WENDY: CAKES AND ALE (ALSO KNOWN AS SKELETON IN THE CUPBOARD)
The narrator is William Ashenden. As he knew the Driffields well when they were young, he is contacted by the author chosen to write the official biography of Edward Driffield. Driffield had become a famous author. His first wife was Rosie. She was flirtatious and had various affairs. (The Skeleton in the Cupboard). Will they sanitize the biography to keep his reputation? It is a satire on London literary society. It caused a stir at the time as they thought it was based on Thomas Hardy. The theme is popularity versus posterity. Wendy found it amusing, very readable and witty. It was Maugham's favourite book and Rosie was his favourite character. She was based on a female friend.
PAMELA:
Pamela also read Cakes and Ale. She told us the title came from a line in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night". She agrees with Wendy but didn't like it quite as much. She was a bit annoyed the way Driffield was portrayed. He was nothing more than a cardboard character in the book. You never found out his attitude to Rosie's infidelity. There was a lot of class snobbery and Rosie was refreshing, never apologizing for her background. She wouldn't want to read a lot more of Maugham. She felt it was a bit dated but easy to read.
TAM:
Tam also read Cakes and Ale. She said Pamela and Wendy said it all. She quite liked it. She told us a bit about Maugham's early life and how she felt it was reflected in his writing. He was good at social criticism and had a good understanding of human nature.
SHEILA: COLLECTED SHORT STORIES VOLUME II
"Vessel of Wrath" was one of the short stories Sheila liked. She said he writes beautifully although she couldn't stand some of the stories. She felt the people in the stories were described in too much detail. Some she found quite difficult and tedious. She didn't think his books would attract readers today. Sheila had never read Somerset Maugham before.
PAT: COLLECTED SHORT STORIES VOLUME I
Pat said he wrote stories about places he had travelled to and he always took notes while travelling. She enjoyed his stories but did find the snobbery at that time very difficult.
JUDY: COLLECTED SHORT STORIES VOLUME IV
Judy said there were thirty stories ranging from 40,50 and 60 pages. They were very hard to read. The print was too small. She couldn't miss the slightest line as you wouldn't be able to follow it. One story is set in Malay before WWII. The English there lived as they did in England, sitting around drinking gins and tonics etc. but eventually becoming out of touch with England. He wrote about people who had more interesting lives. Some of the stories had a twist. She doesn't think she would read anymore and said she had read enough.
CONNIE: THE NARROW CORNER
Connie started reading Somerset Maugham when she was a teenager. Through all of his books he can't help putting in a bit of philosophy. Connie hadn't read this book before. This story is set in the East where the author spent a lot of time. It's about an English doctor who lived in China, not sure of the era but before 1930. He's a popular doctor who treats the Chinese people. He is taken by sailing ship to treat a fellow on an island. There's lots of adventure. There's a gale and it's explained so well. Connie loves how Maugham puts his words together. One of the crew on the yacht has done something bad but you don't find out until the end of the book. Connie enjoyed the book.
JULIA AND KRIS: UP AT THE VILLA
They both read the same book and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a mystery with a bit of a twist. It's a 1941 novella. It's the story of a young and very beautiful English widow who is staying at a friend's villa in Tuscany. An old family friend has asked her to marry him. He is a much older man but after being married to a very unreliable man, she finds the stability appealing. She is left to think it over while he is in India where he has been offered a governorship. She is very confused and can't make a decision. One night, after dining with friends, she gives a lift to an young Austrian refugee. What happens next will change her life forever.
LAURA: MOON AND SIXPENCE
Laura had read Razor's Edge previously and loved it but she was disappointed with Moon and Sixpence. The story is very loosed based on Paul Gauguin. The character, Charles Strickland is a merchant banker and one day he vanishes, leaving a note and he is going off to Paris. There is very little about the main character except that he is a tortured soul who has to paint. The narrator goes back to England. He starts meeting people who know Charles Strickland and gets their stories. Laura can't recommend this book. She said "it's a short book and you don't suffer too long".
ED: PAINTED VEIL
The main character, Kitty has a mother who is very ambitious for Kitty. She is expected to marry a titled man, as her sister did. She goes to lots of parties but has to say no to any man who does not have a title. Eventually she meets Walter, a bacteriologist and as she is now 25 and considered old, she accepts his marriage proposal. He gets a job in Hong Kong. After three months she decides it's a mistake. She finds him boring. She meets the colonial secretary, Charlie, with whom she has an affair. He's a married man. When Walter finds out, Kitty asks for a divorce. Walter agrees, if Charlie will get a divorce and they get married within a week. Charlie won't divorce his wife and Kitty realizes she can't get a divorce. She has to accompany Walter to a remote village where there is a Cholera epidemic. She thinks Walter is trying to kill her.. She finds out she is pregnant but does not know who is the father of her child. Ed enjoyed it. She knew nothing about Somerset Maugham.
JO:
Jo read Painted Veil as well. She began by hating it but it grew on her. It was all about snobbery. When Kitty started working for the nuns Jo found it more interesting. She probably wouldn't read another book by Somerset Maugham.
PRUE:
Prue also read Painted Veil. The introduction was great but she left it as she realized she had seen the movie. She said she knew the story but it is totally different to the movie. The writing was of his period. It is a history and record of how society was at that time. He has a concise use of words. His descriptions were fascinating. She thought a man writing a woman's point of view (Kitty) was expertly done.
DIANN: THE TREMBLING OF THE LEAF
This book is eight individual stories - not related. They are set in the South Pacific. It is supposed to be an idyllic life. They are very very short stories. The first part is welcoming you to the Pacific. Diann thinks Somerset Maugham must have been very sad when he was in the Pacific as all his stories are sad. Some stories are only seven pages. The last story, Envoy sounds very depressing. She found it a challenge and would try a book next time, not short stories.
PAULINE: THEATRE
Pauline had read it a while ago. It is written in 1937. It is the story of a famous actress, Julia who is married to Michael, an actor of lesser ability. Michael runs an acting school. He loves Julia but has a less passionate nature than Julia and she eventually realizes she doesn't love him anymore. She has a relationship with their 23year old accountant, Tom. This provides a lot of gossip. Julia has acted and manipulated her way through life and her 18 year old son decides he doesn't know who she is anymore and doesn't want anything to do with her anymore. Pauline was very disappointed. She didn't like the characters and the story was mundane. It was lacking descriptive style.
DI: CATALINA
Di has good memories of Somerset Maugham and has three on her bookshelf but she didn't enjoy this book. It was the last novel he ever wrote. She thought he might have been too old. She didn't finish it. The story is about Catalina, a crippled girl who sees a vision of the Virgin Mary. She goes back home to her family who are deeply religious She is miraculously cured. Although she did not like this book of Somerset Maugham's, Di values the books she owns.
BEV: ASHENDEN
This book is loosely based on Maugham's time as a British agent during World War I. It not a story but about one of Ashenden's assignments. He goes to Spain, then back to Switzerland and then back to England. It's disjointed. He didn't know what was coming next but then realizes why at the end. Bev didn't madly enjoy it but she also didn't hate it. Maybe a novel might have given her a different opinion.
