Maugham is my latest fascination.
I'm a huge classic movie fan, so I've seen classic film versions of many of his works -- best known are probably "Of Human Bondage", "The Letter", "The Painted Veil", "Rain" (aka "Sadie Thompson"), and "The Razor's Edge".
Like many writers of his era, I find it so easy to get lost in his dreamy, romantic, adventurous world. He's the kind of writer that makes me wish I has been born a couple of generations earlier.
His short stories are wonderful temporary escapes when I don't feel like making a full novel-length committment. I'm reading "Up at the Villa" right now.
Do any of you have any Maugham favorites?
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Re: Somerset Maugham
Tue, May 10, 2005 - 11:42 AMi'm not trying to break your thread, but if you like maugham, you might also like e.m. forster, henry james, edith wharton, anthony trollope, thomas hardy, and james galsworthy, to name a few. -
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Re: Somerset Maugham
Tue, May 10, 2005 - 1:20 PM
>>i'm not trying to break your thread, but if you like maugham, you might also like e.m. forster, henry james, edith wharton, anthony trollope, thomas hardy, and james galsworthy, to name a few. <<
believe me...I already do! :)
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Re: Somerset Maugham
Tue, May 10, 2005 - 2:16 PMwonderful! there's something to be said about the writing during that era. -
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Re: Somerset Maugham
Tue, May 10, 2005 - 2:24 PM
I love everything about that era -- art, literature, music, film, architecture, fashion, etc. That's why I started the Jazz Age tribe:
www.JazzAge.tribe.net
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Re: Somerset Maugham
Tue, May 10, 2005 - 2:37 PMTHANK YOU for the tip. i find that the transition between the late victorian era into the industrialization of the west quite fascinating. it was so poignantly pointed out in galsworthy's "forsyte saga" particularly through the point of view of soames forsyte. he went from a very unsympathetic oaf to quite a sympathetic one by the end of a series. i'll join your tribe, if you don't mind. -
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Re: Somerset Maugham
Tue, May 10, 2005 - 3:09 PM
"Forsyte Saga"!!! I LOVE that story! You have such impeccable taste! :) Those characters were are all so fascinating. It was riveting to watch them balance matters of the heart with the conventions of the time, especially Jolyon, Soames and of course Irene.
Please do join us in the Jazz Age tribe.
Ahem...and now back to Maugham!
Any other fans out there?
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Re: Somerset Maugham
Mon, August 20, 2007 - 9:10 AMI'm very much enchanted by "The Painted Veil." I just got it from the library on 15 August and I could not put it down. I really felt a strong sympathy and emotion for Walter and yet I could also identify with Kitty in the sense of being let down by someone you care about (NOT in the other ways though--just in that sense; for the most part Walter was the character that I really related to and quite frankly I did not feel one ounce of sympathy for Kitty and pretty much despised her by the book's end). The whole book itself really haunted me (which is the good thing---it means that it's memorable and worth reading over again) and I actually went out and bought it yesterday (along with "Of Human Bondage). I haven't seen any of the film versions yet.
The only other Maugham book that I've read so far is "The Razor's Edge," which I really liked. I definitely want to read more of him in the future.
