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The Collected Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham, Vol. 2 of 4
Somerset Maugham's irony and cool detachment made him an acknowledged master of the short story. The stories collected here are typical of Maugham's wry perception of human weakness and his unique talent for evoking a sense of time and place. They are set in familiar Maugham territory - the South Seas, Europe and America - but they are all concise and compelling dramas played out by unforgettable characters. The collection includes some of Maugham's most famous "The Alien Corn," "Flotsam and Jetsam" and particularly "The Vessel of Wrath," a surprising tale of burgeoning love between a repressed mission lady and a drunken reprobate.
424 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1970
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1041 people want to read
About the author
W. Somerset Maugham
2,113 books6,058 followersWilliam Somerset Maugham was born in Paris in 1874. He spoke French even before he spoke a word of English, a fact to which some critics attribute the purity of his style.
His parents died early and, after an unhappy boyhood, which he recorded poignantly in Of Human Bondage, Maugham became a qualified physician. But writing was his true vocation. For ten years before his first success, he almost literally starved while pouring out novels and plays.
Maugham wrote at a time when experimental modernist literature such as that of William Faulkner, Thomas Mann, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf was gaining increasing popularity and winning critical acclaim. In this context, his plain prose style was criticized as 'such a tissue of clichés' that one's wonder is finally aroused at the writer's ability to assemble so many and at his unfailing inability to put anything in an individual way.
During World War I, Maugham worked for the British Secret Service . He travelled all over the world, and made many visits to America. After World War II, Maugham made his home in south of France and continued to move between England and Nice till his death in 1965.
At the time of Maugham's birth, French law was such that all foreign boys born in France became liable for conscription. Thus, Maugham was born within the Embassy, legally recognized as UK territory.
His parents died early and, after an unhappy boyhood, which he recorded poignantly in Of Human Bondage, Maugham became a qualified physician. But writing was his true vocation. For ten years before his first success, he almost literally starved while pouring out novels and plays.
Maugham wrote at a time when experimental modernist literature such as that of William Faulkner, Thomas Mann, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf was gaining increasing popularity and winning critical acclaim. In this context, his plain prose style was criticized as 'such a tissue of clichés' that one's wonder is finally aroused at the writer's ability to assemble so many and at his unfailing inability to put anything in an individual way.
During World War I, Maugham worked for the British Secret Service . He travelled all over the world, and made many visits to America. After World War II, Maugham made his home in south of France and continued to move between England and Nice till his death in 1965.
At the time of Maugham's birth, French law was such that all foreign boys born in France became liable for conscription. Thus, Maugham was born within the Embassy, legally recognized as UK territory.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
December 31, 2019
Сигурно не всички разкази ще ги запомня, но няма как да сложа по-малко от 5 звезди, защото Съмърсет Моъм е абсолютен господ. И хич не ми пука, че звуча като тийнейджърка.
May 10, 2021
This is a review of Volume 2 of the 4 Volume collection.
I love Maugham’s writing. I can think of no other writer who can so instantly transport you to another time and place – often to exotic locales and stories inhabited by a cast of fascinating characters in incompatible relationships or intriguing situations.
Here, there are twenty-four stories which I would break up by saying four are top drawer excellent, a further six are very good, seven are merely fine, leaving just seven falling below par.
My top four would be ‘Virtue’ – a straightforward character study in which a woman leaves her husband for a younger man; ‘Lord Mountdrago’ – a character study of a Conservative politician who is haunted by the way he treated another politician; ‘Footprints In The Jungle’ – Who killed a woman’s first husband? Typically wonderful characters and setting from Maugham, but with the addition of a crime element; and lastly my favourite here, ‘The Human Element’ – great characters, atmosphere and setting in a story in which a man tries to win over a beautiful woman.
Then there are the six stories I would label very good. ‘The Vessel Of Wrath’ – character story with an isolated island atmosphere, about a man-hating woman; ‘The Alien Corn’ – a long but fine story, again with clearly defined characters, in which the son of a rich father wants to go against the family wishes and become a pianist; ‘The Treasure’ – a character and class study in which a man employs the perfect housekeeper, but then something happens; ‘The Colonel’s Lady’ – another character/class study in which a colonel is mystified, then horrified at the success of his wife’s book; ‘The Round Dozen’ – the first scene-setting half is better than the second, but this is still an interesting tale of a man meeting three others at a hotel, one of whom is rather odd and has a secret; and finally there’s ‘Jane’ – a straightforward and finely told story of a dowdy woman who marries a much younger man to the disgust of her friend.
Note. Two of these stories (‘The Alien Corn’ and ‘The Colonel’s Lady’) appeared in the film Quartet (1948), which was one of three such films made at the time – Trio (1950) and Encore (1951) being the others. All three of these are very enjoyable and worth viewing.
Volume 2 is up to the standards of the first. The only two stories I cared nothing for are both very short – ‘The Man With The Scar’ and ‘A Friend In Need.’
I love Maugham’s writing. I can think of no other writer who can so instantly transport you to another time and place – often to exotic locales and stories inhabited by a cast of fascinating characters in incompatible relationships or intriguing situations.
Here, there are twenty-four stories which I would break up by saying four are top drawer excellent, a further six are very good, seven are merely fine, leaving just seven falling below par.
My top four would be ‘Virtue’ – a straightforward character study in which a woman leaves her husband for a younger man; ‘Lord Mountdrago’ – a character study of a Conservative politician who is haunted by the way he treated another politician; ‘Footprints In The Jungle’ – Who killed a woman’s first husband? Typically wonderful characters and setting from Maugham, but with the addition of a crime element; and lastly my favourite here, ‘The Human Element’ – great characters, atmosphere and setting in a story in which a man tries to win over a beautiful woman.
Then there are the six stories I would label very good. ‘The Vessel Of Wrath’ – character story with an isolated island atmosphere, about a man-hating woman; ‘The Alien Corn’ – a long but fine story, again with clearly defined characters, in which the son of a rich father wants to go against the family wishes and become a pianist; ‘The Treasure’ – a character and class study in which a man employs the perfect housekeeper, but then something happens; ‘The Colonel’s Lady’ – another character/class study in which a colonel is mystified, then horrified at the success of his wife’s book; ‘The Round Dozen’ – the first scene-setting half is better than the second, but this is still an interesting tale of a man meeting three others at a hotel, one of whom is rather odd and has a secret; and finally there’s ‘Jane’ – a straightforward and finely told story of a dowdy woman who marries a much younger man to the disgust of her friend.
Note. Two of these stories (‘The Alien Corn’ and ‘The Colonel’s Lady’) appeared in the film Quartet (1948), which was one of three such films made at the time – Trio (1950) and Encore (1951) being the others. All three of these are very enjoyable and worth viewing.
Volume 2 is up to the standards of the first. The only two stories I cared nothing for are both very short – ‘The Man With The Scar’ and ‘A Friend In Need.’
October 3, 2023
I'm sure it's all frightfully Edwardian, full of those eternal British Empire verities we look down on today, but dammit! W. Somerset Maugham knew how to tell a good story. It might be stodgy in parts, and the author's first person narrator could get on the reader's nerves at times, but I have endless respect for anyone who can tell a good tale.
There are even two excellent stories for Halloween in the collection: "Lord Mountdrago" and "The Taipan." But in general, I found nearly all the stories to be of a consistently high standard, rare in a collection of twenty-four stories.
I particularly liked the stories set in places like Malaya, Borneo, and other Asian locales -- though they were in no way inferior to the stories of relationships gone awry in London.
Good stuff.
There are even two excellent stories for Halloween in the collection: "Lord Mountdrago" and "The Taipan." But in general, I found nearly all the stories to be of a consistently high standard, rare in a collection of twenty-four stories.
I particularly liked the stories set in places like Malaya, Borneo, and other Asian locales -- though they were in no way inferior to the stories of relationships gone awry in London.
Good stuff.
September 29, 2015
3.5 stars
I found reading most of W. Somerset Maugham’s 24 stories in his “Collected Short Stories Volume 2” enticingly and unpredictably romantic, thrilling, mysterious, etc. from various characters as set in America, England and Borneo. However, I would recommend only three of my three favorites: 1) The vessel of wrath, 2) The door of opportunity, and, 3) the treasure. In fact, ‘The vessel of wrath’ is the first story whereas ‘The door of opportunity’ is the last one but each has revealed formidable feminine will of iron worth respect and admiration. Moreover, ‘The treasure’ amusingly suggests feminine power professionally managed by a cool, middle-aged palourmaid named Pritchard till this story simply starts and ends with nearly the same sentences, that is, “Richard Harenger was a happy man.” (p. 254) vs. “Richard Harenger was a very happy man.” (p. 272)
I found reading most of W. Somerset Maugham’s 24 stories in his “Collected Short Stories Volume 2” enticingly and unpredictably romantic, thrilling, mysterious, etc. from various characters as set in America, England and Borneo. However, I would recommend only three of my three favorites: 1) The vessel of wrath, 2) The door of opportunity, and, 3) the treasure. In fact, ‘The vessel of wrath’ is the first story whereas ‘The door of opportunity’ is the last one but each has revealed formidable feminine will of iron worth respect and admiration. Moreover, ‘The treasure’ amusingly suggests feminine power professionally managed by a cool, middle-aged palourmaid named Pritchard till this story simply starts and ends with nearly the same sentences, that is, “Richard Harenger was a happy man.” (p. 254) vs. “Richard Harenger was a very happy man.” (p. 272)
November 28, 2023
Много увлекателни разкази. Чудесен разказвач е Моъм. Всички разкази много ми харесаха. Класика!!! Любим разказ ми е КОНСУЛЪТ. Но и останалите са майсторски написани, естествено!
March 2, 2020
Edmund Wilson gained fame for trashing MOM.
He admitted he'd never read Bondage, Cakes & Ale,
Razor. Methinks he was jealous of MOM's life.
Today, only philistines snub MOM.
"The Alien Corn" is a minor masterpiece. A young
Brit scorns family and pursues a career as a pianist.
Told by a famous talent he will only be 2d-rate, he
kills himself. (His family left him no choice.)
Question : if our arts did not have 2d and 3d rate
talents, would we have any "art" at all? Not likely.
This goes for yesterday and today.
MOM knew too much and felt too much. It is time to
stop the MOM bashing.
He admitted he'd never read Bondage, Cakes & Ale,
Razor. Methinks he was jealous of MOM's life.
Today, only philistines snub MOM.
"The Alien Corn" is a minor masterpiece. A young
Brit scorns family and pursues a career as a pianist.
Told by a famous talent he will only be 2d-rate, he
kills himself. (His family left him no choice.)
Question : if our arts did not have 2d and 3d rate
talents, would we have any "art" at all? Not likely.
This goes for yesterday and today.
MOM knew too much and felt too much. It is time to
stop the MOM bashing.
July 25, 2011
This collection, like his previous, includes tales about Brits in the South Sea colonies, plus a few set on the continent and Latin America. Maugham's gift in this book is arranging modern and antique sensibilities side by side, like knickknacks on the mantel, and allowing his reader-guests to observe them without his needing to comment. In lofty titles like "Virtue," "The Creative Impulse," "The Force of Circumstance," and "The Door of Opportunity," Maugham's small moral and ethical dramas involve singular characters - lady novelists, the nouveau riche, young gentry, closet Jews, adulterers, social-climbing widows. What was very welcomed was that these stories vary in length from just a few pages to an evening's entertainment, and many are so comedic that I laughed out loud. Others generated a 'huh' moment at the final sentence, as they were intended to do. While the stories set in London are perhaps the most wryly and wittily observant of human nature, it's those set in the colonies that allow Maugham to create such memorable and beautiful settings, like a literary Gaugin.
March 3, 2018
ENGLISH: 24 short stories by Maugham. The story I liked most was "The vessel of wrath," much better but in the same line as "Rain," followed by "The verger," "The dream" and The creative impulse."
ESPAÑOL: 24 cuentos de Maugham. El que más me gustó fue "La vasija de la ira", que me parece mucho mejor que "Lluvia", aunque escrita en la misma línea. Después me han gustado "El ujier", "El sueño" y "El impulso creativo".
ESPAÑOL: 24 cuentos de Maugham. El que más me gustó fue "La vasija de la ira", que me parece mucho mejor que "Lluvia", aunque escrita en la misma línea. Después me han gustado "El ujier", "El sueño" y "El impulso creativo".
December 9, 2012
Разказът „Съкровището“ ми е фаворит :)
Currently reading
June 26, 2021There is the Maugham of the turgid, mysterious rivers flowing by the rubber plantations; of sundowners on rattan chairs in verandahs overlooking thickets of trees with the chatter of birds of a thousand colors; of the bygone slow rhythm of life on the jungle covered outskirts of the empire with a colony of servants. There is also the Maugham of white men born in the colonies, half-castes, natives of all shades and colors, and a sense of loneliness, alienation and inability to belong to the East or the West - leaving in its wake troubled lives, alcohol abuse, several children out of wedlock, crimes of passion, and unending rage. There is the Maugham of race exclusivity and sense of superiority and of the ascendant perspective of the white male for whom all others appears as caricatures or unknowable shadows on a printed screen - or is it the painted veil? In E.M.Forster we are told that the East and West can never meet - in Maugham they often meet but there appears to be no happy reunion? Some do appear to thrive in Maugham's country and they almost always have gone native, but most appear more as victims than anything else.
(More to come)
(More to come)
February 10, 2022
断断续续读了一个月，每篇单独抽出来都很棒。
January 3, 2015
On advise of a friend I read the novel Theatre by William Somerset Maugham a few months ago. (see review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... )
The subject, but more over the style of writing impressed me so much that I started to read more by this author, which I knew but so far not really valued. This time a collection of short stories. After close to a hundred years these stories still speak to us, the style, the understanding of human nature, the unique talent.
Let me pick one from the dozens I read. 'The Bum' not one of his all time favorites but therefore the better example. It is about; reading and writing, work and idleness, youth and age, arrogance and tolerance and all that in no more than four pages.
Pages with beautiful sentences like '… I had not half the time I needed to do half the things I wanted …'
An active writer in need of a rest meets a bum '… I have never seen such a wreck of humanity …' Someone he knew more than twenty years ago. Only a boy than and a member of a band of art students and would by writers. He was the most arrogant one and looked down upon the others. '…his vanity was enormous …'
'…I could never have imagined that he was reduced to this frightful misery …'
The bum gives him no sign of recognition and refuses the little help that is offered, choosing to be a bum for the rest of his life? The story offers just enough, the rest is for us to write, the motives and the reasons even a sequel.
Dispense used por Dios, for God – and Somerset Maugham - sees how timid and beautiful we really are, does the writer, does the bum, do we our self …
January 5, 2012
The only piece of Maugham's writing I'd read before this collection is his novel, "Cakes and Ale." I enjoyed reading that so much that I went to the library to get whatever Maugham I could find. This was the only book of his they had on the shelf that day, so I grabbed it.
This is a collection of short stories (perhaps twenty or so) that vary in length and most often feature a small cast of characters. The stories are set in the time period and locales of when Great Britain was settling India. The characters often wrestle with moral decisions (adultery, re-marriage, unplanned/ or even unwanted children, alcoholism).
Though many more qualified reviewers have said it before, it bears repeating: Maugham is a master. He is master of character development with subtle nuances, and tiny details. And he is also a master storyteller. I found each story I was able to read completely engrossing (sadly, I'm not able to finish this 400+ page collection before returning it to the library). Beyond Maugham's storytelling mastery I also enjoyed how much about the time period I learned through his tales. True, I was not reading about factual historical events, but Maugham didn't create his stories in a vacuum. He placed his characters and their stories in a certain time period under certain circumstances and cultural norms. It was fascinating to soak that world in through his eyes.
This is a collection of short stories (perhaps twenty or so) that vary in length and most often feature a small cast of characters. The stories are set in the time period and locales of when Great Britain was settling India. The characters often wrestle with moral decisions (adultery, re-marriage, unplanned/ or even unwanted children, alcoholism).
Though many more qualified reviewers have said it before, it bears repeating: Maugham is a master. He is master of character development with subtle nuances, and tiny details. And he is also a master storyteller. I found each story I was able to read completely engrossing (sadly, I'm not able to finish this 400+ page collection before returning it to the library). Beyond Maugham's storytelling mastery I also enjoyed how much about the time period I learned through his tales. True, I was not reading about factual historical events, but Maugham didn't create his stories in a vacuum. He placed his characters and their stories in a certain time period under certain circumstances and cultural norms. It was fascinating to soak that world in through his eyes.
May 16, 2023
For what they are, they're wonderful. Of course they're outdated and old-fashioned, using language which is offensive today. If you can forgive him for this, the stories are perfect.
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After reading one story after another, you tend to see repeating phrases when he describes someone physically (how many times have I read "She must have been a great beauty when she was younger", 7 times? 10?). He sometimes opens a story with a somewhat random philosophical observation (his love for a good cigar, his love of travel) and he always provides a full account of the main characters connections - how he knows them, what he has heard of them, who their friends are, what their position is. It's the old English style, I suppose.
I love him, I can't wait to read his last volumes of short stories, but I do need a break now.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After reading one story after another, you tend to see repeating phrases when he describes someone physically (how many times have I read "She must have been a great beauty when she was younger", 7 times? 10?). He sometimes opens a story with a somewhat random philosophical observation (his love for a good cigar, his love of travel) and he always provides a full account of the main characters connections - how he knows them, what he has heard of them, who their friends are, what their position is. It's the old English style, I suppose.
I love him, I can't wait to read his last volumes of short stories, but I do need a break now.
Want to read
February 16, 2024Contains the stories:
The Vessel of Wrath
The Force of Circumstance
Flotsam and Jetsam
The Alien Corn
The Creative Impulse
Virtue
The Man with the Scar
The Closed Shop
The Bum
The Dream
The Treasure
The Colonel’s Lady
Lord Mountdrago - 4/5 - I wonder if these heavy eyes can face the unknown
The Social Sense
The Verger
In a Strange Land
The Taipan
The Counsel
A Friend in Need
The Round Dozen
The Human Element
Jane
Footprints in the Jungle
The Door of Opportunity
The Vessel of Wrath
The Force of Circumstance
Flotsam and Jetsam
The Alien Corn
The Creative Impulse
Virtue
The Man with the Scar
The Closed Shop
The Bum
The Dream
The Treasure
The Colonel’s Lady
Lord Mountdrago - 4/5 - I wonder if these heavy eyes can face the unknown
The Social Sense
The Verger
In a Strange Land
The Taipan
The Counsel
A Friend in Need
The Round Dozen
The Human Element
Jane
Footprints in the Jungle
The Door of Opportunity
December 21, 2025
Again, still a fascinating read with a couple of stories really standing out and staying with me for some time
June 19, 2025
A String of Beads by William Somerset Maugham – author of The Vessel of Wrath – my note on that tale is at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... where scores of other books are reviewed
10 out of 10
The premise of A String of Beads reminds me of another story by Somerset Maugham Mr. Know – All – which I reviewed at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... - Mr. Know All is, as the nick name suggests, one that thinks himself an expert, and he is one…
In both stories we have a string, and an evaluation that is more than surprising, given that the ladies who wear the jewels are not from the upper, rich class, and therefore could not afford expensive pearls, so when Mr. Know All makes an estimate that sounds exorbitant of the string which Mrs. Ramsay wears, we are surprised
The husband laughs at the price tag, counters that it could not be, and even bets on the accuracy of his figure, making the expert – Mr. Colada is involved in the trade with pearls, so he better knows what he talks about – take a close look at the fake (as the spouse sees them) pearls to change his mind, or else lose the money
Initially, Mr. Know All smiles, seeing that he was correct in the estimate, but then he sees the horror in Mrs. Ramsay’s eyes, and then modestly he retracts, gives the one hundred dollars (about one thousand today, probably) and admits his mistake, only to receive an envelope with the money a bit later, from the woman, presumably
He has been a perfect gentleman (we used to push around a tasteless joke, and a short one, with ‘I am a gentleman, what the fuck’, something like that, in our tongue, it has to do with the penis, that is used more often than fuck, for a reason that could surely be analyzed, if it is not already) and preferred to lose money
In A String of Beads, Count Borselli plays the role of Mr. Know All, at this party, he is the one who says that the String is worth fifty thousand pounds, maybe half a million today, and it is at the neck of Miss Robinson, who is a governess, and in that position, she could never have acquired that amount of money in an honest way
Evidently, there are situations that could not be explained, except using supernatural causes, or more earthly ones, such as embezzlement, corruption – next door to me, there is a pool, they have luxury cars, and for some decades, it was based on salaries near the level that Miss Robinson had, coming from the public sector
It would take five hundred years or more to put aside the meager salaries, and then buy all those lavish amenities, only there are illegal benefits, when you are the one who approves constructions, you could make a ton of money, when ready to cross the line, which is what happened here, in a big way, opulence and tacky taste
The governess says the paid fifteen shillings for that extraordinary String of Beads, and there is an explanation, different from what happened with Mrs. Ramsay, in the story aforementioned, that lady had had a lover in New York, and Mr. Know All concludes that a husband should not let the wife alone for so long…
Miss Robinson however, explained the string in a more mundane way, she took the cheap string to have a little adjustment, and one clerk made a mistake, so that she was given that expensive one, which caused consternation, it was her luck, or her ruin, depending on how you see it, for she receives a check for a few hundred pounds
As a reward for her honesty probably, and as compensation for the fact that they take back the beads they have given her, nevertheless, she decides to take the money and run (just joking) to enjoy herself, contrary to advice which would have her put this large sum (again, maybe over ten thousand today) in the bank
When in Paris, she spends lavishly, then she is in the company of a man from Argentina (if I am not wrong on this) who is rich, they live like royalty for some months, then she drops him and she is with another wealthy fellow, a Grek one this time, she has a Rolls (Royce, surely) and lives in the lap of luxury, also a Jethro Tull song
One woman says she is ‘ruined’, in the sense that she has chosen the wrong career, she is now one of the (if not The) most…actually, I went on to check and ‘she's far and away the smartest cocotte in Paris’, which is to be admired, from my point of view, they are called sex workers today, and I am using the services
This admission (which is strategically placed here, where nobody comes to read, so I have both the advantage of confessing somehow, and ‘clearing the conscience’, and knowing it will not have repercussions, after all, in Sweden, the one soliciting is breaking the law, the sex workers are not prosecuted) is liberating
Ideally, we should all have sex, which is healthy, rises levels of happiness, it is good exercise and so much more, with the best circumstances, with people we love and they feel the same, but that is not happening, right, so we need alternative solutions, masturbating, finding bonds for sex only, and why not, going to see Miss Robinson
I mean, what is the consort of Orange Jesus, we could wonder, and by obnoxious conclusion, which proves what a god damn awful fella I am, is that we have here a case of somebody like Miss Robinson, or others like her, deciding to have just one client, whether she is lucky in that choice, remains another matter, for I see that hooligan as one of the worst monsters alive, disgusting, if rich, but then she is not the most intelligent human on earth either…
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’
“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”
10 out of 10
The premise of A String of Beads reminds me of another story by Somerset Maugham Mr. Know – All – which I reviewed at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... - Mr. Know All is, as the nick name suggests, one that thinks himself an expert, and he is one…
In both stories we have a string, and an evaluation that is more than surprising, given that the ladies who wear the jewels are not from the upper, rich class, and therefore could not afford expensive pearls, so when Mr. Know All makes an estimate that sounds exorbitant of the string which Mrs. Ramsay wears, we are surprised
The husband laughs at the price tag, counters that it could not be, and even bets on the accuracy of his figure, making the expert – Mr. Colada is involved in the trade with pearls, so he better knows what he talks about – take a close look at the fake (as the spouse sees them) pearls to change his mind, or else lose the money
Initially, Mr. Know All smiles, seeing that he was correct in the estimate, but then he sees the horror in Mrs. Ramsay’s eyes, and then modestly he retracts, gives the one hundred dollars (about one thousand today, probably) and admits his mistake, only to receive an envelope with the money a bit later, from the woman, presumably
He has been a perfect gentleman (we used to push around a tasteless joke, and a short one, with ‘I am a gentleman, what the fuck’, something like that, in our tongue, it has to do with the penis, that is used more often than fuck, for a reason that could surely be analyzed, if it is not already) and preferred to lose money
In A String of Beads, Count Borselli plays the role of Mr. Know All, at this party, he is the one who says that the String is worth fifty thousand pounds, maybe half a million today, and it is at the neck of Miss Robinson, who is a governess, and in that position, she could never have acquired that amount of money in an honest way
Evidently, there are situations that could not be explained, except using supernatural causes, or more earthly ones, such as embezzlement, corruption – next door to me, there is a pool, they have luxury cars, and for some decades, it was based on salaries near the level that Miss Robinson had, coming from the public sector
It would take five hundred years or more to put aside the meager salaries, and then buy all those lavish amenities, only there are illegal benefits, when you are the one who approves constructions, you could make a ton of money, when ready to cross the line, which is what happened here, in a big way, opulence and tacky taste
The governess says the paid fifteen shillings for that extraordinary String of Beads, and there is an explanation, different from what happened with Mrs. Ramsay, in the story aforementioned, that lady had had a lover in New York, and Mr. Know All concludes that a husband should not let the wife alone for so long…
Miss Robinson however, explained the string in a more mundane way, she took the cheap string to have a little adjustment, and one clerk made a mistake, so that she was given that expensive one, which caused consternation, it was her luck, or her ruin, depending on how you see it, for she receives a check for a few hundred pounds
As a reward for her honesty probably, and as compensation for the fact that they take back the beads they have given her, nevertheless, she decides to take the money and run (just joking) to enjoy herself, contrary to advice which would have her put this large sum (again, maybe over ten thousand today) in the bank
When in Paris, she spends lavishly, then she is in the company of a man from Argentina (if I am not wrong on this) who is rich, they live like royalty for some months, then she drops him and she is with another wealthy fellow, a Grek one this time, she has a Rolls (Royce, surely) and lives in the lap of luxury, also a Jethro Tull song
One woman says she is ‘ruined’, in the sense that she has chosen the wrong career, she is now one of the (if not The) most…actually, I went on to check and ‘she's far and away the smartest cocotte in Paris’, which is to be admired, from my point of view, they are called sex workers today, and I am using the services
This admission (which is strategically placed here, where nobody comes to read, so I have both the advantage of confessing somehow, and ‘clearing the conscience’, and knowing it will not have repercussions, after all, in Sweden, the one soliciting is breaking the law, the sex workers are not prosecuted) is liberating
Ideally, we should all have sex, which is healthy, rises levels of happiness, it is good exercise and so much more, with the best circumstances, with people we love and they feel the same, but that is not happening, right, so we need alternative solutions, masturbating, finding bonds for sex only, and why not, going to see Miss Robinson
I mean, what is the consort of Orange Jesus, we could wonder, and by obnoxious conclusion, which proves what a god damn awful fella I am, is that we have here a case of somebody like Miss Robinson, or others like her, deciding to have just one client, whether she is lucky in that choice, remains another matter, for I see that hooligan as one of the worst monsters alive, disgusting, if rich, but then she is not the most intelligent human on earth either…
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’
“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”
July 28, 2025
Whether you are a reader or a writer of short stories, W. Somerset Maugham is a classic author who must be read and considered. In his "East and West" volume, you will find his better stories. They include many of the Ashenden spy stories.
April 5, 2016
Intoxicating stories! But he must be a bit of a misogynist. Most of his women characters start off as infallible and unbendingly moral. Which makes the impending train wreck he has in store for them all the more interesting.
August 7, 2007
Slightly stuffy in a sweet way, well crafted short stories, a classic.
April 28, 2011
Read about 3/4 of the shorts
August 10, 2017
He builds worlds that are absorbing, entertaining, devastating, and memorable. Highly recommended.
February 5, 2016
So many favourites in this - most people like Rain more than any other, at any rate it is the most discussed one. My personal favourite however is Virtue, an unforgettable one.
There are many, many others of course - Round Dozen for one, with amusing details of a much married man aggrieved by one of his wives turning him in.
Then there is the heartbreaking one of love and loss that I can't think of the name and it is a rare one for lack of cynical or otherwise bringing the reader down to earth sort of twist.
There is Letter with its murder of a paramour gone wrong due to his having left a letter with his mistress who extorts the full value,
There is the story about a widow who married a friend of her murdered husband and the daughter who looks like the second husband.
And there is another one with the Italian husband murdering his own father on suspicion of an affair between his father and his wife.
And all these are only what I can recall off hand after three decades or so.
I suppose the one of love and death with grief and heartbreak remains close to heart, along with Virtue that remains close to conviction, with total agreement with the protagonist by the time the story is over.
I wish I could remember if the story about the expensive wife becoming beautiful is here, or it is by another writer.
.................................................................................
The Round Dozen:-
About a much marrying man who was much aggrieved and felt a genuine sense of injury and grievance when one of his wives informed the law - not particularly handsome or accomplished in any way whatsoever, middle aged and lower class and not educated nor sophisticated nor well to do, he had nevertheless developed a talent for marrying successfully by his own definition. He found lonely older women of certain financial independence at holiday places and paid them attention, and post marriage gave them a good time until their money ran out. Then it was time to move on. To his chagrin, there was a small matter of having married only eleven times. Most of his wives were in fact willing to take him back.
After his leaving prison, the protagonist received a post card from him one day, and understood he had made his round dozen to his satisfaction after all.
.....................................................................................
Rain:-
This must have been terribly shocking to the hypocritical and pious while being nothing new to those without blinkers, when published first - 20th century was nothing if not one that shredded many such veils of pretension from established societies of west.
The story takes place on a voyage in Pacific where a woman of certain profession is having fun along with a few of males around - after all being alone most of their lives far away from home was tough on the guys, and an accommodating woman who was not merely paid goods but one with some spirit, some heart and joy, was a blessing.
Unfortunately for them there is not merely a usual contingent of the disapproving couples and other respectable members of society but also a preacher very sure and proud of himself, who goes after the woman with denunciation and promised hell fire to all that would consort with her. She is brought to abject surrender and is entirely dependent on him subsequently in her submission to a pious life henceforth. And the preacher is willing to sacrifice himself, to go to her at any hour of day or night she might need him, as his wife very proudly testifies to his selfless sacrifice of his own comforts.
The preacher meanwhile has dreams of hills of Nebraska (having read it so long ago I could be wrong about the name of the particular state) - and then one day the preacher is found dead, having committed suicide, while there is sound of phonograph and laughter and dancing from the room of the woman who was trying to reform, and a note of bitter victory.
She was sincere in her repentance and her attempt to reform, but the high minded preacher all too fallible and unaware of his own Achilles's heel shared with all life, if not more than a little hypocritical in his imposition of his will and his standards of virtue on all and sundry.
..............................................................
Virtue:-
We are begun on a gentle note with the story of a forty odd year old man, caustic and yet much loved but admittedly difficult, finding love and being completely smitten with his wife he considers himself fortunate to marry - he is the same man but now happy and his acerbic nature is taken now as wit due to his basking in his wife's love, a much loved woman in society, and their insistence on being put up together when invited is an amusing embarrassment for hostesses who lack room and are used to couples wishing to be put up rather apart.
And then there is an acquaintance of the writer (protagonist really, except one tends to assume he is the writer) from colonies in Malaya, a young man who needs to have some company and is introduced to the couple. Some time later, the couple is separated, and the wife is adamant in not returning to the husband, and he commits suicide.
The protagonist is called to interpret a letter from the young man in Malaya who has now returned, and informed that he is responsible for the love that the young man and the not so young wife (now widow) fell into since he introduced them. The letter is cautious and sympathetic about her loss but equivocal about her prospects of being able to come to Malaya to marry him.
The hostess, a friend of the protagonist makes the observation that it is up to him to make the young man realise his responsibility having gone into the love affair and caused the separation, which is when it becomes clear that the wife in love with another man had never crossed her limits being a virtuous woman.
"Virtue be damned" informs her the protagonist, since it had caused so much grief and a death of a loving husband - if only the wife had quietly had had her affair and finished it the man would still be alive.
And while to some pompous hypocrites it would be an opportunity to gasp and act shocked, today the reality of that statement is only too obvious, what with "the lack of commitment" of males being so huge a problem in US.
..........................................................
There are many, many others of course - Round Dozen for one, with amusing details of a much married man aggrieved by one of his wives turning him in.
Then there is the heartbreaking one of love and loss that I can't think of the name and it is a rare one for lack of cynical or otherwise bringing the reader down to earth sort of twist.
There is Letter with its murder of a paramour gone wrong due to his having left a letter with his mistress who extorts the full value,
There is the story about a widow who married a friend of her murdered husband and the daughter who looks like the second husband.
And there is another one with the Italian husband murdering his own father on suspicion of an affair between his father and his wife.
And all these are only what I can recall off hand after three decades or so.
I suppose the one of love and death with grief and heartbreak remains close to heart, along with Virtue that remains close to conviction, with total agreement with the protagonist by the time the story is over.
I wish I could remember if the story about the expensive wife becoming beautiful is here, or it is by another writer.
.................................................................................
The Round Dozen:-
About a much marrying man who was much aggrieved and felt a genuine sense of injury and grievance when one of his wives informed the law - not particularly handsome or accomplished in any way whatsoever, middle aged and lower class and not educated nor sophisticated nor well to do, he had nevertheless developed a talent for marrying successfully by his own definition. He found lonely older women of certain financial independence at holiday places and paid them attention, and post marriage gave them a good time until their money ran out. Then it was time to move on. To his chagrin, there was a small matter of having married only eleven times. Most of his wives were in fact willing to take him back.
After his leaving prison, the protagonist received a post card from him one day, and understood he had made his round dozen to his satisfaction after all.
.....................................................................................
Rain:-
This must have been terribly shocking to the hypocritical and pious while being nothing new to those without blinkers, when published first - 20th century was nothing if not one that shredded many such veils of pretension from established societies of west.
The story takes place on a voyage in Pacific where a woman of certain profession is having fun along with a few of males around - after all being alone most of their lives far away from home was tough on the guys, and an accommodating woman who was not merely paid goods but one with some spirit, some heart and joy, was a blessing.
Unfortunately for them there is not merely a usual contingent of the disapproving couples and other respectable members of society but also a preacher very sure and proud of himself, who goes after the woman with denunciation and promised hell fire to all that would consort with her. She is brought to abject surrender and is entirely dependent on him subsequently in her submission to a pious life henceforth. And the preacher is willing to sacrifice himself, to go to her at any hour of day or night she might need him, as his wife very proudly testifies to his selfless sacrifice of his own comforts.
The preacher meanwhile has dreams of hills of Nebraska (having read it so long ago I could be wrong about the name of the particular state) - and then one day the preacher is found dead, having committed suicide, while there is sound of phonograph and laughter and dancing from the room of the woman who was trying to reform, and a note of bitter victory.
She was sincere in her repentance and her attempt to reform, but the high minded preacher all too fallible and unaware of his own Achilles's heel shared with all life, if not more than a little hypocritical in his imposition of his will and his standards of virtue on all and sundry.
..............................................................
Virtue:-
We are begun on a gentle note with the story of a forty odd year old man, caustic and yet much loved but admittedly difficult, finding love and being completely smitten with his wife he considers himself fortunate to marry - he is the same man but now happy and his acerbic nature is taken now as wit due to his basking in his wife's love, a much loved woman in society, and their insistence on being put up together when invited is an amusing embarrassment for hostesses who lack room and are used to couples wishing to be put up rather apart.
And then there is an acquaintance of the writer (protagonist really, except one tends to assume he is the writer) from colonies in Malaya, a young man who needs to have some company and is introduced to the couple. Some time later, the couple is separated, and the wife is adamant in not returning to the husband, and he commits suicide.
The protagonist is called to interpret a letter from the young man in Malaya who has now returned, and informed that he is responsible for the love that the young man and the not so young wife (now widow) fell into since he introduced them. The letter is cautious and sympathetic about her loss but equivocal about her prospects of being able to come to Malaya to marry him.
The hostess, a friend of the protagonist makes the observation that it is up to him to make the young man realise his responsibility having gone into the love affair and caused the separation, which is when it becomes clear that the wife in love with another man had never crossed her limits being a virtuous woman.
"Virtue be damned" informs her the protagonist, since it had caused so much grief and a death of a loving husband - if only the wife had quietly had had her affair and finished it the man would still be alive.
And while to some pompous hypocrites it would be an opportunity to gasp and act shocked, today the reality of that statement is only too obvious, what with "the lack of commitment" of males being so huge a problem in US.
..........................................................
February 5, 2016
So many favourites in this - most people like Rain more than any other, at any rate it is the most discussed one. My personal favourite however is Virtue, an unforgettable one.
There are many, many others of course - Round Dozen for one, with amusing details of a much married man aggrieved by one of his wives turning him in.
Then there is the heartbreaking one of love and loss that I can't think of the name and it is a rare one for lack of cynical or otherwise bringing the reader down to earth sort of twist.
There is Letter with its murder of a paramour gone wrong due to his having left a letter with his mistress who extorts the full value,
There is the story about a widow who married a friend of her murdered husband and the daughter who looks like the second husband.
And there is another one with the Italian husband murdering his own father on suspicion of an affair between his father and his wife.
And all these are only what I can recall off hand after three decades or so.
I suppose the one of love and death with grief and heartbreak remains close to heart, along with Virtue that remains close to conviction, with total agreement with the protagonist by the time the story is over.
I wish I could remember if the story about the expensive wife becoming beautiful is here, or it is by another writer.
.................................................................................
The Round Dozen:-
About a much marrying man who was much aggrieved and felt a genuine sense of injury and grievance when one of his wives informed the law - not particularly handsome or accomplished in any way whatsoever, middle aged and lower class and not educated nor sophisticated nor well to do, he had nevertheless developed a talent for marrying successfully by his own definition. He found lonely older women of certain financial independence at holiday places and paid them attention, and post marriage gave them a good time until their money ran out. Then it was time to move on. To his chagrin, there was a small matter of having married only eleven times. Most of his wives were in fact willing to take him back.
After his leaving prison, the protagonist received a post card from him one day, and understood he had made his round dozen to his satisfaction after all.
.....................................................................................
Rain:-
This must have been terribly shocking to the hypocritical and pious while being nothing new to those without blinkers, when published first - 20th century was nothing if not one that shredded many such veils of pretension from established societies of west.
The story takes place on a voyage in Pacific where a woman of certain profession is having fun along with a few of males around - after all being alone most of their lives far away from home was tough on the guys, and an accommodating woman who was not merely paid goods but one with some spirit, some heart and joy, was a blessing.
Unfortunately for them there is not merely a usual contingent of the disapproving couples and other respectable members of society but also a preacher very sure and proud of himself, who goes after the woman with denunciation and promised hell fire to all that would consort with her. She is brought to abject surrender and is entirely dependent on him subsequently in her submission to a pious life henceforth. And the preacher is willing to sacrifice himself, to go to her at any hour of day or night she might need him, as his wife very proudly testifies to his selfless sacrifice of his own comforts.
The preacher meanwhile has dreams of hills of Nebraska (having read it so long ago I could be wrong about the name of the particular state) - and then one day the preacher is found dead, having committed suicide, while there is sound of phonograph and laughter and dancing from the room of the woman who was trying to reform, and a note of bitter victory.
She was sincere in her repentance and her attempt to reform, but the high minded preacher all too fallible and unaware of his own Achilles's heel shared with all life, if not more than a little hypocritical in his imposition of his will and his standards of virtue on all and sundry.
..............................................................
Virtue:-
We are begun on a gentle note with the story of a forty odd year old man, caustic and yet much loved but admittedly difficult, finding love and being completely smitten with his wife he considers himself fortunate to marry - he is the same man but now happy and his acerbic nature is taken now as wit due to his basking in his wife's love, a much loved woman in society, and their insistence on being put up together when invited is an amusing embarrassment for hostesses who lack room and are used to couples wishing to be put up rather apart.
And then there is an acquaintance of the writer (protagonist really, except one tends to assume he is the writer) from colonies in Malaya, a young man who needs to have some company and is introduced to the couple. Some time later, the couple is separated, and the wife is adamant in not returning to the husband, and he commits suicide.
The protagonist is called to interpret a letter from the young man in Malaya who has now returned, and informed that he is responsible for the love that the young man and the not so young wife (now widow) fell into since he introduced them. The letter is cautious and sympathetic about her loss but equivocal about her prospects of being able to come to Malaya to marry him.
The hostess, a friend of the protagonist makes the observation that it is up to him to make the young man realise his responsibility having gone into the love affair and caused the separation, which is when it becomes clear that the wife in love with another man had never crossed her limits being a virtuous woman.
"Virtue be damned" informs her the protagonist, since it had caused so much grief and a death of a loving husband - if only the wife had quietly had had her affair and finished it the man would still be alive.
And while to some pompous hypocrites it would be an opportunity to gasp and act shocked, today the reality of that statement is only too obvious, what with "the lack of commitment" of males being so huge a problem in US.
..........................................................
There are many, many others of course - Round Dozen for one, with amusing details of a much married man aggrieved by one of his wives turning him in.
Then there is the heartbreaking one of love and loss that I can't think of the name and it is a rare one for lack of cynical or otherwise bringing the reader down to earth sort of twist.
There is Letter with its murder of a paramour gone wrong due to his having left a letter with his mistress who extorts the full value,
There is the story about a widow who married a friend of her murdered husband and the daughter who looks like the second husband.
And there is another one with the Italian husband murdering his own father on suspicion of an affair between his father and his wife.
And all these are only what I can recall off hand after three decades or so.
I suppose the one of love and death with grief and heartbreak remains close to heart, along with Virtue that remains close to conviction, with total agreement with the protagonist by the time the story is over.
I wish I could remember if the story about the expensive wife becoming beautiful is here, or it is by another writer.
.................................................................................
The Round Dozen:-
About a much marrying man who was much aggrieved and felt a genuine sense of injury and grievance when one of his wives informed the law - not particularly handsome or accomplished in any way whatsoever, middle aged and lower class and not educated nor sophisticated nor well to do, he had nevertheless developed a talent for marrying successfully by his own definition. He found lonely older women of certain financial independence at holiday places and paid them attention, and post marriage gave them a good time until their money ran out. Then it was time to move on. To his chagrin, there was a small matter of having married only eleven times. Most of his wives were in fact willing to take him back.
After his leaving prison, the protagonist received a post card from him one day, and understood he had made his round dozen to his satisfaction after all.
.....................................................................................
Rain:-
This must have been terribly shocking to the hypocritical and pious while being nothing new to those without blinkers, when published first - 20th century was nothing if not one that shredded many such veils of pretension from established societies of west.
The story takes place on a voyage in Pacific where a woman of certain profession is having fun along with a few of males around - after all being alone most of their lives far away from home was tough on the guys, and an accommodating woman who was not merely paid goods but one with some spirit, some heart and joy, was a blessing.
Unfortunately for them there is not merely a usual contingent of the disapproving couples and other respectable members of society but also a preacher very sure and proud of himself, who goes after the woman with denunciation and promised hell fire to all that would consort with her. She is brought to abject surrender and is entirely dependent on him subsequently in her submission to a pious life henceforth. And the preacher is willing to sacrifice himself, to go to her at any hour of day or night she might need him, as his wife very proudly testifies to his selfless sacrifice of his own comforts.
The preacher meanwhile has dreams of hills of Nebraska (having read it so long ago I could be wrong about the name of the particular state) - and then one day the preacher is found dead, having committed suicide, while there is sound of phonograph and laughter and dancing from the room of the woman who was trying to reform, and a note of bitter victory.
She was sincere in her repentance and her attempt to reform, but the high minded preacher all too fallible and unaware of his own Achilles's heel shared with all life, if not more than a little hypocritical in his imposition of his will and his standards of virtue on all and sundry.
..............................................................
Virtue:-
We are begun on a gentle note with the story of a forty odd year old man, caustic and yet much loved but admittedly difficult, finding love and being completely smitten with his wife he considers himself fortunate to marry - he is the same man but now happy and his acerbic nature is taken now as wit due to his basking in his wife's love, a much loved woman in society, and their insistence on being put up together when invited is an amusing embarrassment for hostesses who lack room and are used to couples wishing to be put up rather apart.
And then there is an acquaintance of the writer (protagonist really, except one tends to assume he is the writer) from colonies in Malaya, a young man who needs to have some company and is introduced to the couple. Some time later, the couple is separated, and the wife is adamant in not returning to the husband, and he commits suicide.
The protagonist is called to interpret a letter from the young man in Malaya who has now returned, and informed that he is responsible for the love that the young man and the not so young wife (now widow) fell into since he introduced them. The letter is cautious and sympathetic about her loss but equivocal about her prospects of being able to come to Malaya to marry him.
The hostess, a friend of the protagonist makes the observation that it is up to him to make the young man realise his responsibility having gone into the love affair and caused the separation, which is when it becomes clear that the wife in love with another man had never crossed her limits being a virtuous woman.
"Virtue be damned" informs her the protagonist, since it had caused so much grief and a death of a loving husband - if only the wife had quietly had had her affair and finished it the man would still be alive.
And while to some pompous hypocrites it would be an opportunity to gasp and act shocked, today the reality of that statement is only too obvious, what with "the lack of commitment" of males being so huge a problem in US.
..........................................................
February 3, 2023
I approached this old (1963) Penguin volume and its yellowed pages with hesitation, yet it turned out to be a rare experience. These are short stories set in the colonial East - Malaya, Java, the South Seas etc - from the 1930s or earlier, bringing to life men and women often in isolated locations, and finely scrutinising their relationships and the pressures affecting them. WS Maugham puts a spotlight on such human frailties as pride, envy and insecurity, throwing them against the class and societal expectations of those times. What powerful and precise insights into human nature! The descriptions of appearance were surely influenced by his fascination with the common man, his observations on many wide travels, as well as his time studying medicine.
January 26, 2025
Maugham’s stories are so well-told and well-written, and such a joy to read. He presents a keenly observed, valuable, and, I daresay, highly accurate picture of human nature and of the upper class British society he knew. As I’ve noted before, the 21st century reader should recognize that the colonialist attitudes prevalent back then included casual racism, misogyny, cruelty, and assumption of British and western cultural superiority. That’s not pretty, but it’s important to understand that that’s how it was: that’s history. Important, too, is reflecting on how we have evolved in the century that has passed. No doubt a century hence readers of fiction that is now contemporary will similarly reflect on the societal changes that will inevitably have taken place.
February 1, 2023
Hard to settle on a score. There are some definite 4 star stories, but also some I hated. He's clearly a great writer and you have to accept the language and attitudes of the time - in particular attitudes towards women, Jews and people living in the countries of what were then termed "the colonies". "The man with the scar" almost made me stop reading I was so cross. However, I was glad I persevered as "Jane" was great. So, a mixed bag but with wonderful characters. I can just imagine wonderful modern adaptations/interpretations.
A bit picky, but there are also a number of typos in this edition, which irritated me!
A bit picky, but there are also a number of typos in this edition, which irritated me!
May 15, 2024
Sure he's great but my interest flagged a little when I realized that all of these were about relationships of husbands and wives and their failings, which are brought into stark and dramatic relief by exotic (and I use the word advisedly) locations -- the Ashenden tales with their gloomy spies were much more effective in covering up the same marital dynamics. Given his hidden sexual identity it makes sense that he is often the observer, and in many of these short stories there are many scenes that could easily have been found in plays, the climax of "The Door of Opportunity" in particular
August 7, 2024
His short stories are without doubt the best that have ever been written and penguins 4 volumes of them are a great start for a reader. The 2nd volume is even better than the first, with a lot of focus on the far east - an area he excels in writing about - but there are also some fantastic london ones. He Captures British society in all its T wierd was in the most exact way with a fabulous balance of enjoyment and criticism.
May 22, 2020
Delightful. Some of the stories are funny, some sad, some dramatic but they are all beautifully written in a perfect language that is pleasantly of that period. The problem with short stories is that you never get attached to the characters and you tire of switching from one to the next.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews