Of Human Bondage Author:W. Somerset Maugham THE HIGHEST PRAISE that a critic of modern literature can bestow upon a new novel is to attribute to it some of the qualities which have made "OF HUMAN BONDAGE" the greatest autobiographical novel of the twentieth century and one of the few indisputable classics of our time. Today every word that comes from Somerset Maugham's gifted pen is eage... more »rly read by thousands on both sides of the Atlantic. As the author of "Cakes and Ales", "East and West", The Moon and Sixpence", "Don Fernando", "Theatre" and many other best sellers, Mr. Maugham is universally recognized as a master of English letters, but the critics and the reading public are agreed that "Of Human Bondage" remains his masterpiece.
The story is that of the first thirty years of Philip Carey's life. Through Philip's intelligent and remarkably clear eyes one sees an English school, a German University, a colony of artistic failures in Paris, a dreary business house in London, a large hospital and a village on the British coast. All these places, and many more, come as clse to the reader as they did to Philip. It is an intensely personal story. One suffes with the sensitive boy the bitter realization of his physical handicap, enjoys his friendships and shares his problems. Like Philip, the personality through which the very real experience of the book is passed, one realizes that if one has lived toroughly, that life has a meaning and a pattern as rich, though as unsymmetrical, as those formed by the colors in an oriental rug.« less
This book was easy to put down but also easy to pick back up. Although it's supposed to be one of Maugham's best, I far preferred "The Moon and Sixpence."
This was very interesting ... even if the end was slightly predictable. I turned the last page wanting to read more and wishing it would continue on with his life. You had to feel sorry for Philip who had such a rough life and things falling against him as he tries to decide what to do with himself. Although this is an abridged edition, I don't feel like I missed out on anything. I think if it was any longer it would have dragged out.