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The Lotus Eater
CDL51663
Audio Cassette
First published January 1, 1935
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About the author
W. Somerset Maugham
1,815 books6,197 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 31 reviews
March 10, 2020
This is a straightforward yet imposing short story that reveals Maugham's literary genius in more than one way. It is undemanding, though somewhat avant-garde in its theme. The story, in fact, is remarkable, enthralling enough, although it has nothing of wonderful characters or overdramatically thrilling incidents. In fact, Maugham is found to weave here an attractive tale out of simple facts and average characters.
His grand technique as a storyteller is marked in a number of ways.
1) Maugham is found to possess here an astonishing inventive power to make an attractive story out of simple incidents and common characters. In The Lotus Eater, Maugham's main character is a quite commonplace fellow. It is his weird appetite for life, which builds a story of much human significance. He makes a remarkable choice to leave his financial security and usual duty to live in the bosom of nature to enjoy unconditional leisure and pleasure. Such a choice proves to be a matter of much interest. Maugham well exploits this very situation to have a truly effective harmonious plot of immense human interest.
2) Maugham's style has a simple, straightforward narrative method. There is nothing abstruse or abstract in his writing. What he has got to state, he states in a plain, clear manner, and that is why his story proves so immensely popular and easily appealing. In The Lotus Eater; he tells his story directly, and in a simple style that is plain and lucid. The author's first meeting with Wilson, the latter's account to him of his daring venture and his death is all stated in an easily convincing way. The concluding paragraph of the story contains some short and straightforward sentences, such as-"He died last year. He had endured that life for six years…...Perhaps he died of the beauty of that sight."
Again, The Lotus Eater is a short story, and a good short story has a technique of its' own. Brevity, the rareness in characters, the minimalism of technique, and the singleness of effect, constitute the marks of a good short story. This story is found to possess all these elements.
3) Maugham's style is not merely plain and precise, but it is also pointed and occasionally trenchant in his observation and remarks. The very first paragraph of the story may be instanced in this connection- 'Most people, the vast majority, in fact, lead the lives that circumstances have thrust upon them, and though some repine, looking upon themselves as round pegs in square holes .... They are like tram-cars travelling for ever on the selfsame rails. They go backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, inevitably, till they can go no longer and then are sold as scrap-iron." The entire expression' is simple, but pointed enough to indicate distinctly the helplessness of the vast majority of people who surrender meekly to the circumstances in which they are placed. Such expressions, tinged with diverting irony, add variety to Maugham's simple style, and variety is not only the spice of life, but constitutes also the charm of a good literary style.
4) Lastly, Maugham's prose is conversational, rather colloquial. He writes, as if he is speaking fluently, and so there is a continuous flow in his style, which never looks heavy or unnatural. In The Lotus Eater; whether in his description of life at Capri or in the account of Wilson, his style is remarkably natural, familiar. It has nothing to distract and remains sufficiently flexible and felicitous. In fact, Maugham's very method of writing has a spontaneous appeal and remains wonderfully flexible and felicitous all through. This makes his prose more diverting, impressive and shows him as an authority on the prose-style in modern English. Somerset Maugham's style is really of a great master's. It is wonderfully lively and simple with necessary twists and turns. There is originality in his theme or subject-matter, but it is his telling technique that has made his story so vivid and impressive.
This story has a very few characters, mainly three, the hero Wilson, the author himself and his friend. Of course, references are made to the friend's wife, Wilson's maid and her husband and the hostess of the inn, but they have no positive role or function in the action of the story.
The limited span of the short story naturally makes it imperative to observe the utmost economy in dialogue as well as description. In Maugham's, The Lows Eater, the dialogue is very brief and pointed, although in some cases Wilson is attributed rather a long speech. The author's description of natural beauty of Capri, his reflection on Wilson's life and fate are precise and exactly according to the need of a good short story, intended for producing a lasting impression in a short space.
It is, however, this impression that forms the main criterion of a good Short story. What is the impact left, the emotional excitement roused by the short story? The Lotus Eater leaves a lasting impression of the tragedy of a man who at least knows his mind and suffers in his lust for life and leisure in the bosom of nature. There is something fine and original in the very conception of this character, and the cathartic effect is well achieved at the destruction of a character. so fine and innocent, mainly because of his own hamartia which becomes almost the nemesis in his tragedy, no doubt earned at the cost of his own happiness for a specific span of time.
His grand technique as a storyteller is marked in a number of ways.
1) Maugham is found to possess here an astonishing inventive power to make an attractive story out of simple incidents and common characters. In The Lotus Eater, Maugham's main character is a quite commonplace fellow. It is his weird appetite for life, which builds a story of much human significance. He makes a remarkable choice to leave his financial security and usual duty to live in the bosom of nature to enjoy unconditional leisure and pleasure. Such a choice proves to be a matter of much interest. Maugham well exploits this very situation to have a truly effective harmonious plot of immense human interest.
2) Maugham's style has a simple, straightforward narrative method. There is nothing abstruse or abstract in his writing. What he has got to state, he states in a plain, clear manner, and that is why his story proves so immensely popular and easily appealing. In The Lotus Eater; he tells his story directly, and in a simple style that is plain and lucid. The author's first meeting with Wilson, the latter's account to him of his daring venture and his death is all stated in an easily convincing way. The concluding paragraph of the story contains some short and straightforward sentences, such as-"He died last year. He had endured that life for six years…...Perhaps he died of the beauty of that sight."
Again, The Lotus Eater is a short story, and a good short story has a technique of its' own. Brevity, the rareness in characters, the minimalism of technique, and the singleness of effect, constitute the marks of a good short story. This story is found to possess all these elements.
3) Maugham's style is not merely plain and precise, but it is also pointed and occasionally trenchant in his observation and remarks. The very first paragraph of the story may be instanced in this connection- 'Most people, the vast majority, in fact, lead the lives that circumstances have thrust upon them, and though some repine, looking upon themselves as round pegs in square holes .... They are like tram-cars travelling for ever on the selfsame rails. They go backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, inevitably, till they can go no longer and then are sold as scrap-iron." The entire expression' is simple, but pointed enough to indicate distinctly the helplessness of the vast majority of people who surrender meekly to the circumstances in which they are placed. Such expressions, tinged with diverting irony, add variety to Maugham's simple style, and variety is not only the spice of life, but constitutes also the charm of a good literary style.
4) Lastly, Maugham's prose is conversational, rather colloquial. He writes, as if he is speaking fluently, and so there is a continuous flow in his style, which never looks heavy or unnatural. In The Lotus Eater; whether in his description of life at Capri or in the account of Wilson, his style is remarkably natural, familiar. It has nothing to distract and remains sufficiently flexible and felicitous. In fact, Maugham's very method of writing has a spontaneous appeal and remains wonderfully flexible and felicitous all through. This makes his prose more diverting, impressive and shows him as an authority on the prose-style in modern English. Somerset Maugham's style is really of a great master's. It is wonderfully lively and simple with necessary twists and turns. There is originality in his theme or subject-matter, but it is his telling technique that has made his story so vivid and impressive.
This story has a very few characters, mainly three, the hero Wilson, the author himself and his friend. Of course, references are made to the friend's wife, Wilson's maid and her husband and the hostess of the inn, but they have no positive role or function in the action of the story.
The limited span of the short story naturally makes it imperative to observe the utmost economy in dialogue as well as description. In Maugham's, The Lows Eater, the dialogue is very brief and pointed, although in some cases Wilson is attributed rather a long speech. The author's description of natural beauty of Capri, his reflection on Wilson's life and fate are precise and exactly according to the need of a good short story, intended for producing a lasting impression in a short space.
It is, however, this impression that forms the main criterion of a good Short story. What is the impact left, the emotional excitement roused by the short story? The Lotus Eater leaves a lasting impression of the tragedy of a man who at least knows his mind and suffers in his lust for life and leisure in the bosom of nature. There is something fine and original in the very conception of this character, and the cathartic effect is well achieved at the destruction of a character. so fine and innocent, mainly because of his own hamartia which becomes almost the nemesis in his tragedy, no doubt earned at the cost of his own happiness for a specific span of time.
September 5, 2012
I think you have all read the wrong book, it has nothing to do with Vietnam!
It is set in 1913 and the story begins when the narrator visits a friend on the Island of Capri in Italy. There, he is introduced to the character of Thomas Wilson, who came to the island for a holiday 16 years ago. Since then, Wilson had given up his job in London as a bank manager to live a life of simplicity and enjoyment in a small cottage in Capri. As he had saved just enough money to purchase an annuity that would last exactly 25 years, he had also decided to commit suicide once his money runs out.
Maugham died in 1965, the US did not send in combat troops until 1964 a year before his death.
It is set in 1913 and the story begins when the narrator visits a friend on the Island of Capri in Italy. There, he is introduced to the character of Thomas Wilson, who came to the island for a holiday 16 years ago. Since then, Wilson had given up his job in London as a bank manager to live a life of simplicity and enjoyment in a small cottage in Capri. As he had saved just enough money to purchase an annuity that would last exactly 25 years, he had also decided to commit suicide once his money runs out.
Maugham died in 1965, the US did not send in combat troops until 1964 a year before his death.
March 15, 2013
"The will needs obstacles in order to exercise its power; when it is never thwarted, when no effort is needed to achieve one’s desires, because one has placed one’s desires only in the things that can be obtained by stretching out one’s hand, the will grows impotent."
Set in 1913, Italy, The Lotus Eater pans the non-conformed life of a man, Thomas Wilson, from the eyes of the narrator.
Thomas Wilson left a well-settled life in London to live on an Island of Capri, Italy. The story begins with sunshine, sun-kissed shorelines and a merry way of life. The narrator sees how Thomas Wilson had the courage to leave behind London and the conventional conundrum to lead a life of beauty and wishful thinking. The narrator is mystified by the man who came to Italy and has spent 16 years there living a life one with nature.
What the narrator learns about Thomas Wilson is that he withdrew his life’s saving to be on the island and that he had decided to commit suicide after his money ran out. The first half of the story is fraught with the idealistic ideas of life put into practice—that of living the way one wants by rejecting society rules and dying when one wants because the meaning to live had been achieved. While the second half of the story goes on to tell what happened to Thomas Wilson when his money ran out. Did he commit suicide? Did he not? Did he have the courage to start working for a living or not? You’ll have to read to find out just as the narrator does.
From where I saw it, this story was like a full day—sunshine and night-time. It’s a marvelous description of changing times, ideas, and even colours. What was once pink is now deep red. What was once yellow is now ochre. What was white is now black.
Read the short story for its gentle traversing from one phase of life to another and very visually so.
"It almost looked as though at the last moment, and desperate though his situation was, he had suffered from a certain infirmity of purpose."
P.S.: All quotes have been taken from the story.
Set in 1913, Italy, The Lotus Eater pans the non-conformed life of a man, Thomas Wilson, from the eyes of the narrator.
Thomas Wilson left a well-settled life in London to live on an Island of Capri, Italy. The story begins with sunshine, sun-kissed shorelines and a merry way of life. The narrator sees how Thomas Wilson had the courage to leave behind London and the conventional conundrum to lead a life of beauty and wishful thinking. The narrator is mystified by the man who came to Italy and has spent 16 years there living a life one with nature.
What the narrator learns about Thomas Wilson is that he withdrew his life’s saving to be on the island and that he had decided to commit suicide after his money ran out. The first half of the story is fraught with the idealistic ideas of life put into practice—that of living the way one wants by rejecting society rules and dying when one wants because the meaning to live had been achieved. While the second half of the story goes on to tell what happened to Thomas Wilson when his money ran out. Did he commit suicide? Did he not? Did he have the courage to start working for a living or not? You’ll have to read to find out just as the narrator does.
From where I saw it, this story was like a full day—sunshine and night-time. It’s a marvelous description of changing times, ideas, and even colours. What was once pink is now deep red. What was once yellow is now ochre. What was white is now black.
Read the short story for its gentle traversing from one phase of life to another and very visually so.
"It almost looked as though at the last moment, and desperate though his situation was, he had suffered from a certain infirmity of purpose."
P.S.: All quotes have been taken from the story.
November 17, 2018
I remember reading this in high-school. It left such an impression on me, I was afraid to read it again, thinking I wouldn't feel the same way about it. I was wrong. Once again, the story chilled me to the bone. The Lotus Eater by Somerset Maugham is a story about the pursuit of happiness. It tells of a man who quits his job, sells all of his possessions, and with a bit of savings decides to move to the island of Capri, Italy, to spend the rest of his life there, living a life of leisure.
The story begins with the narrator's visit to a friend who is on the island of Capri. The narrator hears a story of a man called Thomas Wilson. He thinks the stories about Wilson are exaggerated and romanticized, but he still expresses his interest in finding out the truth about the man. Soon, he is introduced to Wilson and the two spend a lot of time together, drinking and talking. After visiting the Baths of Tiberius, the narrator concludes there could be some truth to Wilson's story after all. Wilson has been on the island for fifteen years and his plan is to stay for another twenty-five.
After this encounter, the narrator and Wilson meet several times. Wilson seems like a polite, amiable person who knows a lot about history, but has little imagination. He comes across as a commonplace man of average intelligence. Still, the narrator is interested in Wilson's story so they end up climbing a mountain one day and having dinner at a local inn, where Wilson finally tells him his story.
Thomas Wilson came to the island fifteen years ago. He was on summer holidays and it was his first time visiting Italy. When he arrived on the island, he was mesmerized by the island's beauty. The island, the people, the scenery, and nature captivated him. It was in the morning that he realised that there was no point of going back home.
Wilson further explains that he wants to live a life of his own choosing. He didn't want to spend all of his best years working as a bank manager until his pension. So, he sold his house, and had enough to buy an annuity for twenty-five years. He explains that the reason why he quit his job at such a young age and moved to Capri is because “you can have just as good a time at fifty as you can at thirty, but it’s not the same sort of good time.” He wants to be happy and “live the perfect life” for twenty-five years. He doesn’t explain what he’ll do after the money runs out, but the narrator knows his plan is to commit suicide.
However, things don’t go as planned. The narrator comes back to the Island after 13 years only to find out what has happened to Wilson. Wilson’s effort to control his destiny has failed because something unexpected happened. Living a life of happiness for so long without any need to struggle has weekend his character and his resolve.
Overall, The Lotus Eater is a chilling story about a man who chooses to spend twenty-five years of pleasure but when the time comes to make his final decision, he finds out he’s unable to. If you love reading short stories and you still haven’t read anything from Maugham, I definitely recommend reading this story. You’ll end up questioning your own life decisions.
The story begins with the narrator's visit to a friend who is on the island of Capri. The narrator hears a story of a man called Thomas Wilson. He thinks the stories about Wilson are exaggerated and romanticized, but he still expresses his interest in finding out the truth about the man. Soon, he is introduced to Wilson and the two spend a lot of time together, drinking and talking. After visiting the Baths of Tiberius, the narrator concludes there could be some truth to Wilson's story after all. Wilson has been on the island for fifteen years and his plan is to stay for another twenty-five.
After this encounter, the narrator and Wilson meet several times. Wilson seems like a polite, amiable person who knows a lot about history, but has little imagination. He comes across as a commonplace man of average intelligence. Still, the narrator is interested in Wilson's story so they end up climbing a mountain one day and having dinner at a local inn, where Wilson finally tells him his story.
Thomas Wilson came to the island fifteen years ago. He was on summer holidays and it was his first time visiting Italy. When he arrived on the island, he was mesmerized by the island's beauty. The island, the people, the scenery, and nature captivated him. It was in the morning that he realised that there was no point of going back home.
Wilson further explains that he wants to live a life of his own choosing. He didn't want to spend all of his best years working as a bank manager until his pension. So, he sold his house, and had enough to buy an annuity for twenty-five years. He explains that the reason why he quit his job at such a young age and moved to Capri is because “you can have just as good a time at fifty as you can at thirty, but it’s not the same sort of good time.” He wants to be happy and “live the perfect life” for twenty-five years. He doesn’t explain what he’ll do after the money runs out, but the narrator knows his plan is to commit suicide.
However, things don’t go as planned. The narrator comes back to the Island after 13 years only to find out what has happened to Wilson. Wilson’s effort to control his destiny has failed because something unexpected happened. Living a life of happiness for so long without any need to struggle has weekend his character and his resolve.
Overall, The Lotus Eater is a chilling story about a man who chooses to spend twenty-five years of pleasure but when the time comes to make his final decision, he finds out he’s unable to. If you love reading short stories and you still haven’t read anything from Maugham, I definitely recommend reading this story. You’ll end up questioning your own life decisions.
May 10, 2025
The ending was so sad...
Read
September 22, 2015What seems at first like a simple expat fantasy (jacking it all in and moving to Capri before the wars) is gradually revealed as more like a Faust riff. When Faust is begging for one more day, week, month, year...what if he'd been granted that? Not stopping the spheres, not freezing time, just embezzling himself a little more past what his original bargain allowed. What would that do to a person?
July 20, 2017
"The will needs obstacles in order to exercise its power; when it is never thwarted, when no effort is needed to achieve one's desires, because one has placed one's desires only in the things that can be obtained by stretching out one's hand, the will grows impotent. If you walk on a level all the time the muscles you need to climb a mountain will atrophy. These observations are trite, but there they are."
February 11, 2014
Thanks to Gino for properly identifying the actual subject of this short story. The story captures beautifully the struggle of man to act rationally and do "the right thing " vs man's choosing instead too seize the day and not live a life of a dream deferred. Of course, the dream pursued, as always, comes often at a heavy cost.
December 6, 2017
A sad story about the unfortunate unraveling of the life of an immigrant to Italy, who doesn't really plan his stay in the country and runs into financial and other problems, eventually leading to his death.
Sorry for ridding the story of all the romance, with this review :P
Sorry for ridding the story of all the romance, with this review :P
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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July 11, 2012Devastating look at American journalists in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The book portrays a certain kind of addiction that overtakes people living in a war zone and telling the story of the people of the war - American photographers, G.I.'s and the Vietnamese people. Love and obsession become entangled in the middle of this brutal, endless and pointless war.
It forced me to look at my own obsessive behaviors and how I engage in them even though they don't serve me. I appreciated how the author expressed the of Vietnam in spite of the war. I also connected with the human need to cling to someone or some place or something during a time of suffering, trauma and terror.
It forced me to look at my own obsessive behaviors and how I engage in them even though they don't serve me. I appreciated how the author expressed the of Vietnam in spite of the war. I also connected with the human need to cling to someone or some place or something during a time of suffering, trauma and terror.
October 14, 2011
Good book, the ending didn't feel true to the character, and thought the author could of done a much better job. I liked the story of journalist covering the Viet Nam war with the different perspective of villagers, ex pats, and soldiers.
September 12, 2011
I loved this story about a photjournalism during the Vietnam War-plus much more!
December 8, 2011
A woman journalist during the Vietnam war.
May 21, 2012
Great story written during the Viet Nam War. Everyone needs to know this story.
July 28, 2012
Very descriptive,I imagined Vietnam, and beileve that I was actually there. Enjoyed reading the book.
October 7, 2012
Excellent book. Gives you a real idea what life was like for Photo Journalist
in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
June 6, 2013
Tragic; never quite sure what Maugham means until the very end(that is what makes him so special),to 'die of beauty....'
February 8, 2016
Such a beautiful short story.
February 10, 2016
kenangan ketika SPM
March 21, 2017
Perhaps it was the island of Capri, which I have visited, that ensured the story had a hold on me. A superb read albeit heavy with Maugham's life-long search for meaning.
October 16, 2018
I can read it over and over again without getting bored. Poor wilson, for the 6 years that he had to endure. I was thinking to do like him too, when I turn 33., Life is not fair..
October 17, 2023
A short story published in 1935, though the story itself opens in 1913. The narrator visits an acquaintance living on the Island of Capri, and encounters a 50-year-old Englishman called Wilson, who has been on the island for 15 years. After becoming a widower at a young age, Wilson went on his first trip abroad, fell in love with the beauty of the island and made an impulsive decision to throw up his life in London. The title of the story is a reference to a people encountered by the sailors of Odysseus.
I’ve only read a few of Maugham’s short stories, but he seems to quite like this theme. The Fall of Edward Barnard features a once wealthy young man from Chicago living in Tahiti, whilst German Harry features a man who lives alone on an otherwise uninhabited island in Torres Strait, off the north coast of the Australian mainland.
The narrator observes that Wilson’s decision was an unusual one (at least it was in those days). Most people
“are like train-cars travelling forever on the selfsame rails. They go backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, inevitably, till they can go no longer and then are sold as scrap-iron.”
What was it about Wilson that made him different?
Wilson, he finds, is actually an unimaginative type, who now spends his days walking, swimming in the sea, and reading books.
“He was of no use to anybody, but on the other hand he did nobody any harm.”
It turns out though, that in Wilson’s case, his decision to change his life comes with a heavy price tag. It’s partly this that makes the story stand out. The other aspect is Maugham’s command of language, his storytelling skill, and most especially the sharp characterization he employs in creating Wilson.
The story can be read online for free.
I’ve only read a few of Maugham’s short stories, but he seems to quite like this theme. The Fall of Edward Barnard features a once wealthy young man from Chicago living in Tahiti, whilst German Harry features a man who lives alone on an otherwise uninhabited island in Torres Strait, off the north coast of the Australian mainland.
The narrator observes that Wilson’s decision was an unusual one (at least it was in those days). Most people
“are like train-cars travelling forever on the selfsame rails. They go backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, inevitably, till they can go no longer and then are sold as scrap-iron.”
What was it about Wilson that made him different?
Wilson, he finds, is actually an unimaginative type, who now spends his days walking, swimming in the sea, and reading books.
“He was of no use to anybody, but on the other hand he did nobody any harm.”
It turns out though, that in Wilson’s case, his decision to change his life comes with a heavy price tag. It’s partly this that makes the story stand out. The other aspect is Maugham’s command of language, his storytelling skill, and most especially the sharp characterization he employs in creating Wilson.
The story can be read online for free.
June 3, 2025
(Part of a Pair)
Maugham, I've found, often has such a melancholy tone, even if writing about a man who is living the dream, on an Italian island in the Mediterranean, who by cashing in on his assets and with mild frugality calculates he can live, work-free, for 25 years.
Maugham's stories seem filled with people who were born to be injured deeply. I love his writing; he puts you in touch with ordinary pathos.
This short story turned out to be part of a random pair, two mood reads in sequence where I was surprised by the similarities. The other was written 30 years later by Graham Greene, The Invisible Japanese Gentlemen. In both, the narrator is not entirely enthused by the protagonist living the dream, or in the case of Greene, looking forward to living the dream. In this story, the narrator has a mild distaste for the idleness of the protagonist.
See this GR list: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8... a kind of short story anthology from which I have given myself the challenge to read all the stories in 2025. I picked this and the Greene story just based on their enticing titles.
Maugham, I've found, often has such a melancholy tone, even if writing about a man who is living the dream, on an Italian island in the Mediterranean, who by cashing in on his assets and with mild frugality calculates he can live, work-free, for 25 years.
Maugham's stories seem filled with people who were born to be injured deeply. I love his writing; he puts you in touch with ordinary pathos.
This short story turned out to be part of a random pair, two mood reads in sequence where I was surprised by the similarities. The other was written 30 years later by Graham Greene, The Invisible Japanese Gentlemen. In both, the narrator is not entirely enthused by the protagonist living the dream, or in the case of Greene, looking forward to living the dream. In this story, the narrator has a mild distaste for the idleness of the protagonist.
See this GR list: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8... a kind of short story anthology from which I have given myself the challenge to read all the stories in 2025. I picked this and the Greene story just based on their enticing titles.
November 14, 2023
‘Most people, the vast majority in fact, lead the lives that circumstances have thrust upon them, and though some repine, looking upon themselves as around pegs in square holes, and think that if things had been different they might have made a much better showing,’
Wilson is not one of those people. Maugham relates the story of Wilson, who after 18 dreary years as a bank manager and the loss of his wife and daughter gives everything up and moves to the Isle of Capri to live his carefree life for as long as his money lasts. Wilson’s choice is at once both awesome and tragic. The question is what will happen when that money runs out. No big finish or exciting twist just a simple and fascinating story that left me thinking.
Wilson is not one of those people. Maugham relates the story of Wilson, who after 18 dreary years as a bank manager and the loss of his wife and daughter gives everything up and moves to the Isle of Capri to live his carefree life for as long as his money lasts. Wilson’s choice is at once both awesome and tragic. The question is what will happen when that money runs out. No big finish or exciting twist just a simple and fascinating story that left me thinking.
March 4, 2022
Nice. Very light academia.
Want to Read
March 13, 2024ملاحظة لي: لم اقرا الكتاب بعد - رواية تاريخية مقترحة من
edith wharton - author of age of innocence
edith wharton - author of age of innocence
July 8, 2024
Even with the backdrop of beautiful Capri, brought out with Maugham’s exquisite eye and pen, it is in fact a chilling tale.
October 25, 2025
changed me. i read this when i was 14
November 18, 2025
Happiness achieved !
November 14, 2019
Very well-written and thought provoking, this is a riveting tale about a man who leave his busy, professional life for the luxurious leisures and revelries of Italy, and has no plans to return to teeming millions who toil from office to home and then again.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews