Search - The Painted Veil

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.

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.

** Spoiler alert for this review **



There's just so much to take in with this book that I hardly know where to begin. At first, the story of the feckless Kitty Fane reads so simplistically that I seriously wondered why Maugham was considered the brilliant writer that he was. It wasn't until Kitty and Walter began their tranformative journey to Mei-tan-fu that I began to sense why this is such a beloved book, in spite of the fact that Maugham creates and sets up two of the least lovable/admirable main characters since Kathy and Heathcliff. In spite of (or because of) that, the journey of Kitty and Walter Fane takes not only a physical toll to this damaged couple, but also a moral and spiritual one as well. As much as I loved this book, I would add that I question Maugham's ending, and personally feel that the movie adaptation presented a much better resolution then his more ambigious one. That was very likely his intent, but I confess that I preferred the more cut and dried morality tale set up by the screen writers. But I will also confess that Maugham's ending has kept me thinking of this book for 3 days straight after finishing it, so perhaps his way is, in actuality, the superior.

In fact, Walter's dying words caused me to google the Oliver Goldsmith poem Walter references on his deathbed:

An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog

Good people all, of every sort,
Give ear unto my song;
And if you find it wondrous short,
It cannot hold you long.

In Islington there was a man,
Of whom the world might say
That still a godly race he ran,
Whene'er he went to pray.

A kind and gentle heart he had,
To comfort friends and foes;
The naked every day he clad,
When he put on his clothes.

And in that town a dog was found,
As many dogs there be,
Both mongrel, puppy, whelp and hound,
And curs of low degree.

This dog and man at first were friends;
But when a pique began,
The dog, to gain some private ends,
Went mad and bit the man.

Around from all the neighbouring streets
The wondering neighbours ran,
And swore the dog had lost his wits,
To bite so good a man.

The wound it seemed both sore and sad
To every Christian eye;
And while they swore the dog was mad,
They swore the man would die.

But soon a wonder came to light,
That showed the rogues they lied:
The man recovered of the bite,
The dog it was that died.

hmm...much like Walter's last words, The Painted Veil might mystify, intrigue, and haunt the reader long after the last page is completed. It did for me.

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.