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Title: Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham ISBN: 0-14-018597-6 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: March, 1993 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.2 (51 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: surprising and convincing!
Comment: When we decided to read this novel in class, and we were told that it was inspired by the life of Gauguin I was a bit prejudiced against it, because I didn't like most of the pictures that Gaugin had painted. On the other hand I liked Somerset Maugham's style of writing So it was a bit a "to-and-fro" for me at the beginning. The 4 stars I gave the story make clear that Maugham has "won". In fact the story is inspired by Gauguin, there are parallels, but it's not the real story of Gauguin's life anyway Maugham's descriptions are absolutely convincing, and the end of the novel is... just great! I mean, a man who tells the others before what a great time he had at the front then quotes the Bible, which is so conrary to the main message of the book, which is NOT revenge: Do what you are called to do, live your life according to your inner voice, don't care about society and what people might say and think about your work of art whatever that may be. One piece of advice: I recommend to every reader to study the Maugham biography while reading the novel. You will discover a lot of parallels, similarities and projections (e.g. between Maugham and Strickland).
Rating: 5
Summary: Haunting, thoughtful novel.
Comment: It has been noted many times that artists are usually not the most pleasant human beings to be around; Maugham's novel is, among other things, a compelling examination of why this is so. The obsessed artist who dominates this book, Charles Strickland (based on the notorious Paul Gauguin), walks away from his cushy middle-class existence in England to pursue his dream to paint, amid frightful poverty, in France. Strickland is an unforgettable character, an inarticulate, brutishly sensual creature, callously indifferent to his fellow man and even his own health, who lives only to record his private visions on canvas.
It would be a mistake to read this novel as an inspiring tale of the triumph of the spirit. Strickland is an appalling human being--but the world itself, Maugham seems to say, is a cruel, forbidding place. The author toys with the (strongly Nietzschean) idea that men like Charles Strickland may somehow be closer to the mad pulse of life, and cannot therefore be dismissed as mere egotists. The moralists among us, the book suggests, are simply shrinking violets if not outright hypocrites. It is not a very cheery conception of humanity (and arguably not an accurate one), but the questions Maugham raises are fascinating. Aside from that, he's a wonderful storyteller. This book is a real page turner.
Rating: 5
Summary: life changing
Comment: I've read the reviews of this book and can only say this; You either "get it" or "You don't".
But if you do - the world is a much more vivid, bright, achingly beautiful place... and you can consider yourself blessed.
An utter masterpiece!
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Title: Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham ISBN: 055321392X Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 June, 1991 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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Title: The Razor's Edge by W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM ISBN: 1400034205 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 09 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham ISBN: 0375725024 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 05 December, 2000 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Summing Up by W. Somerset Maugham ISBN: 014018600X Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: September, 1992 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Noa Noa : The Tahitian Journal by Paul Gauguin ISBN: 0486248593 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 June, 1985 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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