels (abridged versions in lower secondary) and a full novel (in upper secondary). It was a good try. Unfortunately because it was squeezed into the English syllabus as a whole, teachers couldn't devote much time to it. It's hard to appreciate Shakespeare's sonnets if the teacher only had 30 minutes to explain it to a group of students who had little exposure to poetry and Shakespearean English (not to mention that English is our second or third language). 😂 I am pretty sure most of us hated Shakespeare because of that. I do appreciate that we got a taste of all sorts of writing in that literature programme. That was twenty years ago, though; I am not sure what students read today, or if they still do literature in English classes.
@@MH-ql4nh I've often wondered about teaching literature to young people. When I was 17 we had to read 'The Stone Angel' which is not very interesting for a teenager, but now it is my favourite Canadian novel. I suppose teachers need to try to give a sample of many things, and the students will have to discover if they have a feeling for what is being taught to them. I'm not sure. Sometimes I wonder if I might not have made my life much more difficult than it should have been because I have been constantly pursuing this dream of reading all the great literature, in the hope of becoming a writer one day. But, it's my dream, and even today I am not ready to stop trying.
Very different to the type of book I usually read. Its easy to read, and an interesting lense to look at the lives of people in that time and place. The protagonist occasionally veers into completely unlikeable and at times unrelatable territory. And overall the story isn't driving towards some denouement like any modern story you might read or watch. Characters don't have conclusions and arcs which tie everything together. It's very real.
I'm happy you liked it. I think this book has a strong effect on most people who read it. If you liked this you can also try, The Razors Edge or The Moon and Sixpence.
The book is long for sure, but I never felt like it was too long. I really love everything I've read of his so far. I have read Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence, and The Painted Veil. They are some of my old time favorites. The author was a weirdo but man, could he write!!!
I forgot to answer your question - I am American and in general, do not gravitate towards American literature. There are exceptions of course (Toni Morrison and James Baldwin to name a couple), but I usually prefer British literature and also, literature from around the world outside the US.
Hello Christina, It sounds like you are just as much of a fan of Maugham as I am! It is a little hard to find, but I would recommend 'Ashenden' which is based on his real-life experience as a British spy. I love The Moon and Sixpence. I have to make a point of re-reading The Razor's Edge, it has been a very long time since I've read that.
I suppose it depends on one's personality, but also how much one reads. I have always had a very mysterious love for Europe, but I cannot say where it comes from. Perhaps because it seems to be the very opposite of Canada, a huge place, unfathomably huge, with a tiny population, and with very little variance in the culture (aside from Quebec). Europe is a wealth of culture, history and the arts in any of the countries you visit. The richness of sophistication of European culture makes Canada seem to be painfully bland and pathetic. We have so much money, but almost nothing when it comes to the arts and culture. At least in America you have a deep, rich history with literature, music, painting, even food and pop-culture. Canadians are always overly fixated on their bank accounts and nothing else.
I read this book at 19 years old and saw how profound it was at the time. I’ve just finished rereading it and to describe it in a phrase, I’d say excellence through mediocrity
I don't watch movies of 'literary works.' I feel it poisons the novel for subsequent readings. I can't read Gatsby because I am constantly thinking of Robert Redford. I feel that watching a film absolutely kills any imaginative effort, which is key to really enjoying good literature. Dracula, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Natural, No Country For Old Men; all these novels have been ruined by watching the films. I actually find it a little odd that people want to see film versions of books they love or admire.
Hello Jose, Sorry about the subtitles, I would have to get the whole video translated into Portuguese and I don't know anyone who can help me with that. I'm just a one-man show, I do all the filming and editing myself and even though translation would be really nice, it's just impossible for me to do it. Sorry about that.
I am forcing myself to listen to this book on audio, I can't stand it! It's so sexist and dreary and whiny. Yep, it's very human, all right! I have 14 more hours to go, noooo. BUT I really appreciate your take on it! Thank you for pointing out lovely details for me to pay attention to as I keep listening.
Thanks for writing Kendra! It is quite a long book, I hope the audio experience is a good one. I am going to try it for the first time with a monster of a book by Charles Dickens, it's so boring and repetitive. I think if I've got someone reading it to me in the background it will help get through it. Are you following along with an actual book, or just listening? There are a lot of amazing lines that I found very inspiring, even though, over all, it is fairly gloomy. Keep trying, I hope that when you're done you might consider reading it again one day. I found the second reading Much better than the first. Good Luck!
@@grantlovesbooks PHEW I finally finished it! I achieved a goal for 2023, ha! I don't suppose I'll read it again. I don't like how he pursued Mildred so hard - he wore her down so that she'd be with him. That's not good manners! But, it is all too human...
@@KendraHolliday Congratulations! I hope you enjoyed it, at least a little. It is quite of another era, but I enjoy that. I feel as though I am getting little history lessons when I read books from bygone times.
One of the greatest films ever made,starring Bette Davis and Leslie Howard.1934. In the film he studied art at Paris.
He studied art in Paris in the novel as well. I haven't seen the film, but I might give it a chance.
This is one of my favourites! Have read it twice and it is fantastic.
Maugham wrote quite a few good books and quite a few not so good books, or at least books that I don't care much for.
This is my second read of this novel, and it is even better than the first time. I have read a lot of Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence is my favourite. I've only read one I didn't care for, Cakes and Ale. And I'm on the fence about The Painted Veil.
You have hit the nail on the head - it's very human. That's why I loved it upon my first reading in my early 20s, I have never stopped singing it's praises. Everyone one in their early 20s should read this book. It hasn't dated at all. 💌💌.
You are really quite right, I really hope people aren't intimidated by the length, it is so easy to read and the story is so wonderfully human. Thanks for writing!
As an American in his mid 20s, I feel myself drawn to British writers over American novelists- especially those from Maugham's time period. Dickens, Kipling, Maugham, Sir Conan Doyle. GK Chesterton... Not only the style in which they write, but the things they choose to write about is important, deep to the soul, and pondering.
Thanks for writing. I just finished reading Brideshead Revisited, so I know what you mean. There is something quite deep in 20th Century British literature the really resonates with me.
I just finished watching the Leslie Howard movie an hour ago. I commented how psychologically and socially authentic it was in portraying the relationship with the Modern Woman. I lived it all. The movie does focus entirely on his experiences with women culminating in finding his self respect and staying away from lower class women. I feel it was remarkable even if shortened. Probably more suitable for a dozen installment mini series on PBS TV. I just wish I'd known about the colorized version.
Have you read the novel? I highly recommend giving it a try. It is quite long, but the chapters are short. Try reading one chapter a day. The childhood scenes are a bit slow-going, but when he goes to Paris to study art it gets Really good!
Thanks for writing!
I like how you read the prose to show his style of writing. That's what I like the most with Maugham. It's his style.
Thanks! I think that is what I love about literature, each authors unique voice.
For what it's worth, I'm Australian, and I think I prefer British literature over American. I think I've read more British. Having said that, I've probably read and enjoyed more popular fiction from America than from anywhere else.
"Of Human Bondage" was the first big chunky grown up literature I ever read just for fun and what fun it was. I think I've read it three times now and it just better with each re-read. I can't believe I just watched that twenty minutes of gushing though and you didn't even mention Philip's obsession with Mildred, which is one of my favourite things ever! Thanks for another wonderful video. I am slowly getting to them :-)
Hello Susan, Thanks for the message. The last few years I've been trying to be a lot more broad in the books I've been reading. It did seem like there was a time of my life where I only read American lit. When I moved to Budapest and I got a library card at the British Council, it took me a while to figure out that they only had books from The Commonwealth. It was surprisingly pleasant.
Even though I can't seem to help myself gushing over 'O.H.B.' I wanted to shy away from mentioning Mildred, which is really the best part of the book. I try to leave plenty of material for anyone who hasn't read the book for themselves.
I've been pressed for time lately and haven't had a lot of time to plan out what I want to say before making the videos. Now I just press 'record' and start talking, which is not a very systematic way to go about it. But, my university studies are important.
Hope you are well, and I hope life in Australia is amazing. I hope you don't live in one of the 'Plague of Mice' or 'Plague of Spiders' cities.
Thanks for a very interesting review. I recently read the book in Ukrainian translation. This is the first William Somerset Maugham book I read. In my opinion, it is one of those that can be said to be the pinnacle of the author's creativity. It is easy to understand, without excessive moralizing, and at the same time, there are enough philosophical reflections, which are competently embedded. It still hasn't lost its relevance. More than once I compared it with the previously read novel by Thomas Mann "Enchanted Mountain". Mildred Rogers was a bit annoying, her possible demonization and the fact that the main character had a crush on her for a long time and was in a relationship with her. It would be interesting to imagine how Philip Carey and Sally's future family relationship could develop.
Hello, thank you for writing. I am happy you enjoyed this novel so much. I don't know if a novel can ever be described as perfect, but I would say this comes as close as possible. It was such a treat to reread this one so many years later in my life. It was really quite nice when I was in my early 20's, but it was even better when I was in my late 40's.
Sadly, I haven't read anything by Thomas Mann yet. My entire life I haven't seemed to be able to discover any of his books when I go to the used book shops. Which is very surprising because he would be located so close to Maugham.
I am glad you enjoyed the review. I always try a little harder when I love the novel and hope that others might be persuaded to go out and find a copy!
A nice, clear review, thanks. I will now have a go at reading, I love his short stories. Thanks again......
Hello Patricia, it is quite long, but I think if you take it chapter by chapter you will soon find you can't put it down. It is a little slow at the beginning, but once you get to the end it feels as though you have lived this life in someone else's skin, and it is incredible!
Studied English lit as a major in China. Read the book during college, didn't understand a lot, but was touched by the sensual language I was studying, with the beginning of young girl's understanding of love, romance, loneliness... Read it recently again, decades later. I understand a lot more, about everything the book was saying, and not said. Thanks for your thoughts.
I'm happy you read the novel again and got so much more out of it. It is such a wonderful thing to go back to a novel that you read when younger and discover a whole other world.
I only know him from the Bette Davis movies, of this one and The Letter. And I have The Magician on a shelf for some years now, still to read. From what you say, he sounds like a Dostoyevsky. I will have to start reading him next. Need to find out about this humanity thing you talk about. Thanks for the encouragement. Will go back to re-watching the movie of this for now. Ms Davis, BTW, was a big fan of his, and wrote that she had read every word he'd written
Maugham is an amazing writer, and this is one of the best places to get started. It does seem kind of long, but it is very easy to read and I am sure you will be happy you picked it up.
Why is there so much interest in Of Human Bondage recently? All of a sudden there has been a massive increase in people writing to me about this book? Any ideas?
@@grantlovesbooks How interesting. I had an inkling of the novel being represented somewhere, somehow, recently, in a way that re-stirred my own interest in it. Couldn't recall anything specific. So I've lain down and entered a daze to find out for you. Eventually, all of a sudden, actually, I recalled hearing or seeing "Of Human Bondage" mentioned in the movie Oppenheimer. There you go. Perhaps the title character was reading it, or quoted from it. I can't be confident in the details
@@rotagorretni That would explain it! The last month my video has been really going crazy with views, and I couldn't figure it out. Sometimes if one of the books appears on a university reading list, there is a small jump in popularity, but nothing like the last month.
Thanks for letting me know, I'm really glad you could fill me in. It was a real mystery!
I enjoyed your thoughts, thanks for sharing. When I was a teenager (a long time ago) I worked part-time at a bookstore. The young manager pulled me aside one day as she yanked "Of Human Bondage" off the shelf, saying: "Read this. Trust me. You'll fall in love with Maugham's writing." Well, that turned out to be an understatement. I was mesmerized by OHB, and have collected and read much of Maugham's writing over many years. He remains my favourite author. In my opinion, his greatest talent is his power of observation. I encourage anyone to give this novel a try.
Thanks Lucas! I totally agree with you about Maugham. He is one of the real giants of literature. One of truly rare authors with so many great books. I find most authors have one great one, and then a couple of so-so books. But with Maugham there's just so much to read.
I loved the novel when I read it. I live in Michigan and I read both English and American in probably equal amounts. I agree there are some aspects of a writer's life I do not need to know about in order to appreciate their work.
I agree. One time I tried to read Kafka's journal and didn't manage to get through it. It was far too personal, and affected the way I saw his writing. I decided not to read an authors letters, as it is either dull or too personal.
In one of the great and much under appreciated novels of the 20th century, Anthony Burgess’s “Earthly Powers” , the story’s protagonist is based on WS Maugham. Burgess, who knew Maugham does a wonderful job of characterizing him in the novel but without absolutely identifying him as Maugham.
Thanks a lot for this Deirdre, I just found a copy of Earthly Powers in a thrift shop and it was in such good condition I had to take it home. Thanks for writing, I'll see if I can move it up the list a little.
@@grantlovesbooks I know you will enjoy EP. Even though it’s a doorstop of a book (my first edition hardcover runs around 600 pages) it never bogs down. It is one of the few books which after finishing, I immediately started reading again, and typically reread every three or four years.
I hope you do a review of EP when you’ve read it. I would love to hear your opinion!
@@deirdre108 Thanks a lot for all the enthusiasm and motivation! I have always been so curious to read something else by Burgess, and wonder why it has taken me so long to get round to finding another one of his books. I will keep it in mind and try to get to it sooner rather than later!
Thanks for bringing this masterpiece to my attention, just finished it the other day and it lingers with me like my shadow, even tho i think it's more suited for younger readers, i got so much of it, i've never read anything faster except maybe The Brothers Karamazov, but that's a story for some other video. Cheers
I'm very happy you enjoyed it, and I could recommend a great book that can be read many times. It is really a great book to go back to, maybe after several years, to re-experience it at another stage in your life.
Thanks for writing!
Truly, i'll cherish it until the rest of my life, we all have some "Philip" inside of us, maybe that's why it hits so hard. "I don't wanna understand him, i'm not a critic.I'm not interested in him for his sake but mine."
@@Vuchatra Well said.
I read it at 19 and it changed me. Time to read it again. I share the same Birth date as Maugham, Jan 25th. Robert Burns, Virginia Woolf…many writers. Kinda cool to find out when I grew into an adult REVERING this work.
Thanks for writing, I love this book also. It is VERY much worth re-reading this one.
I find both to my liking but on one side of my family are British citizens. Plus I attended American private schools modeled on the English Public Schools. Both parents met in Canada and one took us for summer holiday each year in Canada. I think we do enjoy educational TV and its BritBox BBC productions. I suppose in the end we like our heroes American in character because they are outspoken and full of surprises.
Thanks Tracy, it sounds like you had.a nice cultural upbringing.
Canada is a funny country, it is mainly a reflection of both British and American culture. These days it feels much more American than it was in my childhood.
Could this apply to the novel?:
- We are never so defenseless against suffering as when we love. (Freud)
Absolutely, that is a perfect quote for the suffering the main character has to go through based on his love for Mildred.
Something occurred to me when you mentioned preference for American or British literature. I'm Malaysian, so I'm not someone your question is aimed at, but my friends and I don't actually categorize literature by region. In a sort of 'racist' way, we just think of all 'western' literature to be of equal footing 😅.
In high school we had to read a bit of Shakespeare, Guy de Maupassant, Roald Dahl, John Steinbeck, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Gaston Leroux, on top of some local authors. Typically these are in the form of short stories or heavily abridged version of the novels. I don't remember our teacher ever bringing up the background of the authors involved (our literature programme wasn't very in-depth, and during my time it was just introduced into the curriculum), so at the end of the day, if a Malaysian have any preference for American/British/Russian/whatever literature, it is likely to be a personal choice developed outside the influence of the school.
In recent years, though Japanese literature has gotten very popular here in Malaysia 🙂Haruki Murakami is the most popular, although in recent years we have started devouring books by Mishima, Tanizaki, and others.
P.S. By 'we' in this comment, I mean my friends and I. Not a huge sample size, but just a clarification in case someone gets offended.
Thank you for this wonderful observation! Wow! Malaysia, reading all that amazing literature in school, I'm totally impressed.
The consideration of where an author come from might be a particularly Canadian thing. When I was a small boy one of my teachers told us,
'A Canadian spends half their time proving to the Americans they are not British, and the other half proving to the British they are not Americans.'
Because the country is so unbelievably big, and the population quite small, Canada is a very hard country to really understand. I feel like the years I spent living in Europe helped me to know my country, by living away from it for a long time, but now I am back, I have a lot of conflicted emotions about Canada.
Murakami seems to be everywhere these days. I will include one of his books on my 2023 TBR list. (Coming next month!)
Hope you are well, thanks for the great insight!
@@grantlovesbooks our literature programme was pointed in a good direction, even if the execution was rather clumsy. It wasn't a standalone programme; it was part of the English curriculum. We usually get a book containing a selection of poems and short stories by various authors, so it serves as a 'sampler set' of sorts. Then we have to read some novels (abridged versions in lower secondary) and a full novel (in upper secondary).
It was a good try. Unfortunately because it was squeezed into the English syllabus as a whole, teachers couldn't devote much time to it. It's hard to appreciate Shakespeare's sonnets if the teacher only had 30 minutes to explain it to a group of students who had little exposure to poetry and Shakespearean English (not to mention that English is our second or third language). 😂 I am pretty sure most of us hated Shakespeare because of that.
I do appreciate that we got a taste of all sorts of writing in that literature programme. That was twenty years ago, though; I am not sure what students read today, or if they still do literature in English classes.
@@MH-ql4nh I've often wondered about teaching literature to young people. When I was 17 we had to read 'The Stone Angel' which is not very interesting for a teenager, but now it is my favourite Canadian novel. I suppose teachers need to try to give a sample of many things, and the students will have to discover if they have a feeling for what is being taught to them.
I'm not sure.
Sometimes I wonder if I might not have made my life much more difficult than it should have been because I have been constantly pursuing this dream of reading all the great literature, in the hope of becoming a writer one day.
But, it's my dream, and even today I am not ready to stop trying.
Very different to the type of book I usually read. Its easy to read, and an interesting lense to look at the lives of people in that time and place. The protagonist occasionally veers into completely unlikeable and at times unrelatable territory. And overall the story isn't driving towards some denouement like any modern story you might read or watch. Characters don't have conclusions and arcs which tie everything together. It's very real.
I'm happy you liked it. I think this book has a strong effect on most people who read it. If you liked this you can also try, The Razors Edge or The Moon and Sixpence.
The book is long for sure, but I never felt like it was too long. I really love everything I've read of his so far. I have read Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence, and The Painted Veil. They are some of my old time favorites. The author was a weirdo but man, could he write!!!
I forgot to answer your question - I am American and in general, do not gravitate towards American literature. There are exceptions of course (Toni Morrison and James Baldwin to name a couple), but I usually prefer British literature and also, literature from around the world outside the US.
Hello Christina, It sounds like you are just as much of a fan of Maugham as I am! It is a little hard to find, but I would recommend 'Ashenden' which is based on his real-life experience as a British spy.
I love The Moon and Sixpence. I have to make a point of re-reading The Razor's Edge, it has been a very long time since I've read that.
I suppose it depends on one's personality, but also how much one reads. I have always had a very mysterious love for Europe, but I cannot say where it comes from. Perhaps because it seems to be the very opposite of Canada, a huge place, unfathomably huge, with a tiny population, and with very little variance in the culture (aside from Quebec).
Europe is a wealth of culture, history and the arts in any of the countries you visit. The richness of sophistication of European culture makes Canada seem to be painfully bland and pathetic. We have so much money, but almost nothing when it comes to the arts and culture.
At least in America you have a deep, rich history with literature, music, painting, even food and pop-culture. Canadians are always overly fixated on their bank accounts and nothing else.
@@grantlovesbooks thanks for the recommendation!
@@radiantchristina my pleasure, it's a little different, but the same elegant style.
I read this book at 19 years old and saw how profound it was at the time. I’ve just finished rereading it and to describe it in a phrase, I’d say excellence through mediocrity
If you have seen any of the movie adaptations of this novel (there were 3), did you have any reactions?
I don't watch movies of 'literary works.' I feel it poisons the novel for subsequent readings. I can't read Gatsby because I am constantly thinking of Robert Redford. I feel that watching a film absolutely kills any imaginative effort, which is key to really enjoying good literature.
Dracula, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Natural, No Country For Old Men; all these novels have been ruined by watching the films.
I actually find it a little odd that people want to see film versions of books they love or admire.
@@grantlovesbooks Good point. Thank you.
Please, get subtitles in Portuguese Brazil otherwise become difficult watch this excellent show.
Hello Jose, Sorry about the subtitles, I would have to get the whole video translated into Portuguese and I don't know anyone who can help me with that. I'm just a one-man show, I do all the filming and editing myself and even though translation would be really nice, it's just impossible for me to do it.
Sorry about that.
Lovely. Thank you. I'm from Pakistan. Have a Masters in English Literature. I did the right thing. You just showed me.
Congratulations on the Masters degree!
the real tragedy in this book is his love life and the life of his love.
I am forcing myself to listen to this book on audio, I can't stand it! It's so sexist and dreary and whiny. Yep, it's very human, all right! I have 14 more hours to go, noooo. BUT I really appreciate your take on it! Thank you for pointing out lovely details for me to pay attention to as I keep listening.
Thanks for writing Kendra!
It is quite a long book, I hope the audio experience is a good one. I am going to try it for the first time with a monster of a book by Charles Dickens, it's so boring and repetitive. I think if I've got someone reading it to me in the background it will help get through it.
Are you following along with an actual book, or just listening? There are a lot of amazing lines that I found very inspiring, even though, over all, it is fairly gloomy.
Keep trying, I hope that when you're done you might consider reading it again one day. I found the second reading Much better than the first.
Good Luck!
@@grantlovesbooks PHEW I finally finished it! I achieved a goal for 2023, ha! I don't suppose I'll read it again. I don't like how he pursued Mildred so hard - he wore her down so that she'd be with him. That's not good manners! But, it is all too human...
@@KendraHolliday Congratulations! I hope you enjoyed it, at least a little. It is quite of another era, but I enjoy that. I feel as though I am getting little history lessons when I read books from bygone times.
I absolutely loved it. I am older and found that it was so real and so relatable.
Not a good character