Helpful Score: 6
Beautifully written, compelling story. The movie's plot ended before the book's end and there is one other subplot in the movie. Neither detracts from the other. Frequently seeing a movie after reading the book can be disappointing. That isn't the case here. Both are beautiful.
Helpful Score: 4
A breathtaking story from beginning to end. The author, W. Somerset Maugham is a wonderful storyteller and does not disappoint the reader once during the novel. This is not a love story but a tale of one woman's journey on the road to redemption. The protagonist, Kitty Fane reminds me of a British version of Scarlett O'Hara. Kitty's journey is not a light hearted one. The reader's heart is constantly in a state of flux as the indecisive Kitty always leans towards the wrong choice. This is a timeless work that I believe will be in my top ten of beloved novels for the rest of my life. I highly suggest picking up a copy and enjoying the vivid world left behind by Maugham.
Helpful Score: 1
I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed seeing Kitty's growth and developing understanding of herself.
Maugham's writing is pure 19th century but this in no way detracts from his plots, which are very 20/21st century, as evidenced by the recent movie. There's some very good food for thought here with regard to personal relationships.
Book was ok. The ending was a little disappointing, I was expecting something more than what ended up happening. I found the main character a little annoying at times. It seemed like she never really knew what she wanted. And her pregnancy was never really a big deal to her (it seemed). All the characters seemed cold and standoffish. Nobody was really that interesting or even humanlike at times.
Yes, I liked it enough to use it for the book club in October at my house. Thank you.
I enjoyed this book very much. Saw the movie many years ago, so it was fun to read the book. But then I am a Maugham fan. If writing can be likened with music, I'd say he lays words down in a paragraph in the same gentle manner Liberace played a soft melody.
Kitty Fane married a man she did not love. He discovered her affair and forced her to accompany him to the heart of a cholera epidemic. There, volunteering at a convent, her emerging conscience compels her to reassess her life choices.
Written in 1925, there's not a lot of action, but the author has a great understanding of the human psychic, at least in these characters.
Written in 1925, there's not a lot of action, but the author has a great understanding of the human psychic, at least in these characters.
This was a pleasant listen - I enjoyed the characters. Setting wasn't very prominent, but the moral issues and character flaws are what make Maugham a perennial favorite.
~Meh.This novel of the redemption (or perhaps just the growing up) of a self-centered English girl after she enters a loveless marriage, betrays her husband, and then finds purpose in a cholera-ridden Chinese city, seems facile and somewhat pointless.
While the story has a Gift of the Magi sort of feel to it, I think what I liked best was the writing style and the way Maugham explained or described things that in many ways did not make it feel like it was written in the early 1920's.
Counted for the 2018 PopSugar Reading Challenge Prompt: 7. A book set in a country that fascinates you
Counted for the 2018 PopSugar Reading Challenge Prompt: 7. A book set in a country that fascinates you
