The Casuarina Tree

by W. Somerset Maugham

A collection of six stories—including the acclaimed “The Outstation”—by the renowned twentieth-century author of the classic Of Human Bondage.   Set in the Federated Malay States during the 1920s, these stories portray the lives of the English living abroad and the clashes that occur with the native Malaysians—and among themselves.   In “Before the Party,” a widow who lies about the cause of her husband’s death in Borneo is confronted by her family and blithely reveals the truth of his untimely death. “P. & O.” follows a woman sailing home to England to seek a divorce; struggling with fears of aging and loneliness, she finds a way to be at peace with herself after a fellow passenger succumbs to a mysterious illness. Though in Borneo for decades, a British Resident Officer holds tightly to English customs and traditions, but his snobbery and classism come under attack when he is saddled with a boorish new assistant in “The Outstation.”   In “The Force of Circumstance,” the new marriage of a British official and his wife reaches a breaking point when she learns of his not-so-secret past in Sembulu. “The Yellow Streak” follows two British men who are swept away by a tidal bore on a river in Borneo; though they both survive, one is nearly driven to madness by his suspicions that his companion knows he left him to drown. “The Letter” opens in Singapore with a British woman accused of murder in an act of self-defense; when evidence comes to light that proves she is lying, her lawyer and her husband must face their convictions—and the woman they thought they knew . . .

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, 20th Century, British Literature, Classic Literature, English Literature

110 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1926

About the author

William 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.

Reviews

[Fionnuala]

'The Casuarina Tree' is a collection of stories written by Somerset Maugham based on his travels in the East in 1920. In them, Maugham casts a critical eye on the bunch of British expatriates he met in the main ports of the China Sea, turning many aspects of their lives into fiction, and only slightly altering the details.
So we have six stories set in various locations in Malaysia, China, and Japan, featuring pride, envy, and jealousy, blackmail, adultery, and murder. Plenty of melodrama in other words.

Letters are a device in two of the stories, 'The Letter' and 'P&O'. One of the letters is eventually used to blackmail the sender, and the other, very aptly, is written onboard a ship of the P&O line—the ships which transported mail from the colonies in the East back home to Britain and vice versa. That letter is written by a woman who, in bitter reaction to discovering that her husband loves someone else, decides to abandon her life in Tokyo and return to an uncertain future in England.

Mrs Hamlyn, for that is her name, is a character I found very interesting and very memorable—so much so that I read her story twice. None of the characters in the other five dramatic tales appealed to me but she caught my attention from the beginning of her story. It was her compassion, her lack of hypocrisy, her realism, and ultimately, as a result of an event on board ship in the middle of the Indian Ocean on Christmas Eve, her ability to understand that death is the only real tragedy, and that nothing else is worth being wretched about. And so she writes a forgiving letter to her husband and his lover, and the bitterness she felt at his betrayal disappears into the ship post-box along with the letter.

I haven't spoiled the 'P&O' story by revealing that fact because Mrs Hamlyn is only an observer of a very affecting event that happens on the ship and which is the centre of the story. Yet I found her observations and her letter more interesting than the central event.

And because I read 'The Casuarina Tree' collection alongside Tan Twan Eng's The House of Doors which is based on Somerset Maugham's time in Malaysia, and which draws heavily on his letters and diaries plus some of the characters and events of the stories in this collection, I knew that Maugham's wife Syrie Wellcome, who remained in London while Maugham took trips with his secretary/lover Gerald Haxton (who as an openly gay man would have been arrested if he entered Britain), was very bitter about his affair, and couldn't reconcile herself to releasing him from their loveless marriage or allow him to live permanently abroad with his lover.
Knowing all of that, Mrs Hamlyn's letter took on new meaning for me. It felt as if Maugham, by creating Mrs Hamlyn, had created the character he'd like his wife to resemble, and by having her write the letter, he'd created the words he'd like his wife to have written to him.

Here's the letter. Judge for yourself.
‘My dear. It is Christmas Day and I want to tell you that my heart is filled with kindly thoughts towards both of you. I have been foolish and unreasonable. I think we should allow those we care for to be happy in their own way, and we should care for them enough not to let it make us unhappy. I want you to know that I grudge you none of the joy that has so strangely come into your life. I am no longer jealous, nor hurt, nor vindictive. Do not think I shall be unhappy or lonely. If ever you feel that you need me, come to me, and I will welcome you with a cheerful spirit and without reproach or ill-will. I am most grateful for all the years of happiness and of tenderness that you gave me, and in return I wish to offer you an affection which makes no claim on you and is, I hope, utterly disinterested. Think kindly of me and be happy, happy, happy.’

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really taken with this set of 6 short stories from Somerset Maugham. All are connected, in some way, with British expats in the Malay States, during the colonial period. Most of the stories seem to be set in British Borneo, what we now call East Malayasia. The collection was first published in 1926.

There’s a bit of a theme in these stories about people leading double lives. They have their life in the UK and their life in Malaya, and the two are separate, allowing the protagonists to keep secrets. Crucially though, the two lives are never entirely disconnected, and one always influences the other. Class and racial issues also feature.

The opening story, Before the Party, is one of those featuring such a secret. A middle class family in England are getting ready to attend an afternoon party. One of their number has recently returned from 9 years in Borneo. This story is also about the impact of knowledge, how something which, once known, cannot be excised from the mind.

In P. & O. a woman travels on a ship across the Indian Ocean. She is returning to England following the break-up of her marriage. I thought this story was going to be about one thing, when it turned out be about another. The dilemma faced by the protagonist, Mrs Hamlyn, is not dissimilar to others I have seen in real-life, That made it easy to relate to. I’ll say no more for fear of spoilers.

The Outstation is an absolutely compelling tale. Two British men live at the isolated outstation of the title, and gradually come to loathe each other, partly because of differences in class and lifestyle. This story reminded me of Mackintosh, one of Maugham’s tales set in the islands of the Pacific. I liked that one too!

The Force of Circumstance is another tale of secrets and a double life.

The Yellow Streak is a superb story, about two men travelling on a river canoe who are caught in a tidal bore and a dangerous situation. One man’s actions lead him to become obsessional about damage to his reputation, and Maugham gives us a masterly study into someone suffering growing paranoia, hugely magnifying every doubt and hint in his own mind. I found it really tense. There’s a great ending to this one!

The last story, The Letter, is apparently based on a real-life case. It’s very cleverly plotted.

I’ve enjoyed other books by Maugham that I’ve read, but this is perhaps my favourite collection.

[Alan (on December semi-hiatus) Teder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murders, Witchcraft, Cowards and Blackmail
Review of the e-artnow Kindle eBook (June 10, 2022) of the Heinemann hardcover original (1926).

[25/30 average = 4.17 rounded down for a GR 4]
After reading the 2023 Booker longlisted The House of Doors by Malaysian writer Tan Twan Eng, I just had to read some of author W. Somerset Maugham’s short fiction for which he was shown gathering material in Eng’s historical fiction novel. I snapped up a cheap public domain eBook but discovered it was missing the Introduction and Postscript of the original, which I then had to seek out online (see Trivia & Links below).

The story synopses below include only set-ups and do not reveal endings, so I have not spoiler blocked them:

i. Introduction: The Casuarina Tree The author introduces the collection and explains the title.

1. Before the Party ***** As the Skinner family prepares to go out to a party, they hear the shocking details of the death of daughter Millicent’s husband in Borneo, where he was a colonial administrator.

2. P. & O. **** Mrs. Hamlyn meets a Mr. Pryce on a Peninsular & Oriental Ship on which they are both travelling back to England from Malaya. Mr. Pryce develops seemingly incurable hiccups during the voyage.

3. The Outstation *** A resident colonial officer Mr. Warburton comes into conflict with his assistant Mr. Burton.

4. The Force of Circumstance ***** Doris marries Guy in England and returns with him to Malaya where he is a colonial administrator. She is shocked to discover that Guy had a previous relationship.

5. The Yellow Streak *** A guide Izzart is assigned to assist Campion, an engineer hired to investigate possible mining resources in the fictional country Sembulu. They are put in mortal danger by a tidal bore on the river they are travelling on.

6. The Letter ***** A lawyer is defending Leslie Crosbie in the shooting death of her neighbour Geoffrey Hammond in Malaya. During the preparation of the defense case an apparently incriminating letter is discovered to exist. This is a fictionalized version of the real-life Ethel Proudlock case from 1911. The short story was adapted into a theatrical play The Letter: A Play in Three Acts (1927) which was further adapted into films, television and opera. A listing of the many adaptations can be found at the play’s Wikipedia page.

Postscript The author explains that he has fictionalized locations and persons in the book:

With the exception of Singapore, a city too busy with its own concerns to bother itself with trifles, imaginary names have been chosen for the places in which the action of these stories is supposed to be conducted.
…
Facts are but a canvas on which the artist draws a significant pattern. I venture therefore to claim that the persons of these stories are imaginary, but since an incident in one of them, The Yellow Streak, was suggested by a misadventure of my own, I wish more particularly to state that no reference is intended to either of my companions on that hazardous occasion.

The cover of the 1926 original Heinemann edition. Image sourced from Wikipedia.

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection and it was a terrific addendum to reading The House of Doors where the book itself makes an appearance after it is published and then read by the fictional characters.

Trivia and Links
The completely unrelated cover art for this Kindle edition made me curious to search for its origin. It is an apparently free image used for other book covers such as Jolie Damman’s Bait Me: Dark Mafia Mega Bundle (2022). See .

The Casuarina Tree is in the Public Domain but there is currently (as of December 2023) no copy at the main ProjectGutenberg.org, even though there are many other Maugham books there.

Project Gutenberg Canada has Maugham's Complete Short Stories, where you can seek out the 6 above stories (which are not printed in order) without the Introduction and Postscript of the original.

The complete text including the Introduction and Postscript is available at the Internet Archive.

[Tony]

A quick look at other reviews of this book shows that if you've read The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng then you necessarily had to rush to read the short story "The Letter" in this collection. Me too. Both deal with the real homicide by Edith Proudlock of her lover in Penang in 1911, but each fictionalizes the underlying motive. For me, Eng's imagination is better.

I read one more of the stories herein but thought that was enough.

Oh, and I read a paperback edition of this book but I put up the kindle edition which shows my paperback cover. Will be the clear winner of worst cover in 2023.

[EllaFuchs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sechs sehr verschiedene Kurzgeschichten. Allen gemeinsam ist das Thema der in den Kolonien lebender Briten. Ironisch, auch kritisch und sehr unterhaltsam.

[Numidica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second set of Maugham stories (the first being Rain), and I much prefer this set. Maugham captures the lives of English ex-pats in the Far East in the final years of the British Empire shortly after WW1, and he does so with a style that is compelling; I found myself rushing through the book to reach the end of each story.

[L J Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another tremendous book of short stories by Maugham. There are six tales here including Before the Party, The Letter and The Force of Circumstances, this latter being my favorite of Maugham’s stories. The Letter has been filmed more than once and Maugham also devised it as a play. Each of the stories take place in the Malay Archipelago during the 1920s when British held the land.

[Marta Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 - A força das circunstâncias 4.5*
5 - Atavismo 4*
6 - A carta 4.5*

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was motivated to pick up this book of six stories first published in 1926 because I recently read Tan Twan Eng’s House of Doors. That very recently published novel partly focused on Somerset Maugham’s visit to the Free Malay States in the early 1920s and hearing of the sensational (real-life) trial a few years earlier of a white woman for murder (unprecedented at the time), which formed the basis of The Letter, one of the six stories in this collection. Quite a tangle of fictionalizations of real-life events between the two books. The stories in this collection are very representative of the colonial mindset of 100 years ago. Blatant racism and the utter disregard of whites for the Malay and people of other races who surround them and make their lives possible, even of the whites who imagine themselves somewhat more enlightened, drive much of the action behind these stories. It was all pretty skin-crawling for this reader. I think I’ll pop some popcorn and dig up a streaming copy of the 1940 movie of The Letter starring Bette Davis. I saw it about 40 years ago, but watching it again just now will be a fun exercise and tie a bow on this cycle of The Letter-related accounts.

[Sally906 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose to read this after my visit to the Raffles Hotel Long bar in Singapore where Maugham use to have many a tipple and gather gossip to base his stories on. According to the historian at Raffles Hotel Maugham use to ask for a table to be set up behind a frangipani tree out in the courtyard where he could overhear stories of intrigue, lust and murder. All the stories in THE CASUARINA TREE have similar themes running through them – class division, racism, adultery and cultural belief differences. The six stories are:

Before the Party – What really happened to recently widowed Millicent’s husband in Borneo?

P & O – On a cruise back to England a man finds out what happens when one betrays a native mistress.

The Outstation – A bitter battle of the classes, two work colleagues in a remote office in the jungle fight for dominance with only one possible outcome.

The Force of Circumstance – When Guy brings his newly married English rose Doris to his home in Malay she is not prepared for his past.

The Yellow Streak - Returning from an upriver meeting Izzart is charged with the safety of Campion – when they face death in a tidal bore the outcome leaves one of the men full of guilt and fear of his cowardice being discovered.

The Letter – mild-mannered Leslie Crosbie is on trial in Singapore for the murder of a man who she says was attempting to rape her while her husband was away. Her lawyer expects her acquittal to be just a matter of a rubber stamp – then the letter is discovered.

I was enchanted with all these stories – another time and place entirely. Sure we can look back and say how dreadfully racist, snobby and sexist life was then – but that is how it was. I have another Maugham book on the go at the moment.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following Tan Twen Eng’s The House of Doors I read S-M’s The Casuarina Tree the last story of which, The Letter, is the trueish story of Ethel Proudlock, here Lesley Hamlyn only this time Ethel is Leslie Crosbie, a shuffling of pseudonyms and details, that confuse. This collection of stories exhibits this same confusion across different fiction as S-M confuses real people he has met and garbles their names and some of the events. As he explains in the Epilogue here, he does this because he is interested in people and places and wants to write about them but doesn’t want to offend them (it doesn’t always work). All six stories in various ways exhibit colonial life in the Far East, British chauvinism, racism, sexism, class differences, broken marriages (mostly reflecting S-M’s misogyny), colonials’ addiction to whisky and gin, Malay mistresses who get short shrift when a white woman comes along, Maya customs and superstitions, upper middle class women murdering, one man leaves his Malay mistress and she curses him to die of hiccups before reaching land, snobs having to interact with smart commoners. Rather an unpleasant lot. The story has an intro The Casuarina tree, how it grows in Borneo and has a magic clinging to it, yet is so pleasant it would enhance the Sussex Downs: this is the theme, theme symbolising people, Brits in a foreign land making it as British as they can, while enjoying the delights of the East. Despite their similarity, the stories draw you in because of the tensions each one embodies drawing variously on the above themes.

[Booknblues · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having recently read The House of Doors, about Somerset Maugham's time in Penang, it seemed only right that I should read Maugham's The Casuarina Tree which was part of the background for The House of Doors.

The Causarina Tree is a group of short stories which Maugham developed from his time in the east. I'm not much of a short story reader, but these did keep me entertained and perhaps I will read some of Maugham's longer works.

[Igne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skaitant neapleido jausmas, kad panašias istorijas, tik kitais pavidalais, jau esu daug kartų skaičiusi – ir jos patiko labiau. Apsakymuose Maughamas labai daug pasakoja, ne rodo, dėl to istorijos prailgsta, o veikėjai neįtikina. Manau, prieš šimtą metų skaitytojams buvo daug įdomiau susipažinti su Malaizija/Borneo/Singapūru, nors ir baltojo akimis. Šiais laikais tai tiesiog vidutiniški apsakymai, o dar ir pagardinti rasizmu/klasizmu (nors iš pastarojo autorius šaiposi) ir, kad nebūtų per mažai, fat shame’inimu.

[Kath B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Six short stories by Maugham about life in the Far East in the 1920s. The author very ably manages to identify the worst qualities in self important men and troubled women and poke gentle fun at the difficulties they find themselves in as a result of their actions.

In 'Before the party', a family finds out a shocking truth about the oldest daughter's recently deceased husband and have to decide whether or not to attend a party.

In 'P and O', a wife fleeing back to Britain to divorce her husband, has a change of heart about him, following an incident on board ship.

In 'The Outstation', a deputy assistant arrives to support a snobbish senior Resident and class differences between the two leads to a surprising outcome.

In 'The Force of Circumstance', a new bride gets more than she bargains for after marrying a man tied to life in Borneo, as he is forced to deal with his past.

In 'The Yellow Streak', a man with something to hide is brought face to face with his own insecurities after a frightening encounter.

In 'The Letter', a woman is accused of murder and has to deal with a letter that could find her guilty.

The stories are written with great subtlety. There are no cliff hanging moments. These are stories about people, their weaknesses and their moments of redemption, told with humour but also with a sympathetic eye. Excellent writing and character depiction which gives the reader something to think about well after finishing the stories.

[Richard Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after reading Tan Twang Eng's excellent novel, The House of Doors, which refers to Maugham and also this book and I was intrigued enough to go out and find a copy and read it. I'm glad I did.

A period piece, but a very enjoyable one. A book of short stories, or possibly you might judge some of them as novellas. Some of the language, given it is set in colonial times and is mostly about colonials, doesn't always sit comfortably. But basically this is a book about British class and snobbery, and the targets for all of Maugham's observations are those people - and they don't really come off that well.

The first story is the best, and I loved it. A touch of the adult stories of Roald Dahl about it with its final twist. The response of the characters to that twist sums up the values of the snob and social climber rather nicely whilst capturing the odd atmosphere of colonials trying to live the life of the British whilst often based in remote locations, sometimes even by themselves.

[Rupert Grech · Rating 5 out of 5]

The short stories of Somerset Maugham are the type that I find most entertaining and enjoyable. The simple prose and narrative style belies the current fashion for more lyrical and “word craft” type of writing in short stories. These old fashioned stories have great character development and the plots are just as important as the writing style. The stories have an introduction, a developing body and an interesting ending, often with a strange twist, which generates tension and anticipation. They also give an insight into this period of British colonial history, often while looking at the darker side of human frailties.

[Daniel Warriner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve had Maugham’s The Casuarina Tree on my list since I read Tan Twan Eng’s The House of Doors. In that novel, character Maugham, nearly broke and struggling to write, spends time in Penang where he learns about the case of a wealthy English woman charged with murder in Kuala Lumpur (on which Maugham’s The Letter is based). (The House of Doors is a good read with an old-fashioned feel, and was longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023.)

The Casuarina Tree is six short stories focused on the lives of British expats. I enjoyed them for the settings, which Maugham for the most part fictionalized (Sembulu instead of Sarawak, for example, and Kuala Solor for Kuching), the detailed character descriptions (he’s a master at capturing subtle expressions that reveal so much), and the interplay between characters, many of whom are constrained by the rigid social norms of the time and place. I particularly liked The Outstation and The Letter. Some behavior in these stories, along with the portrayal of “half-castes” (or “halfs” as they’re still often called where I live, even by those who identify as such), remains quite relevant to this day. Looking forward to more Maugham in the months ahead.

[Angelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not usually one for short stories. I tend to think that there isn't enough time for me to get to know and develop a relationship with the characters. I like really long and meaty novels with lots of description and character development. In spite of that, I really enjoyed this series of short stories. I was drawn to them after finishing the amazing House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng, which covers a period of time in Somerset Maugham's life when he was in Malaysia and imagines some of the characters that inspired his stories in the Casuarina Tree. If you haven't read that book...go read it. But this review is about the Casuarina Tree, so I'll leave my adoration of House of Doors at that recommendation. These stories cover different topics - love, infidelity, insecurity, forgiveness, racism, classism, and colonial society. Heavy topics, but Maugham's writing is deep enough that they are done justice in these stories. Some of the dialogue can feel a little off and quaint, but that is mostly from the characters you shouldn't trust anyway...so maybe that's part of the plan. I am quite happy I read them. They also gave me lots of historical tidbits for me to look up on my own, which I always love. The Letter, which is based on an actual murder, is also covered in The House of Doors...so again, check it out. Apparently I'm still not ready to leave these people and place yet, so my next read is a true crime book covering the Ethel Proudlock case.

If you like short stories and the period and place interests you, I highly recommend.

[Zek · Rating 4 out of 5]

אני לא חובב מושבע של סיפורים קצרים ואם כבר אעדיף לקרוא נובלה טובה. יחד עם זאת אני מוכרח להודות כי הקריאה בספר הזה הסבה לי הנאה צרופה.
קראתי את הסקירה של נתי אשר קטל את התרגום לספר. אינני מתווכח, ואף אינני בעמדה שאני יכול להתווכח על כך, ולו רק בשל העובדה שהאנגלית שלי בוודאי חלשה מזו של המתרגם ״האומלל״… 😉

[Rosamund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this collection was irresistible after Tan Twan Eng's House of Doors.

[Deea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Nati Korn]

היה זה הימור "בטוח" אך אין לך דבר מסוכן יותר מהימורים בטוחים. עלון שנישלח בדוא"ל בישר לו על השקתם של ספרים חדשים באותה סדרה איכותית של הוצאת ספריית פועלים. כמות כזאת של ספרים חדשים הפתיעה אותו במקצת אך הוא תרץ זאת לעצמו בכך שמישהו כנראה ביקש לחגוג כך את העיצוב החדש של הכריכות. ספר אחד לכד את תשומת ליבו – אוסף סיפורים פרי עטו של סומרסט מוהם. כבר מזמן התחשק לו לקרוא משהו משלו. הספר הקצר לא הכביד מן הסתם על מבקרי הספרים וביקורות משבחות לא אחרו לצוץ בנחשבים שבמוספי הספרות. בדיקה בgoodreads העלתה ציון גבוה.

ואז הבחין בפרסומת שהכריזה כי ניתן לממש נקודות של מועדון הנוסע המתמיד (שכבר עמדו להימחק ממילא ושלא ניתן לעשות בהן כל שימוש בתחום התעופה) בעבור ספרים. הוא ניצל את ההזדמנות ורכש לו כמה קופונים (לא שהיו חסרים ספרים חדשים על מדפו). המוכרת בחנות הספרים ציננה את התלהבותו – "ניתן לרכוש רק מבין הספרים שבמבצע." כך החל מחפש וחוכך בדעתו חשוף לאותו עינוי מענג שהוא מנת חלקם של קוראים כפייתיים. משהבחין בספר על דוכן המבצעים, רווח לו מעט. כולם כאמור משבחים. התאים לו לקרוא ספר על שעלילתו מתרחשת במקומות אקזוטיים. ובדיוק סיים לקרוא ספר אחר מאותה סדרה איכותית שהיה באמת "משהו מיוחד" והדבר עורר בו צפייה לקריאה שכולה תענוג. העטיפה היפיפייה כמו קראה לידו לאחוז בה. הוא מיהר לקחת לו עותק.

כמנהגו (מנהג מגוחך) פתח אקראית את הספר וקרא מספר משפטים בפתיחת הסיפור השני. "הגברת המלין שכבה על הכיסא-נוח שלה ושלחה מבט עצל ..." "האם לא נכון היה לתרגם "כסא הנוח"? הוא לא היה בטוח. "אולי לא." בכל אופן היה כאן משהוא מגושם. לא זורם. הייתה צריכה להידלק כאן נורת אזהרה. ואולי לא. בכל אופן הוא סילק את העניין ממחשבתו.

משסיים לקרוא את הספר שבאותה עת נמצא באמצעיתו מיהר לקחת לידו את "עץ הקזוארינה" והחל בקריאתו. אך כגודל הציפיות כך גם גודלן של האכזבות. נדוש אני יודע, אבל נכון. כבר מקריאת השורות הראשונות הבין כי זה הולך להיות סיפור אחר לגמרי. מפח נפש של ממש יש להודות. נדמה היה כי כל הרעות החולות שתרגומים לעברית עלולים ללקות בהם נתקבצו ובאו בתרגום אומלל זה – שימוש בביטויים מאונגלזים ולא במקביליהם העבריים, מילים גבוהות ומסורבלות שלא לצורך ומנגד שפה לא תקנית (או פשוט לא נכונה) באופן מביך, מבנה משפט לא נכון ושימוש מוגזם במילה "הוא" כאשר היה עדיף להשמיט אותה. אפילו שגיאות כתיב לא חסרו. וגרוע מכך טעויות בהבנת המקור. טוב הוא השתדל לא להיות סתם פוץ קפדן. ניתן היה לחיות עם אחוז פגמים מסוים. אך ככל שהתקדם בקריאה נאלץ היה להודות כי התרגום (וגם עריכתו) הוא מהגרועים שיצא לו להיתקל בהם. לא היה ברור אם מדובר במתרגם שאינו שולט מספיק בעברית, באנגלית או בשתי השפות גם יחד. "ולהיכן נעלמו העורכים, הלשונאים והמגיהים? ועוד בהוצאה מכובדת כל-כך." הוא לא ידע מה ישיב לעצמו.

ומה באשר לכל אותם מבקרי ספרות וסוקרי ספרים? האם טחו עיניהם מראות ורק הוא היחידי ... ? עד כדי כך לא החשיב את עצמו. בכל אופן עורר בו העסק תוגה קלה.

והסיפורים עצמם דווקא לא היו גרועים. סיפורים טובים או מוטב לומר פשוטים שהפכו שבלוניים במקצת ממרחק השנים, אך מסופרים היטב (וגם ספר טלפונים אם יסופר היטב ...) ביקורת של ממש על הקולוניאליזם דווקא לא מצא שם בניגוד לנאמר בגב הספר. הכפר, הבונגלו, הילידים נדמו תמיד לאותו כפר ולאותו בונגלו ולאותם ילידים בכל הסיפורים. רק הדמויות האנגליות השתנו. כמו מספר מחזות שונים המועלים על אותה בימה עם אותה התפאורה. מדובר היה יותר בבדידות שהשהות באזורים נידחים כופה על אנשים מערביים, כל זאת על רקע המתח שיצרו הבדלי המעמדות שהחלו מיטשטשים באנגליה שלאחר מלחמת העולם הראשונה. בכל אופן הסיפורים היו יפים, הסופר מוכשר וכתיבתו בהירה ומדויקת והיא מעלה גם את הפשוטים בהם למדרגת יצירת אומנות. הסיפור "תחנת הספר" אפילו מצוין. ואולי דווקא כאן בלטה הבעיה ביתר שאת. לו היה סגנון הכתיבה מעורפל, סבוך או מטושטש משהו, הרי שניתן היה אולי להחליק פגמים בתרגום בתירוצים שונים. אבל דווקא הסגנון הפשוט (כמעט חשב ביוהרתו – "פשוט כל כך לתרגום") הדגיש את המסורבלות, את השגיאות, את פגמיו הדוקרים של התרגום.

תמיד חשב על תרגום טוב כעל סעודת דגים ערבה לחיך. המתרגם משול לטבח המפלט את הדג, אך שומר על מרקמו ואולי אפילו מעשיר את טעמו. אך כאן יכול היה ממש להבחין בנוסח המקורי באנגלית מבעד לגבשושיות שהדגיש התרגום הקלוקל. "מישהו" השאיר כאן את העצמות כולן. יותר עצמות מאשר בגפילטע של סבתו. קריאתו של כל משפט עלתה לו במאמץ ניכר, ממש כהתפתלות הפה בלעיסת תבשיל מלא עצמות דקיקות. במקום להתרכז בטעמם המריר של הסיפורים עצמם הייתה מחשבתו נודדת אל קומדיית הטעויות העצובה של התרגום.

בסופו של דבר נותר כאמור עם טעם מר בפיו. האפשרות להחזיר את הספר לחנות אף לא עלתה על דעתו ("הוצאות הספרים," הרהר בינו לבין עצמו בדכדוך, "הן הגוף היחיד במשק שאינן לוקחות עדין אחריות על תוצרתן הפגומה"). תמיד יישאר הספר על המדף כאכזבה בעטיפה יפה. כשעמד לדרג את הספר בgoodreads חכך בדעתו. הסיפורים היו שווים בקלות 4 כוכבים. אך המהדורה העברית? לא התחשק לו להעניק לה אפילו כוכב נופל. בסופו של דבר וויתר על הענקת ציונים. הוא רק רשם את סיפורו ברובריקת ההערות והוסיף לסיום את הדברים הבאים:

"קראו את הסיפורים היפים הללו. אך (אם לא תצא מהדורה מתוקנת שלהם בעברית – וכנראה שלא נזכה לכך בקרוב) רק בשפת המקור!"

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr Joyce made no rejoinder. The three Chinese watched the little passage, but what they thought about it, or whether they thought, it was impossible to tell from their impassive countenances.

Mrs. Hamlyn was a bad sleeper and when the dawn broke she was in the habit of going on deck. It rested her troubled heart to watch the last faint stars fade before the encroaching day, and at that early hour the glassy sea had often an immobility which seemed to make all earthly sorrows of little consequence.

Mr. Joyce went up to her and took the letter from her hand. He lit a match and set the paper afire. She watched it burn. When he could hold it no longer he dropped it on the tiled floor and they both looked at the paper curl and blacken. Then he trod it into ashes with his foot. “What does he know?” She gave him a long, long stare and into her eyes came a strange look.

Few are the writers who have me absolutely gobsmacked by the perfection of their writing, the craft yes, but the absolute brilliance of the story's structure and unfolding. You might more or less be interested in the colonial setting, perhaps somewhat distant.for some. However, you'd be absolutely hardpressed not to find at least one character trait in which you so thoroughly can identify, the range of human weaknesses so perceptively and uncannily displayed before our eyes. The carefully maintained social hierarchy and the English traditions and standing in the colonial settings so ruthlessly overturned by the environment, the personal passions, the greed, the racial context. What appears initially proper, righteous, morally defensible inevitably becomes corrupt, weak, cowardly. Alcohol, jealousy, inferiority complexes, age, death, lust and loneliness all conspiring to uncover the deepest ugliest human passions.

'He was absolutely aghast at the sight of her. It was not a face, it was a gibbering, hideous mask.'

And yet, touches of irony and humour and sudden personal concessions and compassion offer us alternative prisms of interpretation. To remind us that being human is never black and white but always uncertain, ambiguous, incomprehensible, but ultimately for those who are willing to ride the wave absolutely priceless.

[Caroline Herbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always a treat to read a masterful short story, and this collection was full of them, all set in the (former) British colonies of South East Asia (Singapore/Malaysia). My motivation to read this particular work of Somerset Maugham was as a follow up to having just read The House of Doors, which was inspired by The Casuarina Tree and is a fictionalized tale of Maugham and the people he meets in the Malay States during his travels - all of whom become material for The Casuarina Tree. It was fun to read the original work and see how closely it influenced the modern novel. The last story in the collection, The Letter, plays an especially significant role in House of Doors, so it was thrilling to read Maugham's version.
Even if you haven't read the House of Doors, I can recommend this collection as a prime example of the craft of short storytelling - immediately giving you a sense of place and deep, engaging character development. Maugham's portrayal of loneliness is particularly affecting in the character of Mrs. Hamlyn in the story P. & O.. The British in general do not come off as sympathetic, with their casual racism and (in many cases) complete lack of understanding or connection to the local culture and people. Although I'm sure this is an accurate portrayal, it stands in stark contrast to the sensibilities of the House of Doors, whose author is Asian. That novel is also told from the POV of English characters (including Maugham), but the Chinese and Malay characters are more fully realized and humanized.
Reading both books has now inspired me to read more Somerset Maugham!

[Yulia Kazachkova · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a great deal of irony in the fact that my best book of the year so far is by the author I spent a lifetime claiming I didn’t like. Too cold, I said. He doesn’t like his characters, I said. Clinical like a surgeon, dissecting.

Да, Моэм клинически точно режет по тонкому налету цивилизованности и внешнего приличия, вскрывая людей как дурианы, а внутри такая тьма, что смотре��ься в нее дурно до головокружения, и вообще как-то грязненько, и хочется все скелеты затолкать обратно в шкафы, из которых они высунулись.

Шесть рассказов об англичанах в Малайзии, сквозная тема одиночества и очень разные вопросы с неоднозначными ответами: на что способна отчаявшаяся женщина, как в смерти увидеть надежду, что хуже — снобизм или жестокость, и др.

Это такая неожиданно душная колониальная проза, взгляд из прошлого англичанином на соотечественников, которые на полном серьезе верили в свою цивилизаторскую миссию. Британия, которую мы потеряли, да и слава богу, но…

…но почему раньше мне казалось, что Моэм холоден и равнодушен? Внутри его героев если не страсти, то эмоции нешуточные, и выписаны они с любовью и сочувствием, они тоже люди. Я такое люблю. Не надо мне повестку, давайте про людей.

Знаете, можно что угодно сейчас говорить и думать о колониализме, но книги Моэма — бесценное свидетельство эпохи.

[Patrick McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've only read a few W. Somerset Maugham titles so far, but the quality is pretty high thus far. I recently read The Painted Veil and enjoyed it. That being said, I enjoyed the short story collection, The Casuarina Tree, even more. It is a collection of stories set in a barely fictional southeast Asian country that is a colony of England (read Malaysia). It has been said that one of these stories is referenced in Tan Twan Eng's The House of Doors, which I plan to read eventually. It seems the fact that he added a note about it being fiction and not based on reality shows that he must have struck a chord with the expat community there somehow with his depictions of expat life in Malaya. Perhaps it is a testament of how much of the spirit of the place that Maugham was able to capture in his stories. They ring true to life about the experience one would imagine of a British expat in the 1920s. There are plenty of tales of mischief and bad behavior. It's a really strong collection without a weak link really. I really enjoyed how Maugham was able to characterize people so succinctly in these short stories. I look forward to reading more Maugham in the future. Also, it makes me want to find a Gin Pahit (Gin with angostura bitters), apparently all the rage in 20s Maylasia.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5
This is a collection of short stories written about British inhabitants of the Federated Malay States during the 1920s. I hadn’t read Mr. Maugham in quite awhile and I had forgotten what a great storyteller he is. I thought each story better than the last. I have truly thought, and still do, that he is one of the most underrated writers of his time.

[Harshada · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first by Maugham, and I read it after The House of Doors which greatly draws from his life and work. Unfortunately I found it quite underwhelming. The stories are long and wordy, with not enough thrill to keep one engaged.

[Marion · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with many others, I was drawn to this book after reading Tan Twan Eng’s The House of Doors where he tells of W. Somerset Maugham’s interest in the tale of Ethel Proudluck’s trial for murdering her lover in the early 1900’s. Maugham’s book contains six short stories with the sixth one “The Letter” dealing with the murder trial. Perhaps because I read this after reading Tan Twan Eng’s gorgeous prose, I felt Maugham’s writing was too non-descriptive for my taste. I read Of Human Bondage many years ago and remember it being powerful. These short stories just felt too flat.

[D S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Оце, конєшно, унікальне життя жили усі ці британські колоністи :)))