Much of what Maugham wrote was always greatly influenced by the numerous travels he made. ( My sincere apologies to Maugham scholars, I am sure he is very good, really ). I raise a gin pahit to every frivolous and hysterical / smart and cunning / broad and dumpy / friendly but dull and pretty yet oddly unattractive woman that crossed my path. To those that chase men into traps of marriage, will not let them have affairs and otherwise clip their wings. I could go on, but I shall conclude by saluting you all, insidious and crafty woman of Maugham !. * Miss Reid the virginal spinster who talked incessantly about trivialities, so annoying the men on board ship they conspired to arrange for a bewildered engineer to bed her and thus render her more or less mute ( oh yes, this was a vile concept ) * Darya Munro a married "promiscuous" Russian who tried and failed to start an affair with a virginal Scotchman - she ended up lost forever in a Borneo jungle. (She at least did much better than other "exotic girlfriends" - who never get named ). * "Malay girl", ditched by her English lover and cast as the murderous "witch" who killed him remotely via a hiccups curse. * Marie-Louise murdered by flying "Indian Clubs" possibly for getting an ugly haircut. * Poor Olive Hardy engaged in an incestuous relationship, driven mad by her brothers decision to marry, commits suicide. But least I forget, what has mostly stuck with me from this experience. Every story in here is like an ode to the faded glory of the British Empire. These tales are engaging as both travel narratives and as a portrait of a bygone era. He is a consummate storyteller, and observer of human nature. Obviously, Maugham is a capable writer, far be it from me to judge him based on these particular works. Now, like a storm at sea, my disgust has rather run it's course and I came to a point where I decided I enjoyed this more or less because I couldn’t wait to see what poor women would be dispatched with next. Endlessly, polishing my outrage for when it came time to write this review. I have been keenly gathering and hoarding all my grievances about this book for the last month. It's true I could have just stopped with that story but a morbid fascination bid me keep going. I selected these after reading a novella by Mirandi Riwoe called The Fish Girl which is based on Maugham's story The Four Dutchman. I decided to start my foray into Maugham, ill-advisedly perhaps, here at Volume 4 of his collected short-stories (are these the ones he might have preferred stayed in the third drawer of the writing desk ? I can't say for sure ). A sip of gin for every mention of a gin pahit or a cheroot and a large slug for every-time I was morally outraged for every slight to modern sensibilities about race, colonialism and misogyny. I decided to start my foray into Maugham, ill-advisedly perhaps, here at Volume 4 of his collected short-stories (are these the ones he might have preferred stayed in the third drawer of the writing desk ? I can't say fo Luckily, I wasn’t playing a drinking game with this collection of thirty short stories. Luckily, I wasn’t playing a drinking game with this collection of thirty short stories. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.more
![somerset maugham short stories movies somerset maugham short stories movies](https://cdn.waterstones.com/bookjackets/large/9780/0992/9780099287391.jpg)
![somerset maugham short stories movies somerset maugham short stories movies](https://filmclassics.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/img_20200915_0012.jpg)
With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. The stories range from “The Lotus Eater” where a man envisions a life of bliss in the Mediterranean, to the astringent tales of “The Outstation” and “The Back of Beyond” in Malaya and South East Asia.įor more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. The stories range from “The Lotus Eater” where a man envisions a life of bliss in the Mediterranean, to the astringent tales of “The Outstation” and “The Back of Beyond” in Malaya This final classic collection reveals Somerset Maugham’s unique talent for exposing and exploring the bitter realities of human relationships in tales of love, infidelity, passion and prejudice. This final classic collection reveals Somerset Maugham’s unique talent for exposing and exploring the bitter realities of human relationships in tales of love, infidelity, passion and prejudice.