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丨丕氐賱 毓賲乇
賵蹖賱蹖丕賲 爻丕賲乇爻鬲 賲賵丌賲貙 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴贁 亘乇噩爻鬲賴 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖貙 亘蹖卮 丕夭 賴賲賴 亘丕 芦賱亘賴贁 鬲蹖睾禄 賵 芦賴賳乇 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賳賵蹖爻蹖禄 賲卮賴賵乇 丕爻鬲貨 丕賲丕 丕蹖賳 丕夭 賲丨亘賵亘蹖鬲 丿蹖诏乇 丌孬丕乇卮 賳賲蹖鈥屭┴з囏�.
賲賵丌賲 亘賴 夭賳丿诏蹖 毓賲蹖賯 賲蹖鈥屬嗂必� 賵 诏丕賴 丌賳 乇丕 鬲賱禺 賲蹖鈥屰屫жㄘ�. 賳讴鬲賴鈥屫ㄛ屬嗃� 貙 賳丕夭讴鈥屫з嗀屫篡� 賵 鬲氐賵蹖乇爻丕夭蹖鈥屬囏й� 丿賯蹖賯 丕夭 賵蹖跇诏蹖鈥屬囏й� 丌孬丕乇 丕賵爻鬲.
芦丨丕氐賱 毓賲乇禄 趩賳丕賳 讴賴 丕夭 毓賳賵丕賳卮 倬蹖丿丕爻鬲貙 丌蹖蹖賳賴鈥屫й� 丕爻鬲 丕夭 鬲噩乇亘蹖丕鬲 丕蹖賳 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴贁 亘乇噩爻鬲賴 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖 丿乇 夭蹖爻鬲賳 賵 賳賵卮鬲賳.
賲賵丌賲 亘賴 夭賳丿诏蹖 毓賲蹖賯 賲蹖鈥屬嗂必� 賵 诏丕賴 丌賳 乇丕 鬲賱禺 賲蹖鈥屰屫жㄘ�. 賳讴鬲賴鈥屫ㄛ屬嗃� 貙 賳丕夭讴鈥屫з嗀屫篡� 賵 鬲氐賵蹖乇爻丕夭蹖鈥屬囏й� 丿賯蹖賯 丕夭 賵蹖跇诏蹖鈥屬囏й� 丌孬丕乇 丕賵爻鬲.
芦丨丕氐賱 毓賲乇禄 趩賳丕賳 讴賴 丕夭 毓賳賵丕賳卮 倬蹖丿丕爻鬲貙 丌蹖蹖賳賴鈥屫й� 丕爻鬲 丕夭 鬲噩乇亘蹖丕鬲 丕蹖賳 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴贁 亘乇噩爻鬲賴 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖 丿乇 夭蹖爻鬲賳 賵 賳賵卮鬲賳.
312 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1938
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1859 people want to read
About the author
W. Somerset Maugham
2,067听books5,862听followersWilliam Somerset Maugham was born in Paris in 1874. He spoke French even before he spoke a word of English, a fact to which some critics attribute the purity of his style.
His parents died early and, after an unhappy boyhood, which he recorded poignantly in Of Human Bondage, Maugham became a qualified physician. But writing was his true vocation. For ten years before his first success, he almost literally starved while pouring out novels and plays.
Maugham wrote at a time when experimental modernist literature such as that of William Faulkner, Thomas Mann, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf was gaining increasing popularity and winning critical acclaim. In this context, his plain prose style was criticized as 'such a tissue of clich茅s' that one's wonder is finally aroused at the writer's ability to assemble so many and at his unfailing inability to put anything in an individual way.
During World War I, Maugham worked for the British Secret Service . He travelled all over the world, and made many visits to America. After World War II, Maugham made his home in south of France and continued to move between England and Nice till his death in 1965.
At the time of Maugham's birth, French law was such that all foreign boys born in France became liable for conscription. Thus, Maugham was born within the Embassy, legally recognized as UK territory.
His parents died early and, after an unhappy boyhood, which he recorded poignantly in Of Human Bondage, Maugham became a qualified physician. But writing was his true vocation. For ten years before his first success, he almost literally starved while pouring out novels and plays.
Maugham wrote at a time when experimental modernist literature such as that of William Faulkner, Thomas Mann, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf was gaining increasing popularity and winning critical acclaim. In this context, his plain prose style was criticized as 'such a tissue of clich茅s' that one's wonder is finally aroused at the writer's ability to assemble so many and at his unfailing inability to put anything in an individual way.
During World War I, Maugham worked for the British Secret Service . He travelled all over the world, and made many visits to America. After World War II, Maugham made his home in south of France and continued to move between England and Nice till his death in 1965.
At the time of Maugham's birth, French law was such that all foreign boys born in France became liable for conscription. Thus, Maugham was born within the Embassy, legally recognized as UK territory.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
June 2, 2024
"To me reading is a rest as to other people conversation or a game of cards. It is more than that; it is a necessity and if I am deprived of it for a little while I find myself as irritable as the addict deprived of his drug."
If this doesn't sum us up on 欧宝娱乐, what does?
I recommend this volume of Maugham's thoughts to lovers of the author's short stories and novels as well as to aspiring writers. Among his tips for the latter, my favorite one is this:
"A good style should show no sign of effort. What is written should seem a happy accident."
Sit back (with sunscreen on or off) and read this as if Maugham had invited you to his home on the Riviera. It's warm. Real. And will inspire some to write, others to read, even more books without apologies to anyone.
If this doesn't sum us up on 欧宝娱乐, what does?
I recommend this volume of Maugham's thoughts to lovers of the author's short stories and novels as well as to aspiring writers. Among his tips for the latter, my favorite one is this:
"A good style should show no sign of effort. What is written should seem a happy accident."
Sit back (with sunscreen on or off) and read this as if Maugham had invited you to his home on the Riviera. It's warm. Real. And will inspire some to write, others to read, even more books without apologies to anyone.
April 28, 2023
A doua lectur膬 dup膬 mul葲i, mul葲i ani. Nu-mi schimb judecata de valoare (4*). 鈥濼he Summing Up鈥� r膬m卯ne un document foarte interesant prin necru葲膬toarea analiz膬 de sine 葯i prin franche葲e.
N-am 卯nt卯lnit 卯nc膬 un scriitor mai sincer dec卯t W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965). Nu a fost d膬ruit cu 卯nzestr膬ri ie葯ite din comun. A observat c膬 nu poate fi un stilist des膬v卯r葯it, c膬 nu are imagina葲ie epic膬. Adjectivele lui s卯nt comune, compara葲iile adesea nefericite: 鈥濰olera smulgea via葲a din oameni, a葯a cum 葲膬ranul smulge cartofii din p膬m卯nt鈥� (鈥濾膬lul pictat鈥�). 脦n lipsa talentului 鈥瀙oetic鈥�, a decis s膬 scrie limpede, simplu 葯i, zice el, eufonic. A cunoscut gloria. A f膬cut avere. Dar a r膬mas p卯n膬 la sf卯r葯it un autor modest 葯i, mai ales, lucid.
Transcriu mai mult, fiindc膬 volumul e greu de procurat, chiar dac膬 a fost tip膬rit 葯i dup膬 1990. Cine e interesat de me葯te葯ugul scrisului va g膬si mai jos o sum膬 de sugestii pre葲ioase.
鈥濧veam numeroase neajunsuri. Eram scund; eram r膬bd膬tor, dar lipsit de rezisten葲膬 fizic膬; m膬 b卯lb卯iam; eram timid; aveam o s膬n膬tate 葯ubred膬鈥� (p.37).
鈥濧m mai mult膬 for葲膬 moral膬 dec卯t inteligen葲膬 葯i mai mult膬 inteligen葲膬 dec卯t talent鈥� (p.60).
鈥濫u s卯nt un scriitor f膬cut... Am o minte limpede 葯i logic膬, dar nu o minte subtil膬 葯i nici ager膬... Mi-a trebuit mult膬 vreme p卯n膬 m-am resemnat s膬 m膬 descurc cu ceea ce am鈥� (p.61).
鈥濧m avut o redus膬 for葲膬 imaginativ膬... Am fost incapabil de acele zboruri largi ce poart膬 autorul 卯n sferele cere葯ti. Fantezia, niciodat膬 prea puternic膬, mi-a fost fr卯nat膬 de nevoia de verosimilitate. Am pictat tablouri de 葯evalet, nu fresce鈥� (p.62).
鈥濸entru mine lectura e o necesitate 葯i dac膬 se 卯nt卯mpl膬 s膬-mi lipseasc膬 fie c卯t de pu葲in, devin la fel de irascibil ca un toxicoman lipsit de drogul lui. Prefer s膬 citesc mersul trenurilor sau orice catalog dec卯t s膬 nu citesc nimic... Am petrecut multe ceasuri pl膬cute parcurg卯nd listele de pre葲uri ale unor libr膬rii de m卯na a doua... Toate au farmecul lor. S卯nt mult mai palpitante dec卯t jum膬tate din romanele care se scriu鈥� (pp.66-67).
鈥濫 limpede c膬 nici un scriitor profesionist nu-葯i poate permite s膬 scrie doar c卯nd are poft膬. Dac膬 a葯teapt膬 inspira葲ia, poate s膬 a葯tepte mult 葯i bine, sf卯r葯ind prin a produce pu葲in sau nimic. Scriitorul profesionist 卯葯i creeaz膬 singur dispozi葲ia. Are 葯i inspira葲ie, dar o controleaz膬 葯i o supune dorin葲elor sale, fix卯ndu-葯i un program de lucru. Cu timpul scrisul devine un obicei...鈥� (p.130).
鈥濶u-mi fac iluzii 卯n ceea ce prive葯te pozi葲ia mea literar膬鈥� (p.155).
鈥濩卯nd aveam dou膬zeci de ani, criticii spuneau c膬 s卯nt brutal, c卯nd aveam treizeci, spuneau c膬 s卯nt frivol, c卯nd aveam patruzeci, spuneau c膬 s卯nt cinic, c卯nd aveam cincizeci, spuneau c膬 s卯nt competent, iar acum la 葯aizeci de ani, spun c膬 s卯nt superficial鈥� (p.160).
N-am 卯nt卯lnit 卯nc膬 un scriitor mai sincer dec卯t W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965). Nu a fost d膬ruit cu 卯nzestr膬ri ie葯ite din comun. A observat c膬 nu poate fi un stilist des膬v卯r葯it, c膬 nu are imagina葲ie epic膬. Adjectivele lui s卯nt comune, compara葲iile adesea nefericite: 鈥濰olera smulgea via葲a din oameni, a葯a cum 葲膬ranul smulge cartofii din p膬m卯nt鈥� (鈥濾膬lul pictat鈥�). 脦n lipsa talentului 鈥瀙oetic鈥�, a decis s膬 scrie limpede, simplu 葯i, zice el, eufonic. A cunoscut gloria. A f膬cut avere. Dar a r膬mas p卯n膬 la sf卯r葯it un autor modest 葯i, mai ales, lucid.
Transcriu mai mult, fiindc膬 volumul e greu de procurat, chiar dac膬 a fost tip膬rit 葯i dup膬 1990. Cine e interesat de me葯te葯ugul scrisului va g膬si mai jos o sum膬 de sugestii pre葲ioase.
鈥濧veam numeroase neajunsuri. Eram scund; eram r膬bd膬tor, dar lipsit de rezisten葲膬 fizic膬; m膬 b卯lb卯iam; eram timid; aveam o s膬n膬tate 葯ubred膬鈥� (p.37).
鈥濧m mai mult膬 for葲膬 moral膬 dec卯t inteligen葲膬 葯i mai mult膬 inteligen葲膬 dec卯t talent鈥� (p.60).
鈥濫u s卯nt un scriitor f膬cut... Am o minte limpede 葯i logic膬, dar nu o minte subtil膬 葯i nici ager膬... Mi-a trebuit mult膬 vreme p卯n膬 m-am resemnat s膬 m膬 descurc cu ceea ce am鈥� (p.61).
鈥濧m avut o redus膬 for葲膬 imaginativ膬... Am fost incapabil de acele zboruri largi ce poart膬 autorul 卯n sferele cere葯ti. Fantezia, niciodat膬 prea puternic膬, mi-a fost fr卯nat膬 de nevoia de verosimilitate. Am pictat tablouri de 葯evalet, nu fresce鈥� (p.62).
鈥濸entru mine lectura e o necesitate 葯i dac膬 se 卯nt卯mpl膬 s膬-mi lipseasc膬 fie c卯t de pu葲in, devin la fel de irascibil ca un toxicoman lipsit de drogul lui. Prefer s膬 citesc mersul trenurilor sau orice catalog dec卯t s膬 nu citesc nimic... Am petrecut multe ceasuri pl膬cute parcurg卯nd listele de pre葲uri ale unor libr膬rii de m卯na a doua... Toate au farmecul lor. S卯nt mult mai palpitante dec卯t jum膬tate din romanele care se scriu鈥� (pp.66-67).
鈥濫 limpede c膬 nici un scriitor profesionist nu-葯i poate permite s膬 scrie doar c卯nd are poft膬. Dac膬 a葯teapt膬 inspira葲ia, poate s膬 a葯tepte mult 葯i bine, sf卯r葯ind prin a produce pu葲in sau nimic. Scriitorul profesionist 卯葯i creeaz膬 singur dispozi葲ia. Are 葯i inspira葲ie, dar o controleaz膬 葯i o supune dorin葲elor sale, fix卯ndu-葯i un program de lucru. Cu timpul scrisul devine un obicei...鈥� (p.130).
鈥濶u-mi fac iluzii 卯n ceea ce prive葯te pozi葲ia mea literar膬鈥� (p.155).
鈥濩卯nd aveam dou膬zeci de ani, criticii spuneau c膬 s卯nt brutal, c卯nd aveam treizeci, spuneau c膬 s卯nt frivol, c卯nd aveam patruzeci, spuneau c膬 s卯nt cinic, c卯nd aveam cincizeci, spuneau c膬 s卯nt competent, iar acum la 葯aizeci de ani, spun c膬 s卯nt superficial鈥� (p.160).
December 10, 2016
鈥庁堌池з嗁� 诏乇丕賳賯丿乇貙 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 丕夭 272 氐賮丨賴 賵 77 亘禺卮 鬲卮讴蹖賱 卮丿賴 丕爻鬲
鈥庁操嗀� 蹖丕丿 <爻丕賲乇爻鬲 賲賵丌賲> 丿乇 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 丕夭 丕賮讴丕乇 賵 爻禺賳丕賳蹖 讴賴 丿乇 匕賴賳卮 丿乇 爻丕賱蹖丕賳 爻丕賱 賳诏賴丿丕乇蹖 讴乇丿賴 丕爻鬲貙 倬乇丿賴 亘乇丿丕乇蹖 讴乇丿賴 丕爻鬲 賵 诏賵蹖蹖 讴鬲丕亘 禺丕胤乇丕鬲賽 蹖讴 丕賳丿蹖卮賲賳丿賽 賲乇丿賲蹖 丕爻鬲貙 讴賴 丕夭 丿賵乇丕賳 讴賵丿讴蹖 賵 丿亘爻鬲丕賳 賵 丿亘蹖乇爻鬲丕賳 賵 丿丕賳卮诏丕賴 賳賵卮鬲賴 丕爻鬲 鬲丕 倬丕蹖丕賳... 亘丕 丌賳讴賴 禺賵丿卮 丕氐乇丕乇 丿丕乇丿 讴賴 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘貙 亘賴 賴蹖趩 賵噩賴 讴鬲丕亘 禺丕胤乇丕鬲 賳賲蹖亘丕卮丿 賵 丿乇 賲賵乇丿賽 讴鬲丕亘 賲蹖诏賵蹖丿: 丿乇 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 賲蹖讴賵卮賲 鬲丕 丕賮讴丕乇賲 乇丕 丿乇 賲賵乇丿賽 賲賵囟賵毓丕鬲蹖 讴賴 丿乇 胤賵賱賽 夭賳丿诏蹖 丕賲 賯爻賲鬲賽 毓賲丿賴贁 鬲賵噩賴 賲乇丕 噩賱亘 賳賲賵丿賴 丕爻鬲 乇丕 丿爻鬲賴 亘賳丿蹖 賳賲丕蹖賲... 丿乇 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘丕蹖丿 賲胤丕賱亘蹖 乇丕 亘诏賵蹖賲 讴賴 倬蹖卮 丕夭 丕蹖賳 賳蹖夭 丌賳賴丕 乇丕 诏賮鬲賴 丕賲貙 亘賴 賴賲蹖賳 丿賱蹖賱 毓賳賵丕賳賽 丌賳 乇丕 丨丕氐賱 毓賲乇 蹖丕 "賳鬲蹖噩賴 诏蹖乇蹖" 賳丕賲 賳賴丕丿賴 丕賲... 丕夭 丌賳噩丕蹖蹖 讴賴 鬲賲丕賲 夭賳丿诏蹖 丕賲 乇丕 丿乇 讴鬲丕亘賴丕蹖賲 诏賳噩丕賳丿賴 丕賲貙 胤亘毓丕賸 賲胤丕賱亘蹖 讴賴 丿乇 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 賳賵卮鬲賴 丕賲貙 丿乇 丌孬丕乇 丿蹖诏乇賲 賳蹖夭 賲賵噩賵丿 亘賵丿賴 丕爻鬲
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鈥庁堌池з嗁� 毓夭蹖夭貙 亘賴 丕賳鬲禺丕亘 爻禺賳丕賳蹖 丕夭 噩丕蹖 噩丕蹖賽 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇丕 亘乇丕蹖鬲丕賳 丿乇 夭蹖乇 賲蹖賳賵蹖爻賲... 丕賱亘鬲賴 丕蹖賳 乇丕 亘丕蹖丿 亘诏賵蹖賲 讴賴 賮氐賱 賴丕蹖蹖 丕夭 讴鬲丕亘 亘蹖卮鬲乇 亘賴 爻亘讴 賵 賳賵毓 賳诏丕乇卮 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 賵 乇賵卮 賴丕蹖 鬲賯賱蹖丿蹖 丌賳賴丕 丕夭 诏匕卮鬲诏丕賳 賵 丿爻鬲賵乇 夭亘丕賳 丿乇 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏蹖 賵 賳賯丿 乇賲丕賳 賳賵蹖爻蹖 賵 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 賳賵蹖爻蹖貙 倬乇丿丕禺鬲賴 丕爻鬲 賵 賳讴鬲賴贁 禺丕氐蹖 亘乇丕蹖 賳賵卮鬲賳 丿乇 丕蹖賳 乇蹖賵蹖賵 賳丿丕乇丿
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鈥庁必и権� 亘夭乇诏賽 夭賳丿诏蹖 丕蹖賳 賳蹖爻鬲 讴賴 丕賳爻丕賳 賴賱丕讴 賲蹖卮賵丿貙 亘賱讴賴 丕蹖賳 丕爻鬲 讴賴 毓卮賯卮 鬲賻賴 讴卮蹖丿賴 賵 鬲賲丕賲 賲蹖卮賵丿... 蹖讴蹖 丕夭 亘賱丕賴丕蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 讴賴 趩丕乇賴 丕蹖 賳蹖夭 賳丿丕乇丿貙 丕蹖賳 丕爻鬲 讴賴 讴爻蹖 乇丕 讴賴 丕賳爻丕賳 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕乇丿貙 丿蹖诏乇 丕賳爻丕賳 乇丕 丿賵爻鬲 賳丿丕卮鬲賴 亘丕卮丿
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鈥庁槽屫ㄘй屰� 夭賳丿诏蹖 趩蹖夭蹖 賳蹖爻鬲 賲诏乇 丕蹖賳讴賴 賴乇讴爻 亘丕蹖丿 賲胤丕亘賯 亘丕 胤亘蹖毓鬲 賵 丨乇賮賴贁 禺賵蹖卮 毓賲賱 讴賳丿
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鈥庁关屫� 丕爻鬲 讴賴 诏賳丕賴丕賳賽 禺賵丿賽 賲丕 丕夭 诏賳丕賴丕賳 丿蹖诏乇丕賳貙 禺蹖賱蹖 讴賲鬲乇 卮乇蹖乇丕賳賴 亘賴 賳馗乇 賲蹖乇爻丿 ... 鬲氐賵乇 賲蹖讴賳賲 丿賱蹖賱卮 丕蹖賳 丕爻鬲 讴賴 賲丕 鬲賲丕賲賽 卮乇丕蹖胤蹖 乇丕 讴賴 爻亘亘賽 賵賯賵毓賽 诏賳丕賴丕賳賽 賲丕 诏卮鬲賴 丕爻鬲 賲蹖丿丕賳蹖賲 賵 亘賳丕亘乇丕蹖賳 賲賵賮賯 賲蹖卮賵蹖賲 讴賴 賴賲丕賳 诏賳丕賴蹖 乇丕 讴賴 賳賲蹖鬲賵丕賳蹖賲 亘乇 丿蹖诏乇丕賳 亘亘禺卮丕卅蹖賲貙 亘乇 禺賵丿 亘亘禺卮蹖賲
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鈥庂呚� 丕賳爻丕賳賴丕 毓乇賵爻讴 賴丕蹖 亘丿亘禺鬲蹖 賴爻鬲蹖賲 讴賴 丿爻鬲禺賵卮賽 爻乇賳賵卮鬲賽 亘蹖乇丨賲蹖 賯乇丕乇 诏乇賮鬲賴 丕蹖賲 賵 亘賴 噩亘乇賽 賯賵丕賳蹖賳賽 爻禺鬲 賵 賳乇賲 賳丕卮丿賳蹖賽 胤亘蹖毓鬲貙 賲丨讴賵賲 亘賴 卮乇讴鬲 丿乇 賲亘丕乇夭賴贁 賵賯賮賴 賳丕倬匕蹖乇蹖 亘乇丕蹖賽 丨賮馗賽 賵噩賵丿 卮丿賴 丕蹖賲... 賵 趩蹖夭蹖 噩夭 蹖讴 卮讴爻鬲賽 丨鬲賲蹖 丿乇 倬蹖卮賽 乇賵 賳丿丕乇蹖賲
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鈥庁ㄘ必必驰� 賲賳 丿乇 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲乇丿賲貙 爻亘亘 卮丿 鬲丕 亘賴 丕蹖賳 賲賵囟賵毓 丕毓鬲賯丕丿 倬蹖丿丕 讴賳賲 讴賴貙 亘乇 禺賱丕賮賽 丌賳趩賴 丕禺賱丕賯丿丕賳 賴丕 賲蹖禺賵丕賴賳丿 亘賴 賲丕 亘賯亘賵賱丕賳賳丿..亘蹖賳賽 丕賳爻丕賳賴丕蹖 禺賵亘 賵 亘丿貙 鬲賮丕賵鬲賽 夭蹖丕丿蹖 賵噩賵丿 賳丿丕乇丿
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鈥庁з嗀池з嗁囏� 乇丕 禺賵丿倬乇爻鬲蹖賽 賵丨卮蹖丕賳賴 丕蹖 亘賴 丨乇讴鬲 丿乇 賲蹖 丌賵乇丿 賵 毓卮賯 賮賯胤 丨蹖賱賴贁 夭卮鬲蹖 丕爻鬲 讴賴 胤亘蹖毓鬲 亘乇丕蹖賽 丨賮馗賽 丿賵丕賲賽 賳跇丕丿賴丕 丿乇 讴丕乇賽 賲丕 丕賳丿丕禺鬲賴 丕爻鬲
鈥庁з嗀池з嗁囏� 賴乇 賴丿賮蹖 賴賲 讴賴 丿丕卮鬲賴 亘丕卮賳丿貙 丕睾賮丕賱 卮丿賴 丕賳丿貙 趩乇丕讴賴 丕賳爻丕賳 賴蹖趩 趩蹖夭蹖 乇丕 賳賲蹖鬲賵丕賳丿 賴丿賮 賯乇丕乇 丿賴丿貙 賲诏乇 禺賵卮蹖 賴丕蹖 禺賵蹖卮鬲賳 乇丕
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鈥庂嗁堐屫迟嗀з嗃� (讴孬蹖賮) 亘賵丿賳丿 讴賴 丿乇 賲賵乇丿賽 丕乇夭卮賽 賲毓賳賵蹖 乇賳噩 賵 爻禺鬲蹖 賲蹖賳賵卮鬲賳丿 賵 賲丿毓蹖 亘賵丿賳丿 讴賴 乇賳噩 賲丕蹖賴贁 爻賱丕賲鬲賽 噩爻賲 賵 乇賵丨 丕爻鬲 賵 爻亘亘 賲蹖诏乇丿丿 鬲丕 丕賳爻丕賳 亘賴 賯賱賲乇賵 乇賲賵夭賽 禺丿丕賵賳丿蹖 賳夭丿蹖讴 卮賵丿... 賲丿毓蹖 亘賵丿賳丿 讴賴 乇賳噩 卮禺氐蹖鬲賽 丕賳爻丕賳 乇丕 鬲賯賵蹖鬲 讴乇丿賴 賵 讴爻蹖 讴賴 亘賴 噩爻鬲噩賵蹖賽 丿乇丿 賵 乇賳噩 乇賵丿貙 爻毓丕丿鬲賽 讴丕賲賱鬲乇蹖 賳氐蹖亘卮 賲蹖卮賵丿
鈥庁й屬� 賲丐賱賮丕賳 賵 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳賽 讴賱賾丕卮 丿乇 禺丕賳賴 賴丕蹖賽 亘夭乇诏 賵 乇丕丨鬲蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲蹖讴乇丿賳丿 賵 丿乇 乇賵夭 爻賴 賵毓丿賴 睾匕丕 賲蹖禺賵乇丿賳丿 賵 丕夭 鬲賳丿乇爻鬲蹖 賲賮乇胤蹖 亘乇禺賵乇丿丕乇 亘賵丿賳丿 賵 丕夭 賮乇賵卮 讴鬲丕亘賴丕蹖卮丕賳 亘賴 賲乇丿賲賽 爻丕丿賴 賱賵丨貙 孬乇賵鬲 夭蹖丕丿蹖 亘丿爻鬲 丌賵乇丿賳丿
鈥庁必� 賵 乇賳噩 賳賴 鬲賳賴丕 丕賳爻丕賳 乇丕 賲賲鬲丕夭 賳賲蹖讴賳丿貙 亘賱讴賴 鬲賳夭賱 賲蹖丿賴丿... 丿乇丿 賵 乇賳噩 丕賳爻丕賳 乇丕 禺賵丿禺賵丕賴 賵 倬爻鬲 賵 丨賯蹖乇 賵 亘丿诏賲丕賳 賲蹖爻丕夭丿 賵 丌賳賴丕 乇丕 丿乇 趩蹖夭賴丕蹖 噩夭卅蹖 睾乇賯 賲蹖讴賳丿
鈥庂呚� 賳亘丕蹖丿 亘賴 丿賳亘丕賱 乇賳噩 賵 丿乇丿 禺賵蹖卮 亘丕卮蹖賲貙 亘賱讴賴 亘丕蹖丿 丿乇丿賴丕蹖 丿蹖诏乇丕賳 乇丕 亘亘蹖賳蹖賲 賵 丕夭 丌賳 亘蹖丕賲賵夭蹖賲
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鈥庂佡勜迟伬� 賲賵囟賵毓蹖 賳蹖爻鬲 讴賴 鬲賳賴丕 亘賴 賮蹖賱爻賵賮丕賳 賵 乇蹖丕囟蹖 丿丕賳丕賳 賲乇亘賵胤 亘丕卮丿貙 亘賱讴賴 亘賴 鬲賲丕賲 賲丕 賲乇亘賵胤 丕爻鬲... 丨鬲蹖 丿乇 亘蹖賮讴乇 鬲乇蹖賳 丕卮禺丕氐 賳蹖夭 賮賱爻賮赖 亘胤賵乇 丿乇賵賳蹖 賵 倬賳賴丕賳蹖
鈥庂堌堌� 丿丕乇丿... 倬蹖乇夭賳蹖 讴賴 亘乇丕蹖 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 亘丕乇 诏賮鬲: <<诏乇蹖賴 賵 夭丕乇蹖 亘乇 卮蹖乇賽 鬲乇卮 卮丿賴貙 亘蹖賮丕蹖丿賴 丕爻鬲>>... 爻禺賳卮 亘賴 卮蹖賵賴贁 禺賵丿貙 賮蹖賱爻賵賮蹖 亘賵丿貙 趩乇丕讴賴 賲賯氐賵丿卮 趩蹖夭蹖 噩夭 丕蹖賳 賳亘賵丿賴 丕爻鬲 讴賴 亘诏賵蹖丿: 鬲兀爻賮 亘乇 诏匕卮鬲賴貙 丕卮鬲亘丕賴 丕爻鬲
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鈥庁з呟屫堌ж辟� 丕蹖賳 乇蹖賵蹖賵 噩賴鬲賽 卮賳丕爻丕賳丿賳賽 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘賴 卮賲丕 亘夭乇诏賵丕乇丕賳貙 賲賮蹖丿 亘賵丿賴 亘丕卮賴
鈥�<倬蹖乇賵夭 亘丕卮蹖丿 賵 丕蹖乇丕賳蹖>
鈥庁操嗀� 蹖丕丿 <爻丕賲乇爻鬲 賲賵丌賲> 丿乇 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 丕夭 丕賮讴丕乇 賵 爻禺賳丕賳蹖 讴賴 丿乇 匕賴賳卮 丿乇 爻丕賱蹖丕賳 爻丕賱 賳诏賴丿丕乇蹖 讴乇丿賴 丕爻鬲貙 倬乇丿賴 亘乇丿丕乇蹖 讴乇丿賴 丕爻鬲 賵 诏賵蹖蹖 讴鬲丕亘 禺丕胤乇丕鬲賽 蹖讴 丕賳丿蹖卮賲賳丿賽 賲乇丿賲蹖 丕爻鬲貙 讴賴 丕夭 丿賵乇丕賳 讴賵丿讴蹖 賵 丿亘爻鬲丕賳 賵 丿亘蹖乇爻鬲丕賳 賵 丿丕賳卮诏丕賴 賳賵卮鬲賴 丕爻鬲 鬲丕 倬丕蹖丕賳... 亘丕 丌賳讴賴 禺賵丿卮 丕氐乇丕乇 丿丕乇丿 讴賴 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘貙 亘賴 賴蹖趩 賵噩賴 讴鬲丕亘 禺丕胤乇丕鬲 賳賲蹖亘丕卮丿 賵 丿乇 賲賵乇丿賽 讴鬲丕亘 賲蹖诏賵蹖丿: 丿乇 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 賲蹖讴賵卮賲 鬲丕 丕賮讴丕乇賲 乇丕 丿乇 賲賵乇丿賽 賲賵囟賵毓丕鬲蹖 讴賴 丿乇 胤賵賱賽 夭賳丿诏蹖 丕賲 賯爻賲鬲賽 毓賲丿賴贁 鬲賵噩賴 賲乇丕 噩賱亘 賳賲賵丿賴 丕爻鬲 乇丕 丿爻鬲賴 亘賳丿蹖 賳賲丕蹖賲... 丿乇 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘丕蹖丿 賲胤丕賱亘蹖 乇丕 亘诏賵蹖賲 讴賴 倬蹖卮 丕夭 丕蹖賳 賳蹖夭 丌賳賴丕 乇丕 诏賮鬲賴 丕賲貙 亘賴 賴賲蹖賳 丿賱蹖賱 毓賳賵丕賳賽 丌賳 乇丕 丨丕氐賱 毓賲乇 蹖丕 "賳鬲蹖噩賴 诏蹖乇蹖" 賳丕賲 賳賴丕丿賴 丕賲... 丕夭 丌賳噩丕蹖蹖 讴賴 鬲賲丕賲 夭賳丿诏蹖 丕賲 乇丕 丿乇 讴鬲丕亘賴丕蹖賲 诏賳噩丕賳丿賴 丕賲貙 胤亘毓丕賸 賲胤丕賱亘蹖 讴賴 丿乇 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 賳賵卮鬲賴 丕賲貙 丿乇 丌孬丕乇 丿蹖诏乇賲 賳蹖夭 賲賵噩賵丿 亘賵丿賴 丕爻鬲
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鈥庁堌池з嗁� 毓夭蹖夭貙 亘賴 丕賳鬲禺丕亘 爻禺賳丕賳蹖 丕夭 噩丕蹖 噩丕蹖賽 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇丕 亘乇丕蹖鬲丕賳 丿乇 夭蹖乇 賲蹖賳賵蹖爻賲... 丕賱亘鬲賴 丕蹖賳 乇丕 亘丕蹖丿 亘诏賵蹖賲 讴賴 賮氐賱 賴丕蹖蹖 丕夭 讴鬲丕亘 亘蹖卮鬲乇 亘賴 爻亘讴 賵 賳賵毓 賳诏丕乇卮 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 賵 乇賵卮 賴丕蹖 鬲賯賱蹖丿蹖 丌賳賴丕 丕夭 诏匕卮鬲诏丕賳 賵 丿爻鬲賵乇 夭亘丕賳 丿乇 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏蹖 賵 賳賯丿 乇賲丕賳 賳賵蹖爻蹖 賵 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賲賴 賳賵蹖爻蹖貙 倬乇丿丕禺鬲賴 丕爻鬲 賵 賳讴鬲賴贁 禺丕氐蹖 亘乇丕蹖 賳賵卮鬲賳 丿乇 丕蹖賳 乇蹖賵蹖賵 賳丿丕乇丿
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鈥庁必и権� 亘夭乇诏賽 夭賳丿诏蹖 丕蹖賳 賳蹖爻鬲 讴賴 丕賳爻丕賳 賴賱丕讴 賲蹖卮賵丿貙 亘賱讴賴 丕蹖賳 丕爻鬲 讴賴 毓卮賯卮 鬲賻賴 讴卮蹖丿賴 賵 鬲賲丕賲 賲蹖卮賵丿... 蹖讴蹖 丕夭 亘賱丕賴丕蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 讴賴 趩丕乇賴 丕蹖 賳蹖夭 賳丿丕乇丿貙 丕蹖賳 丕爻鬲 讴賴 讴爻蹖 乇丕 讴賴 丕賳爻丕賳 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕乇丿貙 丿蹖诏乇 丕賳爻丕賳 乇丕 丿賵爻鬲 賳丿丕卮鬲賴 亘丕卮丿
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鈥庁槽屫ㄘй屰� 夭賳丿诏蹖 趩蹖夭蹖 賳蹖爻鬲 賲诏乇 丕蹖賳讴賴 賴乇讴爻 亘丕蹖丿 賲胤丕亘賯 亘丕 胤亘蹖毓鬲 賵 丨乇賮賴贁 禺賵蹖卮 毓賲賱 讴賳丿
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鈥庁关屫� 丕爻鬲 讴賴 诏賳丕賴丕賳賽 禺賵丿賽 賲丕 丕夭 诏賳丕賴丕賳 丿蹖诏乇丕賳貙 禺蹖賱蹖 讴賲鬲乇 卮乇蹖乇丕賳賴 亘賴 賳馗乇 賲蹖乇爻丿 ... 鬲氐賵乇 賲蹖讴賳賲 丿賱蹖賱卮 丕蹖賳 丕爻鬲 讴賴 賲丕 鬲賲丕賲賽 卮乇丕蹖胤蹖 乇丕 讴賴 爻亘亘賽 賵賯賵毓賽 诏賳丕賴丕賳賽 賲丕 诏卮鬲賴 丕爻鬲 賲蹖丿丕賳蹖賲 賵 亘賳丕亘乇丕蹖賳 賲賵賮賯 賲蹖卮賵蹖賲 讴賴 賴賲丕賳 诏賳丕賴蹖 乇丕 讴賴 賳賲蹖鬲賵丕賳蹖賲 亘乇 丿蹖诏乇丕賳 亘亘禺卮丕卅蹖賲貙 亘乇 禺賵丿 亘亘禺卮蹖賲
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鈥庂呚� 丕賳爻丕賳賴丕 毓乇賵爻讴 賴丕蹖 亘丿亘禺鬲蹖 賴爻鬲蹖賲 讴賴 丿爻鬲禺賵卮賽 爻乇賳賵卮鬲賽 亘蹖乇丨賲蹖 賯乇丕乇 诏乇賮鬲賴 丕蹖賲 賵 亘賴 噩亘乇賽 賯賵丕賳蹖賳賽 爻禺鬲 賵 賳乇賲 賳丕卮丿賳蹖賽 胤亘蹖毓鬲貙 賲丨讴賵賲 亘賴 卮乇讴鬲 丿乇 賲亘丕乇夭賴贁 賵賯賮賴 賳丕倬匕蹖乇蹖 亘乇丕蹖賽 丨賮馗賽 賵噩賵丿 卮丿賴 丕蹖賲... 賵 趩蹖夭蹖 噩夭 蹖讴 卮讴爻鬲賽 丨鬲賲蹖 丿乇 倬蹖卮賽 乇賵 賳丿丕乇蹖賲
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鈥庁ㄘ必必驰� 賲賳 丿乇 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲乇丿賲貙 爻亘亘 卮丿 鬲丕 亘賴 丕蹖賳 賲賵囟賵毓 丕毓鬲賯丕丿 倬蹖丿丕 讴賳賲 讴賴貙 亘乇 禺賱丕賮賽 丌賳趩賴 丕禺賱丕賯丿丕賳 賴丕 賲蹖禺賵丕賴賳丿 亘賴 賲丕 亘賯亘賵賱丕賳賳丿..亘蹖賳賽 丕賳爻丕賳賴丕蹖 禺賵亘 賵 亘丿貙 鬲賮丕賵鬲賽 夭蹖丕丿蹖 賵噩賵丿 賳丿丕乇丿
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鈥庁з嗀池з嗁囏� 乇丕 禺賵丿倬乇爻鬲蹖賽 賵丨卮蹖丕賳賴 丕蹖 亘賴 丨乇讴鬲 丿乇 賲蹖 丌賵乇丿 賵 毓卮賯 賮賯胤 丨蹖賱賴贁 夭卮鬲蹖 丕爻鬲 讴賴 胤亘蹖毓鬲 亘乇丕蹖賽 丨賮馗賽 丿賵丕賲賽 賳跇丕丿賴丕 丿乇 讴丕乇賽 賲丕 丕賳丿丕禺鬲賴 丕爻鬲
鈥庁з嗀池з嗁囏� 賴乇 賴丿賮蹖 賴賲 讴賴 丿丕卮鬲賴 亘丕卮賳丿貙 丕睾賮丕賱 卮丿賴 丕賳丿貙 趩乇丕讴賴 丕賳爻丕賳 賴蹖趩 趩蹖夭蹖 乇丕 賳賲蹖鬲賵丕賳丿 賴丿賮 賯乇丕乇 丿賴丿貙 賲诏乇 禺賵卮蹖 賴丕蹖 禺賵蹖卮鬲賳 乇丕
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鈥庂嗁堐屫迟嗀з嗃� (讴孬蹖賮) 亘賵丿賳丿 讴賴 丿乇 賲賵乇丿賽 丕乇夭卮賽 賲毓賳賵蹖 乇賳噩 賵 爻禺鬲蹖 賲蹖賳賵卮鬲賳丿 賵 賲丿毓蹖 亘賵丿賳丿 讴賴 乇賳噩 賲丕蹖賴贁 爻賱丕賲鬲賽 噩爻賲 賵 乇賵丨 丕爻鬲 賵 爻亘亘 賲蹖诏乇丿丿 鬲丕 丕賳爻丕賳 亘賴 賯賱賲乇賵 乇賲賵夭賽 禺丿丕賵賳丿蹖 賳夭丿蹖讴 卮賵丿... 賲丿毓蹖 亘賵丿賳丿 讴賴 乇賳噩 卮禺氐蹖鬲賽 丕賳爻丕賳 乇丕 鬲賯賵蹖鬲 讴乇丿賴 賵 讴爻蹖 讴賴 亘賴 噩爻鬲噩賵蹖賽 丿乇丿 賵 乇賳噩 乇賵丿貙 爻毓丕丿鬲賽 讴丕賲賱鬲乇蹖 賳氐蹖亘卮 賲蹖卮賵丿
鈥庁й屬� 賲丐賱賮丕賳 賵 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳賽 讴賱賾丕卮 丿乇 禺丕賳賴 賴丕蹖賽 亘夭乇诏 賵 乇丕丨鬲蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲蹖讴乇丿賳丿 賵 丿乇 乇賵夭 爻賴 賵毓丿賴 睾匕丕 賲蹖禺賵乇丿賳丿 賵 丕夭 鬲賳丿乇爻鬲蹖 賲賮乇胤蹖 亘乇禺賵乇丿丕乇 亘賵丿賳丿 賵 丕夭 賮乇賵卮 讴鬲丕亘賴丕蹖卮丕賳 亘賴 賲乇丿賲賽 爻丕丿賴 賱賵丨貙 孬乇賵鬲 夭蹖丕丿蹖 亘丿爻鬲 丌賵乇丿賳丿
鈥庁必� 賵 乇賳噩 賳賴 鬲賳賴丕 丕賳爻丕賳 乇丕 賲賲鬲丕夭 賳賲蹖讴賳丿貙 亘賱讴賴 鬲賳夭賱 賲蹖丿賴丿... 丿乇丿 賵 乇賳噩 丕賳爻丕賳 乇丕 禺賵丿禺賵丕賴 賵 倬爻鬲 賵 丨賯蹖乇 賵 亘丿诏賲丕賳 賲蹖爻丕夭丿 賵 丌賳賴丕 乇丕 丿乇 趩蹖夭賴丕蹖 噩夭卅蹖 睾乇賯 賲蹖讴賳丿
鈥庂呚� 賳亘丕蹖丿 亘賴 丿賳亘丕賱 乇賳噩 賵 丿乇丿 禺賵蹖卮 亘丕卮蹖賲貙 亘賱讴賴 亘丕蹖丿 丿乇丿賴丕蹖 丿蹖诏乇丕賳 乇丕 亘亘蹖賳蹖賲 賵 丕夭 丌賳 亘蹖丕賲賵夭蹖賲
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鈥庂佡勜迟伬� 賲賵囟賵毓蹖 賳蹖爻鬲 讴賴 鬲賳賴丕 亘賴 賮蹖賱爻賵賮丕賳 賵 乇蹖丕囟蹖 丿丕賳丕賳 賲乇亘賵胤 亘丕卮丿貙 亘賱讴賴 亘賴 鬲賲丕賲 賲丕 賲乇亘賵胤 丕爻鬲... 丨鬲蹖 丿乇 亘蹖賮讴乇 鬲乇蹖賳 丕卮禺丕氐 賳蹖夭 賮賱爻賮赖 亘胤賵乇 丿乇賵賳蹖 賵 倬賳賴丕賳蹖
鈥庂堌堌� 丿丕乇丿... 倬蹖乇夭賳蹖 讴賴 亘乇丕蹖 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 亘丕乇 诏賮鬲: <<诏乇蹖賴 賵 夭丕乇蹖 亘乇 卮蹖乇賽 鬲乇卮 卮丿賴貙 亘蹖賮丕蹖丿賴 丕爻鬲>>... 爻禺賳卮 亘賴 卮蹖賵賴贁 禺賵丿貙 賮蹖賱爻賵賮蹖 亘賵丿貙 趩乇丕讴賴 賲賯氐賵丿卮 趩蹖夭蹖 噩夭 丕蹖賳 賳亘賵丿賴 丕爻鬲 讴賴 亘诏賵蹖丿: 鬲兀爻賮 亘乇 诏匕卮鬲賴貙 丕卮鬲亘丕賴 丕爻鬲
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鈥庁з呟屫堌ж辟� 丕蹖賳 乇蹖賵蹖賵 噩賴鬲賽 卮賳丕爻丕賳丿賳賽 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘賴 卮賲丕 亘夭乇诏賵丕乇丕賳貙 賲賮蹖丿 亘賵丿賴 亘丕卮賴
鈥�<倬蹖乇賵夭 亘丕卮蹖丿 賵 丕蹖乇丕賳蹖>
November 12, 2020
I was seriously contemplating dumping this book, but then it turned around. It improves after a while. I am definitely glad I read it, but I would not recommend the book to any except true fans of the author.
This is not an autobiography. Instead, at the age of sixty-four, the author is ruminating about his career choices, the theater, literature, religion and philosophy. He avoids discussion of his personal life, saying nothing about his marriage, his child, his homosexual relationships and very little about his parents, his youth, his initial medical career, or his work as a British intelligence officer during the First World War.
The focus of the book is his writing career, but it does not detail his own short stories, plays or books. He talks about authors he admires and what exactly he admires about them. He has studied other authors to improve his own writing. He writes about different kind of literature鈥攖heir idiosyncrasies and what they require of an author. When discussing drama, for example, he discusses the use of verse or straight prose, the differences between drama and cinema, how an audience, a director and the actors influence a theater performance. A playwright must take all these aspects into account when writing a play. He analyzes meticulously different literary forms. He explains why he grew bored with drama and returned to fiction.
Anyone interested in Maugham鈥檚 writing will surely have noted his ability to write in different genres, on different topics and in different styles. That in this book he focuses on the requirements of each is scarcely surprising. Given the wide scope of the author鈥檚 own writing, it is not strange that he felt the need to analyze the characteristics and requirements of each. That the book is as it is is what you would expect given his writing career.
The final third veers off into an analysis of the author鈥檚 life philosophy and religion. He was an agnostic. How and why he came to be so is discussed. A wide range of philosophical ideas are discussed, as are the concepts of evil and goodness, life after death and the essence of love, truth and beauty. His reading of world literature and his study of religious and philosophical beliefs were extensive. He read to answer his own queries on religious and philosophical beliefs and on the art of writing. Such reading, along with his life experiences, have molded him as an individual and as a writer, and this is why he discusses his views here.
The book鈥檚 chapters are exceedingly short. The first ones felt disjointed and messy. They started, they ended and I was left wondering what had been their point. Topics are thrown at the reader and then abandoned鈥攏ot gone into with adequate depth. At the beginning, we are not even told that he was born in 1874, at the British embassy in Paris, France. We are told that his mother died when he was eight and his father when he was ten. Later he mentions that he stammered. He died at the age of ninety-one in 1965, many years after this book was written.
The audiobook I listened to was narrated by Andrew Wincott. It is not difficult to follow, but I cannot say I am in love with its sing-song timbre. I have given the narration three stars of five.
My ratings of Maugham鈥檚 books :
* 5 stars
* 4 stars
* 4 stars
* 4 stars
* 4 stars
* 3 stars
* 3 stars
* 3 stars
* 3 stars
* 3 stars
* 3 stars
* 3 stars
* 2 stars
* 2 stars
* 2 stars
* 1 star
You can see I appreciate 's writing, if not all of his books. Each has different content and style. His writing is not lyrical, but he is adept at dialog and observant of the world around him. His humor is most often ironical. If someone were to ask where to start, I would say or .
This is not an autobiography. Instead, at the age of sixty-four, the author is ruminating about his career choices, the theater, literature, religion and philosophy. He avoids discussion of his personal life, saying nothing about his marriage, his child, his homosexual relationships and very little about his parents, his youth, his initial medical career, or his work as a British intelligence officer during the First World War.
The focus of the book is his writing career, but it does not detail his own short stories, plays or books. He talks about authors he admires and what exactly he admires about them. He has studied other authors to improve his own writing. He writes about different kind of literature鈥攖heir idiosyncrasies and what they require of an author. When discussing drama, for example, he discusses the use of verse or straight prose, the differences between drama and cinema, how an audience, a director and the actors influence a theater performance. A playwright must take all these aspects into account when writing a play. He analyzes meticulously different literary forms. He explains why he grew bored with drama and returned to fiction.
Anyone interested in Maugham鈥檚 writing will surely have noted his ability to write in different genres, on different topics and in different styles. That in this book he focuses on the requirements of each is scarcely surprising. Given the wide scope of the author鈥檚 own writing, it is not strange that he felt the need to analyze the characteristics and requirements of each. That the book is as it is is what you would expect given his writing career.
The final third veers off into an analysis of the author鈥檚 life philosophy and religion. He was an agnostic. How and why he came to be so is discussed. A wide range of philosophical ideas are discussed, as are the concepts of evil and goodness, life after death and the essence of love, truth and beauty. His reading of world literature and his study of religious and philosophical beliefs were extensive. He read to answer his own queries on religious and philosophical beliefs and on the art of writing. Such reading, along with his life experiences, have molded him as an individual and as a writer, and this is why he discusses his views here.
The book鈥檚 chapters are exceedingly short. The first ones felt disjointed and messy. They started, they ended and I was left wondering what had been their point. Topics are thrown at the reader and then abandoned鈥攏ot gone into with adequate depth. At the beginning, we are not even told that he was born in 1874, at the British embassy in Paris, France. We are told that his mother died when he was eight and his father when he was ten. Later he mentions that he stammered. He died at the age of ninety-one in 1965, many years after this book was written.
The audiobook I listened to was narrated by Andrew Wincott. It is not difficult to follow, but I cannot say I am in love with its sing-song timbre. I have given the narration three stars of five.
My ratings of Maugham鈥檚 books :
* 5 stars
* 4 stars
* 4 stars
* 4 stars
* 4 stars
* 3 stars
* 3 stars
* 3 stars
* 3 stars
* 3 stars
* 3 stars
* 3 stars
* 2 stars
* 2 stars
* 2 stars
* 1 star
You can see I appreciate 's writing, if not all of his books. Each has different content and style. His writing is not lyrical, but he is adept at dialog and observant of the world around him. His humor is most often ironical. If someone were to ask where to start, I would say or .
November 23, 2018
毓丕賱蹖 亘賵丿 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘. 鬲賲丕賲 丌卮賮鬲诏蹖鈥屬囏й� 匕賴賳蹖 夭蹖亘丕蹖 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴鈥屰� 賲賵乇丿毓賱丕賯賴鈥屬� 乇丕噩毓鈥屫ㄙ� 鬲噩丕乇亘 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏蹖卮貙 賵乇賵丿卮 亘賴 賮賱爻賮赖 賵 賳馗乇蹖丕鬲 賲禺鬲賱賮 賵 丕毓鬲賯丕丿丕鬲 噩丕賱亘卮 讴賴 亘爻蹖丕乇 丕夭 卮亘丕賴鬲 丿丕卮鬲賳 丕賮讴丕乇賲 亘賴卮 噩丕 禺賵乇丿賲. 亘賴鈥屬嗀肛辟� 亘丕 丕蹖賳 賴賲賴 乇丕賴賳賲丕蹖蹖 賲賮蹖丿貙 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 賲蹖鬲賵賳賴 賲賯丿賲賴 賵 丌睾丕夭 禺賵亘蹖 賵丕爻賴 倬蹖诏蹖乇蹖 噩丿蹖 賳賵卮鬲賳 賴賲 亘丕卮賴.
February 10, 2024
賲賳 丕氐賱丕 賲賵丌賲 乇賵 賳賲蹖鈥屫促嗀ж� :))) 賵賱蹖 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 亘賴 倬蹖卮賳賴丕丿 丿賵爻鬲賲 禺賵賳丿賲 賵 賵丕賯毓丕丕丕 禺賵卮賲 丕賵賲丿. 卮丕蹖丿 亘蹖卮鬲乇 亘賴 丕蹖賳 禺丕胤乇 讴賴 賮賯胤 夭賳丿诏蹖賳丕賲賴 賳亘賵丿 賵 賵丕賯毓丕 噩賲毓鈥屫ㄙ嗀� 丕賮讴丕乇 賵 丕蹖丕賲 賲賵丕賲 亘賵丿 噩丕賱亘 亘賵丿. 賮賱爻賮赖鈥屫й� 讴賴 丿賳亘丕賱卮 亘賵丿賲 乇賵 賲賵丌賲 賴賲 亘乇乇爻蹖 讴乇丿賴 亘賵丿 賵 倬丕爻禺卮 亘賴 爻賵丕賱丕鬲蹖 讴賴 爻賵丕賱鈥屬囏й� 賲賳賲 賴爻鬲 禺蹖賱蹖 噩丕賱亘 亘賵丿.
December 17, 2015
I must write as though I were a person of importance; and indeed, I am- to myself.
-W. Somerset Maugham(1874-1965)
The Summing Up (1938) is an introspective attempt at bringing together Maugham's thoughts on subjects that had primarily interested him through the course of his life- ideas on literature, art, religion, ethics, and philosophy- in a conclusive, coherent manner.
Maugham began by stating that this book was neither intended as an autobiography nor a book of recollections. In fact, he clearly noted that certain aspects of his life would remain unmentioned, private; and provided no license for any biographies in his lifetime. He felt that to give them weight would detract from the important life points upon which he wished to focus.
He was always bothered by setting down his thoughts in the first person, considering that he was more comfortable speaking through the characters in his novels.
"Fact and fiction are so intermingled in my work that now, looking back on it, I can hardly distinguish one from the other."
Mixing fact and fiction, Maugham's characters and themes were "created" from many of his acquaintances and experiences. Not one to be enamored of celebrity or fashionably co-mingling with the famous, he felt that "the prestige you require by being able to tell your friends that you know famous people proves only that you are yourself of small account." Maugham was more interested in the socially obscure, "since they have never been in the public eye, it has never occurred to them that they have anything to conceal. They display their oddities because it has never struck them that they are odd." To him, the less distinctive group proved a writer's more fertile ground.
Maugham shared his memories of his childhood with brevity (much more of it was written in Of Human Bondage), his natural writing instinct and developing flair for writing easy dialogue. He acknowledged strong literary influences by writers such as De Maupassant, Dryden, Voltaire, Swift, among others.
Of particular interest to me, and which left an indelible impression, was the attention he gave to explaining his philosophy, for this was the backbone of all Maugham's works. Of the worthiness of his writing (or writing in general), he contemplated that "it is hard not to ask oneself whether it is anything but futility to write plays and stories and novels..when men in millions all living on the border-line of starvation, when freedom in great parts of the inhabited globe is dying or dead, when a terrible war has been succeeded by years during which happiness has been out of the reach of the great mass of the human race, when men are distraught because they can see no value in life and the hopes that had enabled them for so many centuries to support its misery seem illusory." He would later reflect that he felt born to such a purpose: "some of us are so made that there is nothing else we can do. We do not write because we want to; we write because we must."
With confidence in his moral standards, religious and agnostic views, of human behavior- humanity's bad vs good attributes, of purpose in life, Maugham's words ran fluent with clear meaning, in spite of the obvious constraints he exercised to ink the personal convictions he strongly held.
"It may be that in goodness we may see , not a reason for life nor an explanation of it, but an extenuation. In this indifferent universe, with its inevitable evils that surround us from the cradle to the grave, it may serve not as a challenge or a reply, but as an affirmation of our own independence."
The Summing Up is a marvelous (albeit miniature) self-portrait , colored boldly with feelings and opinions. I felt it was too short to do justice to an author successfully accomplished in so many literary forms (novel, short story, personal narrative, literary and art criticism, drama, book travel, essay). Maugham ended the book with a quote by Fray Luis de Leon: "the beauty of life is nothing but this, that each should act in conformity with his nature and his business."
As a Maugham fan, I do feel that he might have undeservedly sold himself short in The Summing Up of his life. It is, however, a great starting point to gain insight into the philosophy that shaped such novels as the Razor's Edge, Of Human Bondage, Cakes and Ale, The Moon and Sixpence.
***
Extensive biographies have been published without Maugham's stylized eloquent input( Maugham by Ted Morgan,1980; and The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham: A Biography by Selina Hastings, 2010) - posthumously, and authorized through his estate, after some legal foot-work.
-W. Somerset Maugham(1874-1965)
The Summing Up (1938) is an introspective attempt at bringing together Maugham's thoughts on subjects that had primarily interested him through the course of his life- ideas on literature, art, religion, ethics, and philosophy- in a conclusive, coherent manner.
Maugham began by stating that this book was neither intended as an autobiography nor a book of recollections. In fact, he clearly noted that certain aspects of his life would remain unmentioned, private; and provided no license for any biographies in his lifetime. He felt that to give them weight would detract from the important life points upon which he wished to focus.
He was always bothered by setting down his thoughts in the first person, considering that he was more comfortable speaking through the characters in his novels.
"Fact and fiction are so intermingled in my work that now, looking back on it, I can hardly distinguish one from the other."
Mixing fact and fiction, Maugham's characters and themes were "created" from many of his acquaintances and experiences. Not one to be enamored of celebrity or fashionably co-mingling with the famous, he felt that "the prestige you require by being able to tell your friends that you know famous people proves only that you are yourself of small account." Maugham was more interested in the socially obscure, "since they have never been in the public eye, it has never occurred to them that they have anything to conceal. They display their oddities because it has never struck them that they are odd." To him, the less distinctive group proved a writer's more fertile ground.
Maugham shared his memories of his childhood with brevity (much more of it was written in Of Human Bondage), his natural writing instinct and developing flair for writing easy dialogue. He acknowledged strong literary influences by writers such as De Maupassant, Dryden, Voltaire, Swift, among others.
Of particular interest to me, and which left an indelible impression, was the attention he gave to explaining his philosophy, for this was the backbone of all Maugham's works. Of the worthiness of his writing (or writing in general), he contemplated that "it is hard not to ask oneself whether it is anything but futility to write plays and stories and novels..when men in millions all living on the border-line of starvation, when freedom in great parts of the inhabited globe is dying or dead, when a terrible war has been succeeded by years during which happiness has been out of the reach of the great mass of the human race, when men are distraught because they can see no value in life and the hopes that had enabled them for so many centuries to support its misery seem illusory." He would later reflect that he felt born to such a purpose: "some of us are so made that there is nothing else we can do. We do not write because we want to; we write because we must."
With confidence in his moral standards, religious and agnostic views, of human behavior- humanity's bad vs good attributes, of purpose in life, Maugham's words ran fluent with clear meaning, in spite of the obvious constraints he exercised to ink the personal convictions he strongly held.
"It may be that in goodness we may see , not a reason for life nor an explanation of it, but an extenuation. In this indifferent universe, with its inevitable evils that surround us from the cradle to the grave, it may serve not as a challenge or a reply, but as an affirmation of our own independence."
The Summing Up is a marvelous (albeit miniature) self-portrait , colored boldly with feelings and opinions. I felt it was too short to do justice to an author successfully accomplished in so many literary forms (novel, short story, personal narrative, literary and art criticism, drama, book travel, essay). Maugham ended the book with a quote by Fray Luis de Leon: "the beauty of life is nothing but this, that each should act in conformity with his nature and his business."
As a Maugham fan, I do feel that he might have undeservedly sold himself short in The Summing Up of his life. It is, however, a great starting point to gain insight into the philosophy that shaped such novels as the Razor's Edge, Of Human Bondage, Cakes and Ale, The Moon and Sixpence.
***
Extensive biographies have been published without Maugham's stylized eloquent input( Maugham by Ted Morgan,1980; and The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham: A Biography by Selina Hastings, 2010) - posthumously, and authorized through his estate, after some legal foot-work.
December 8, 2019
"In my 20s the critics said I was brutal, in my 30s they
said I was flippant, in my 40s they said I was cynical, in
my 50s they said I was competent and now in my 60s they say I am superficial." Maugham lived far too long - into his 90s - but, don't diss Uncle Willie.
MOM wrote over 30 (produced) plays, 100 stories, a dozen novels and, somehow, married and fathered a daughter (his sexual screen, needed for any ambivalant youth after the Wilde crise), divorced, and balanced 2 Signifs, kept a lusty sex life and was also a UK spy WW1, and a global traveller while managing a glittering social menu. How, how..? that's what I wonder.
My copy of the "The Summing Up," read in high school, is falling apart. If you haven't read : DO.
On writing - "It is not truth the writer attains, but merely
a transposition of his own personality. People often write obscurely because they have never taken the trouble to write clearly. [Or] the writer is not sure of his meaning. ~~ Journalism kills the individuality of those who write for it."
Books - "The only important thing in a book is the meaning it has for you. Deprived of reading, I find myself as irritable as the addict deprived of his drug."
Life - "There is no reason for life, but the need for self-assertion is the essence of man. The artist can within limits make what he likes of his life. In other callings (medicine, legal, etc), you are no longer free."
God - "I look upon God as a hypothesis that a reasonable man must reject."
Love - "We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. Love depends on certain secretions of the sexual glands. We do not continue to be excited by the same object."
And...finally - "Social intercourse is fatiguing. I have no natural trust in others. This is the price one has to pay for having a sense of humor."
said I was flippant, in my 40s they said I was cynical, in
my 50s they said I was competent and now in my 60s they say I am superficial." Maugham lived far too long - into his 90s - but, don't diss Uncle Willie.
MOM wrote over 30 (produced) plays, 100 stories, a dozen novels and, somehow, married and fathered a daughter (his sexual screen, needed for any ambivalant youth after the Wilde crise), divorced, and balanced 2 Signifs, kept a lusty sex life and was also a UK spy WW1, and a global traveller while managing a glittering social menu. How, how..? that's what I wonder.
My copy of the "The Summing Up," read in high school, is falling apart. If you haven't read : DO.
On writing - "It is not truth the writer attains, but merely
a transposition of his own personality. People often write obscurely because they have never taken the trouble to write clearly. [Or] the writer is not sure of his meaning. ~~ Journalism kills the individuality of those who write for it."
Books - "The only important thing in a book is the meaning it has for you. Deprived of reading, I find myself as irritable as the addict deprived of his drug."
Life - "There is no reason for life, but the need for self-assertion is the essence of man. The artist can within limits make what he likes of his life. In other callings (medicine, legal, etc), you are no longer free."
God - "I look upon God as a hypothesis that a reasonable man must reject."
Love - "We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. Love depends on certain secretions of the sexual glands. We do not continue to be excited by the same object."
And...finally - "Social intercourse is fatiguing. I have no natural trust in others. This is the price one has to pay for having a sense of humor."
May 26, 2022
鈥炐炑� 褏芯褉邪褌邪 薪械 斜懈胁邪 写邪 褋械 芯褔邪泻胁邪 褌胁褗褉写械 屑薪芯谐芯.鈥�
袨褖械 胁 褋邪屑芯褌芯 薪邪褔邪谢芯 袦芯褗屑 芯褌斜械谢褟蟹胁邪: 鈥炐澬把佈傂狙徰壭把傂� 泻薪懈谐邪 薪械 械 邪胁褌芯斜懈芯谐褉邪褎懈褔薪邪, 薪懈褌芯 屑械屑芯邪褉薪邪. 袩芯 械写懈薪 懈谢懈 写褉褍谐 薪邪褔懈薪 胁 褋胁芯懈褌械 锌褉芯懈蟹胁械写械薪懈褟 懈蟹锌芯谢蟹胁邪褏 芯薪芯胁邪, 泻芯械褌芯 懈蟹卸懈胁褟褏 锌褉械蟹 卸懈胁芯褌邪 褋懈.鈥� 袗 卸懈胁芯褌褗褌 屑褍 械 屑械泻芯 泻邪蟹邪薪芯 懈薪褌械褉械褋械薪 - 褍褔懈 褎懈谢芯褋芯褎懈褟, 谢懈褌械褉邪褌褍褉邪 懈 薪械屑褋泻懈 械蟹懈泻 胁 袚械褉屑邪薪懈褟, 邪 锌芯-泻褗褋薪芯, 蟹邪胁褉褗褖邪泄泻懈 褋械 胁 袗薪谐谢懈褟, 褋械 泻胁邪谢懈褎懈褑懈褉邪 泻邪褌芯 褏懈褉褍褉谐. 袩褉懈 懈蟹斜褍褏胁邪薪械褌芯 薪邪 袩小袙 邪薪谐谢懈泄褋泻懈褟褌 锌懈褋邪褌械谢 锌褗褉胁芯 褋谢褍卸懈 褋 褎褉芯薪褌邪 薪邪 鈥炐笛€胁械薪懈褟 泻褉褗褋褌鈥� 胁褗胁 肖褉邪薪褑懈褟, 锌褉械写懈 写邪 褋械 薪邪褌芯胁邪褉懈 褋 写芯褋褌邪 锌芯-褋械褉懈芯蟹薪邪 懈 芯褌谐芯胁芯褉薪邪 蟹邪写邪褔邪 泻邪褌芯 褌邪械薪 邪谐械薪褌 胁 袞械薪械胁邪 懈 褋谢械写 褌芯胁邪 胁 小邪薪泻褌 袩械褌械褉斜褍褉谐. 袙 袪褍褋懈褟 褌芯泄 械 懈蟹锌褉邪胁械薪 锌褉械写 褋芯谢懈写薪芯 锌褉械写懈蟹胁懈泻邪褌械谢褋褌胁芯 - 芯锌懈褌胁邪 褋械 写邪 锌褉械写芯褌胁褉邪褌懈 薪邪褔邪谢芯褌芯 薪邪 袪褍褋泻邪褌邪 褉械胁芯谢褞褑懈褟. 袚芯谢褟屑邪 褔邪褋褌 芯褌 褌械蟹懈 锌褉械卸懈胁褟胁邪薪懈褟 薪械屑懈薪褍械屑芯 褋谢褍卸邪褌 蟹邪 懈蟹谐褉邪卸写邪薪械褌芯 屑褍 泻邪褌芯 谢懈褔薪芯褋褌 懈 褋械 锌褉械胁褉褗褖邪褌 胁褗胁 胁写褗褏薪芯胁械薪懈械 蟹邪 薪邪锌懈褋胁邪薪械 薪邪 薪褟泻芯懈 芯褌 械屑斜谢械屑邪褌懈褔薪懈褌械 屑褍 褉芯屑邪薪懈.
袣芯谐邪褌芯 锌懈褕械 鈥炐犘靶残叫狙佇夹笛傂盒把傂扳€�, 小褗屑褗褉褋械褌 袦芯褗屑 械 薪邪 64 谐芯写懈薪懈. O褌 芯锌懈褌邪 懈 屑褗写褉芯褋褌褌邪 薪邪 褋胁芯褟褌邪 胁褗蟹褉邪褋褌, 褌芯泄 锌芯写薪邪褋褟 薪邪斜谢褞写械薪懈褟褌邪 懈 胁锌械褔邪褌谢械薪懈褟褌邪 褋懈 蟹邪 卸懈胁芯褌邪, 锌褉械谢懈胁邪褖懈 芯褌 屑懈褋谢懈, 褎懈谢芯褋芯褎懈褟 懈 写褗谢斜芯泻懈 胁褗褌褉械褕薪懈 褉邪蟹斜懈褉邪薪懈褟, 褋胁褗褉蟹邪薪懈 褋 懈蟹泻褍褋褌胁芯, 谢懈褌械褉邪褌褍褉邪, 锌芯谢懈褌懈泻邪, 褋褉械褖懈 懈 锌褗褌褍胁邪薪懈褟, 褉械谢懈谐懈褟. 小邪屑懈褟褌 袦芯褗屑 褌胁褗褉写懈, 褔械 锌褉械锌褉芯褔懈褌邪泄泻懈 薪邪锌懈褋邪薪芯褌芯 芯褌 薪械谐芯 胁 褌邪蟹懈 泻薪懈谐邪, 屑褍 褋械 褋褌褉褍胁邪, 褔械 薪褟泻芯懈 芯褌 谢懈褔薪懈褌械 褍斜械卸写械薪懈褟, 懈蟹谢械蟹谢懈 锌芯写 锌械褉芯褌芯 屑褍, 屑芯谐邪褌 写邪 蟹胁褍褔邪褌 锌芯-褋泻芯褉芯 锌芯胁褗褉褏薪芯褋褌薪懈, 锌褉芯褌懈胁芯褉械褔懈胁懈, 写芯褉懈 褋泻褍褔薪懈... 小锌芯褉械写 屑械薪 褉邪蟹泻褉懈胁邪褌 胁锌械褔邪褌谢褟胁邪褖邪褌邪 屑褍 懈薪褌械谢懈谐械薪褌薪芯褋褌 懈 褔懈褋褌邪 谐械薪懈邪谢薪芯褋褌 胁 锌懈褋邪薪械褌芯.
鈥炐澬靶�-谐芯谢褟屑邪褌邪 褌褉邪谐械写懈褟 薪邪 卸懈胁芯褌邪 薪械 褋械 褋褗褋褌芯懈 胁 褌芯胁邪, 褔械 褏芯褉邪褌邪 褍屑懈褉邪褌, 邪 胁 褌芯胁邪, 褔械 锌褉械褋褌邪胁邪褌 写邪 褋械 芯斜懈褔邪褌.鈥�
袨褖械 胁 褋邪屑芯褌芯 薪邪褔邪谢芯 袦芯褗屑 芯褌斜械谢褟蟹胁邪: 鈥炐澬把佈傂狙徰壭把傂� 泻薪懈谐邪 薪械 械 邪胁褌芯斜懈芯谐褉邪褎懈褔薪邪, 薪懈褌芯 屑械屑芯邪褉薪邪. 袩芯 械写懈薪 懈谢懈 写褉褍谐 薪邪褔懈薪 胁 褋胁芯懈褌械 锌褉芯懈蟹胁械写械薪懈褟 懈蟹锌芯谢蟹胁邪褏 芯薪芯胁邪, 泻芯械褌芯 懈蟹卸懈胁褟褏 锌褉械蟹 卸懈胁芯褌邪 褋懈.鈥� 袗 卸懈胁芯褌褗褌 屑褍 械 屑械泻芯 泻邪蟹邪薪芯 懈薪褌械褉械褋械薪 - 褍褔懈 褎懈谢芯褋芯褎懈褟, 谢懈褌械褉邪褌褍褉邪 懈 薪械屑褋泻懈 械蟹懈泻 胁 袚械褉屑邪薪懈褟, 邪 锌芯-泻褗褋薪芯, 蟹邪胁褉褗褖邪泄泻懈 褋械 胁 袗薪谐谢懈褟, 褋械 泻胁邪谢懈褎懈褑懈褉邪 泻邪褌芯 褏懈褉褍褉谐. 袩褉懈 懈蟹斜褍褏胁邪薪械褌芯 薪邪 袩小袙 邪薪谐谢懈泄褋泻懈褟褌 锌懈褋邪褌械谢 锌褗褉胁芯 褋谢褍卸懈 褋 褎褉芯薪褌邪 薪邪 鈥炐笛€胁械薪懈褟 泻褉褗褋褌鈥� 胁褗胁 肖褉邪薪褑懈褟, 锌褉械写懈 写邪 褋械 薪邪褌芯胁邪褉懈 褋 写芯褋褌邪 锌芯-褋械褉懈芯蟹薪邪 懈 芯褌谐芯胁芯褉薪邪 蟹邪写邪褔邪 泻邪褌芯 褌邪械薪 邪谐械薪褌 胁 袞械薪械胁邪 懈 褋谢械写 褌芯胁邪 胁 小邪薪泻褌 袩械褌械褉斜褍褉谐. 袙 袪褍褋懈褟 褌芯泄 械 懈蟹锌褉邪胁械薪 锌褉械写 褋芯谢懈写薪芯 锌褉械写懈蟹胁懈泻邪褌械谢褋褌胁芯 - 芯锌懈褌胁邪 褋械 写邪 锌褉械写芯褌胁褉邪褌懈 薪邪褔邪谢芯褌芯 薪邪 袪褍褋泻邪褌邪 褉械胁芯谢褞褑懈褟. 袚芯谢褟屑邪 褔邪褋褌 芯褌 褌械蟹懈 锌褉械卸懈胁褟胁邪薪懈褟 薪械屑懈薪褍械屑芯 褋谢褍卸邪褌 蟹邪 懈蟹谐褉邪卸写邪薪械褌芯 屑褍 泻邪褌芯 谢懈褔薪芯褋褌 懈 褋械 锌褉械胁褉褗褖邪褌 胁褗胁 胁写褗褏薪芯胁械薪懈械 蟹邪 薪邪锌懈褋胁邪薪械 薪邪 薪褟泻芯懈 芯褌 械屑斜谢械屑邪褌懈褔薪懈褌械 屑褍 褉芯屑邪薪懈.
袣芯谐邪褌芯 锌懈褕械 鈥炐犘靶残叫狙佇夹笛傂盒把傂扳€�, 小褗屑褗褉褋械褌 袦芯褗屑 械 薪邪 64 谐芯写懈薪懈. O褌 芯锌懈褌邪 懈 屑褗写褉芯褋褌褌邪 薪邪 褋胁芯褟褌邪 胁褗蟹褉邪褋褌, 褌芯泄 锌芯写薪邪褋褟 薪邪斜谢褞写械薪懈褟褌邪 懈 胁锌械褔邪褌谢械薪懈褟褌邪 褋懈 蟹邪 卸懈胁芯褌邪, 锌褉械谢懈胁邪褖懈 芯褌 屑懈褋谢懈, 褎懈谢芯褋芯褎懈褟 懈 写褗谢斜芯泻懈 胁褗褌褉械褕薪懈 褉邪蟹斜懈褉邪薪懈褟, 褋胁褗褉蟹邪薪懈 褋 懈蟹泻褍褋褌胁芯, 谢懈褌械褉邪褌褍褉邪, 锌芯谢懈褌懈泻邪, 褋褉械褖懈 懈 锌褗褌褍胁邪薪懈褟, 褉械谢懈谐懈褟. 小邪屑懈褟褌 袦芯褗屑 褌胁褗褉写懈, 褔械 锌褉械锌褉芯褔懈褌邪泄泻懈 薪邪锌懈褋邪薪芯褌芯 芯褌 薪械谐芯 胁 褌邪蟹懈 泻薪懈谐邪, 屑褍 褋械 褋褌褉褍胁邪, 褔械 薪褟泻芯懈 芯褌 谢懈褔薪懈褌械 褍斜械卸写械薪懈褟, 懈蟹谢械蟹谢懈 锌芯写 锌械褉芯褌芯 屑褍, 屑芯谐邪褌 写邪 蟹胁褍褔邪褌 锌芯-褋泻芯褉芯 锌芯胁褗褉褏薪芯褋褌薪懈, 锌褉芯褌懈胁芯褉械褔懈胁懈, 写芯褉懈 褋泻褍褔薪懈... 小锌芯褉械写 屑械薪 褉邪蟹泻褉懈胁邪褌 胁锌械褔邪褌谢褟胁邪褖邪褌邪 屑褍 懈薪褌械谢懈谐械薪褌薪芯褋褌 懈 褔懈褋褌邪 谐械薪懈邪谢薪芯褋褌 胁 锌懈褋邪薪械褌芯.
鈥炐澬靶�-谐芯谢褟屑邪褌邪 褌褉邪谐械写懈褟 薪邪 卸懈胁芯褌邪 薪械 褋械 褋褗褋褌芯懈 胁 褌芯胁邪, 褔械 褏芯褉邪褌邪 褍屑懈褉邪褌, 邪 胁 褌芯胁邪, 褔械 锌褉械褋褌邪胁邪褌 写邪 褋械 芯斜懈褔邪褌.鈥�
October 20, 2017
"You can get a great deal of entertainment out of tedious people if you keep your head. I remember being taken for a drive in a foreign country by a kind lady who wanted to show me round. Her conversation was composed entirely of truisms and she had so large a vocabulary of hackneyed phrases that I despaired of remembering them. But one remark she made has stuck in my memory as have few witticisms; we passed a row of little houses by the sea and she said to me: 'Those are week-end bungalows, if you understand what I mean; in other words they're bungalows that people go to on Saturdays and leave on Mondays.' I should have been sorry to miss that."
July 16, 2009
I read this book every few years鈥攁nd enjoy it more each time. In his early sixties and not knowing how much longer he might live, W. Somerset Maugham decided to set down in The Summing Up not so much an autobiography as his observations about life. He then went on to live another 30 years (born in 1874, he died in 1965 at age 91). Maugham was a keen observer with a 鈥渢ell it like it is鈥� attitude and a simple style that made him very popular first with the play-going and then with the reading public. He made a ton of money and kept it. Though he did not consider himself among the first rank of writers, he placed himself high in the second rank. As he put it, 鈥淚 can see very clearly what is just beyond the end of my nose; the great writers can see through a brick wall.鈥�
Born in France of a diplomat father and a beautiful mother (a couple dubbed by wags 鈥渢he beauty and the beast鈥�), Maugham learned to speak French before English and always had an affinity for French culture, being influenced more by Flaubert and Maupassant than by Richardson or Trollope or Dickens. While Maugham was still a boy his mother died of TB (he never completely got over it) and shortly thereafter his father also died; sent to an English public (i.e. private) school, Maugham experienced culture shock and was made miserable by his introversion, his incompetence at sports and his embarrassing stammer. He had inherited some money and after public school he left England with relief and went to university at Heidleberg, an experience he enormously enjoyed. Returning to England, he entered medical school because he didn鈥檛 have the nerve to tell his caretaking uncle, a small-minded country parson, that he had decided to become a writer. Ironically it was his medical internship in the slums that led to his first novel (at age 23), Liza of Lambeth, which sold well enough to encourage him (unfortunately, according to Maugham) to drop medicine in favor of professional writing. His subsequent novels were less successful and for a number of years he struggled until, recognizing that he had a good ear for dialogue and a nimble wit, he took up playwriting and in his early thirties had an enormous success which persisted for many years, until he burned out and reverted to the more intimate forms of writing he preferred, the novel and the short story. However, before resuming work in these genres he gathered a wealth of data on human nature by traveling a good deal, mostly to the islands of the South Pacific. After a period of assimilation, he sat down and wrote his first story in many years, which eventually became his most famous鈥斺€淩ain.鈥� After this he cranked out many novels, including Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence, Cakes and Ale (his favorite) and The Razor鈥檚 Edge (my favorite).
Maugham was like an anthropologist who sets out to study human nature in all its forms. Unlike most of his compatriots Maugham had experience not only with many foreign cultures but with all three social classes in England. He was raised in a mildly prosperous family of the middle class; as a young medical intern he peered into the intimate lives of the lower classes; and as a famous playwright he hobnobbed with England鈥檚 aristocracy and literati. In his writing he drew extensively on his keen multi-class observations. When World War I broke out he volunteered to drive ambulances in France; after a short while he was transferred to the intelligence service, an experience described in his book Ashenden; perhaps the most fascinating event of his life was a secret mission to Moscow to try to head off the Bolshevik revolution, to 鈥溾€evise a scheme that would keep Russia in the war and prevent the Bolsheviks, supported by the Central Powers, from seizing power鈥t seems to me at least possible that if I had been sent six months before I might quite well have succeeded.鈥�
Maugham is very enjoyable to read. He tells a good story, his style is simple, and his insight into human nature keen. A student of philosophy, he slips various worldviews painlessly into his narratives. One interesting thing about him is that he wanted to be more than just a writer: he set himself the twin goals of experiencing as much as possible of life (鈥淵ou only go around once鈥�), and of fully developing his character. Presumably he succeeded admirably in both. For the most part he tells it like it was and is; the only thing he held back on was his homosexuality, which in his day was considered scandalous for an English gentleman.
Some of Somerset鈥檚 pearls of wisdom:
Fact and fiction are so intermingled in my work that now, looking back on it, I can hardly distinguish one from the other. It would not interest me to record the facts, even if I could remember them, of which I have already made a better use.
On politicians: The gift of speech, as we know, is not often accompanied by the power of thought.
On businessmen: I have known men of affairs who have made great fortunes and brought vast enterprises to prosperity, but in everything unconcerned with their business appear to be devoid even of common sense.
On aristocrats: One might have thought that the only use of culture was to enable one to talk nonsense with distinction.
The prestige you acquire by being able to tell your friends that you know famous men proves only that you are yourself of small account.
I have not, as Kant enjoined, regarded each man as an end in himself, but as material that might be useful to me as a writer.
There is only one thing about which I am certain, and that is that there is very little about which one can be certain.
Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.
I wanted to write without any frills of language, in as bare and unaffected a manner as I could鈥�. I began with the impossible aim of using no adjectives at all.
I discovered my limitations and it seemed to me that the only sensible thing was to aim at what excellence I could within them.
I most aim at lucidity, simplicity and euphony鈥�. Simplicity and naturalness are the truest marks of distinction.
I do not write as [well as:] I want to; I write [as well as:] I can.
I have loved individuals; I have never much cared for man in the mass.
Of sex: It is obvious that you need not often go hungry if you are willing to dine off mutton hash and turnip tops.
It is because of my own grave faults that I have learnt indulgence for others.
There is not much to choose between men. They are all a hotchpotch of greatness and littleness.
I have wished that beside his bunch of flowers at the Old Bailey, his lordship [the judge:] had a packet of toilet paper. It would remind him that he was a man like any other.
What has chiefly struck me in human beings is their lack of consistency.
I cannot bring myself to judge my fellows; I am content to observe them.
I knew that suffering did not ennoble; it degraded. It made men selfish, mean, petty and suspicious. It absorbed them in small things. It did not make them more than men; it made them less than men.
Human nature may be displayed before you and if you have not the eyes to see you will learn nothing.
Though I have never much liked men I have found them so interesting that I am almost incapable of being bored by them.
I have no natural trust of others. I am more inclined to expect them to do ill than to do good.
I have most loved people who cared little or nothing for me and when good people have loved me I have been embarrassed.
It is dangerous to let the public behind the scenes. They are easily disillusioned and then they are angry with you, for it was the illusion they loved.
I have more character than brains and more brains than specific gifts.
The only important thing in a book is the meaning it has for you.
Some fortunate persons find freedom in their own minds; I, with less spiritual power than they, find it in travel.
Imagination grows by exercise and contrary to common belief is more powerful in the mature than in the young.
The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic and self-complacent is erroneous; on the contrary it makes them, for the most part, humble, tolerant and kind. Failure makes people bitter and cruel. Success improves the character of the man.
On the South Seas: What excited me was to meet one person after another who was new to me.
On the sanatorium where he was sent to recover from TB: I discovered for the first time in my life how very delightful it is to lie in bed.
The reading public has enormously increased during the last thirty years and there is a large mass of ignorant people who want knowledge that can be acquired with little labor.
The point of the writer is that he is not one man but many. It is because he is many that he can create many and the measure of his greatness is the number of selves that he comprises.
I chiefly wanted to be let alone, but I had discovered that not many wanted that, and if I let them alone they thought me unkind, indifferent and selfish.
I have only found one explanation [for the existence of evil:] that appealed equally to my sensibility and to my imagination. This is the doctrine of the transmigration of souls [reincarnation:]. I can only regret that I find the doctrine impossible to believe.
Men are passionate, men are weak, men are stupid, men are pitiful; to bring to bear on them anything so tremendous as the wrath of God seems strangely inept.
Born in France of a diplomat father and a beautiful mother (a couple dubbed by wags 鈥渢he beauty and the beast鈥�), Maugham learned to speak French before English and always had an affinity for French culture, being influenced more by Flaubert and Maupassant than by Richardson or Trollope or Dickens. While Maugham was still a boy his mother died of TB (he never completely got over it) and shortly thereafter his father also died; sent to an English public (i.e. private) school, Maugham experienced culture shock and was made miserable by his introversion, his incompetence at sports and his embarrassing stammer. He had inherited some money and after public school he left England with relief and went to university at Heidleberg, an experience he enormously enjoyed. Returning to England, he entered medical school because he didn鈥檛 have the nerve to tell his caretaking uncle, a small-minded country parson, that he had decided to become a writer. Ironically it was his medical internship in the slums that led to his first novel (at age 23), Liza of Lambeth, which sold well enough to encourage him (unfortunately, according to Maugham) to drop medicine in favor of professional writing. His subsequent novels were less successful and for a number of years he struggled until, recognizing that he had a good ear for dialogue and a nimble wit, he took up playwriting and in his early thirties had an enormous success which persisted for many years, until he burned out and reverted to the more intimate forms of writing he preferred, the novel and the short story. However, before resuming work in these genres he gathered a wealth of data on human nature by traveling a good deal, mostly to the islands of the South Pacific. After a period of assimilation, he sat down and wrote his first story in many years, which eventually became his most famous鈥斺€淩ain.鈥� After this he cranked out many novels, including Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence, Cakes and Ale (his favorite) and The Razor鈥檚 Edge (my favorite).
Maugham was like an anthropologist who sets out to study human nature in all its forms. Unlike most of his compatriots Maugham had experience not only with many foreign cultures but with all three social classes in England. He was raised in a mildly prosperous family of the middle class; as a young medical intern he peered into the intimate lives of the lower classes; and as a famous playwright he hobnobbed with England鈥檚 aristocracy and literati. In his writing he drew extensively on his keen multi-class observations. When World War I broke out he volunteered to drive ambulances in France; after a short while he was transferred to the intelligence service, an experience described in his book Ashenden; perhaps the most fascinating event of his life was a secret mission to Moscow to try to head off the Bolshevik revolution, to 鈥溾€evise a scheme that would keep Russia in the war and prevent the Bolsheviks, supported by the Central Powers, from seizing power鈥t seems to me at least possible that if I had been sent six months before I might quite well have succeeded.鈥�
Maugham is very enjoyable to read. He tells a good story, his style is simple, and his insight into human nature keen. A student of philosophy, he slips various worldviews painlessly into his narratives. One interesting thing about him is that he wanted to be more than just a writer: he set himself the twin goals of experiencing as much as possible of life (鈥淵ou only go around once鈥�), and of fully developing his character. Presumably he succeeded admirably in both. For the most part he tells it like it was and is; the only thing he held back on was his homosexuality, which in his day was considered scandalous for an English gentleman.
Some of Somerset鈥檚 pearls of wisdom:
Fact and fiction are so intermingled in my work that now, looking back on it, I can hardly distinguish one from the other. It would not interest me to record the facts, even if I could remember them, of which I have already made a better use.
On politicians: The gift of speech, as we know, is not often accompanied by the power of thought.
On businessmen: I have known men of affairs who have made great fortunes and brought vast enterprises to prosperity, but in everything unconcerned with their business appear to be devoid even of common sense.
On aristocrats: One might have thought that the only use of culture was to enable one to talk nonsense with distinction.
The prestige you acquire by being able to tell your friends that you know famous men proves only that you are yourself of small account.
I have not, as Kant enjoined, regarded each man as an end in himself, but as material that might be useful to me as a writer.
There is only one thing about which I am certain, and that is that there is very little about which one can be certain.
Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.
I wanted to write without any frills of language, in as bare and unaffected a manner as I could鈥�. I began with the impossible aim of using no adjectives at all.
I discovered my limitations and it seemed to me that the only sensible thing was to aim at what excellence I could within them.
I most aim at lucidity, simplicity and euphony鈥�. Simplicity and naturalness are the truest marks of distinction.
I do not write as [well as:] I want to; I write [as well as:] I can.
I have loved individuals; I have never much cared for man in the mass.
Of sex: It is obvious that you need not often go hungry if you are willing to dine off mutton hash and turnip tops.
It is because of my own grave faults that I have learnt indulgence for others.
There is not much to choose between men. They are all a hotchpotch of greatness and littleness.
I have wished that beside his bunch of flowers at the Old Bailey, his lordship [the judge:] had a packet of toilet paper. It would remind him that he was a man like any other.
What has chiefly struck me in human beings is their lack of consistency.
I cannot bring myself to judge my fellows; I am content to observe them.
I knew that suffering did not ennoble; it degraded. It made men selfish, mean, petty and suspicious. It absorbed them in small things. It did not make them more than men; it made them less than men.
Human nature may be displayed before you and if you have not the eyes to see you will learn nothing.
Though I have never much liked men I have found them so interesting that I am almost incapable of being bored by them.
I have no natural trust of others. I am more inclined to expect them to do ill than to do good.
I have most loved people who cared little or nothing for me and when good people have loved me I have been embarrassed.
It is dangerous to let the public behind the scenes. They are easily disillusioned and then they are angry with you, for it was the illusion they loved.
I have more character than brains and more brains than specific gifts.
The only important thing in a book is the meaning it has for you.
Some fortunate persons find freedom in their own minds; I, with less spiritual power than they, find it in travel.
Imagination grows by exercise and contrary to common belief is more powerful in the mature than in the young.
The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic and self-complacent is erroneous; on the contrary it makes them, for the most part, humble, tolerant and kind. Failure makes people bitter and cruel. Success improves the character of the man.
On the South Seas: What excited me was to meet one person after another who was new to me.
On the sanatorium where he was sent to recover from TB: I discovered for the first time in my life how very delightful it is to lie in bed.
The reading public has enormously increased during the last thirty years and there is a large mass of ignorant people who want knowledge that can be acquired with little labor.
The point of the writer is that he is not one man but many. It is because he is many that he can create many and the measure of his greatness is the number of selves that he comprises.
I chiefly wanted to be let alone, but I had discovered that not many wanted that, and if I let them alone they thought me unkind, indifferent and selfish.
I have only found one explanation [for the existence of evil:] that appealed equally to my sensibility and to my imagination. This is the doctrine of the transmigration of souls [reincarnation:]. I can only regret that I find the doctrine impossible to believe.
Men are passionate, men are weak, men are stupid, men are pitiful; to bring to bear on them anything so tremendous as the wrath of God seems strangely inept.
March 29, 2015
This book gives you the experience of sitting down with an accomplished old man, and listening as he beautifully explains his life story and the wisdom it gave him.
July 7, 2021
禺賵丕賳丿賳 丨丕氐賱 毓賲乇 賲賵丕賲 亘蹖卮 丕夭 賴賲賴 夭賳诏鈥� 賴卮丿丕乇蹖 爻鬲 亘乇丕蹖 賲賳 貙爻賵丕賱蹖 亘夭乇诏鈥� 讴賴 亘丕 夭賳丿诏蹖 禺賵丿 趩賴 禺賵丕賴賲 讴乇丿..丌蹖丕 乇賵夭蹖 丿爻鬲 亘賴 賯賱賲 禺賵丕賴賲 亘乇丿 賵 丕诏乇 亘乇賲 丕夭 趩賴 禺賵丕賴賲 賳賵卮鬲.賲賵丕賲 丨丕氐賱 毓賲乇卮 乇丕 丿乇 鄱郯 爻丕賱诏蹖 賳賵卮鬲..賲賳 丿乇 鄱郯 爻丕賱诏蹖 趩賴 禺賵丕賴賲 丿丕卮鬲貙丕夭 毓賲乇 賲賳听 趩賴 丨丕氐賱蹖 亘乇 禺賵丕賴丿 賲丕賳丿..鬲賲丕賲 丕蹖賳 乇賵夭 賴丕蹖 夭賳丿诏蹖 讴賴 亘乇 亘蹖賴賵丿诏蹖 诏匕卮鬲 丌蹖丕 爻乇丕賳噩丕賲 丿乇 氐賮丨賴 乇賵卮賳 賵 卮诏賮鬲蹖 丿乇 讴賳丕乇 賴賲 賯乇丕乇 禺賵丕賴賳丿 诏乇賮鬲...蹖丕 讴賴 夭賳丿诏蹖 鬲賳賴丕 賲賱睾賲賴 丕蹖 賳丕倬丕蹖丿丕乇 禺賵丕賴丿 賲丕賳丿..賴賳诏丕賲賴 丕蹖 讴賴 賳丿丕賳蹖賲 丌賲丿賳賲丕賳 亘賴乇 趩賴 亘賵丿 賵 亘賴 讴噩丕 禺賵丕賴蹖賲 乇賮鬲..
賵 卮丕蹖丿 鬲賳賴丕 亘丕蹖爻鬲 亘丕 爻禺賳鈥屫官呚� 禺蹖丕賲 "丨丕賱蹖 禺賵卮 亘丕卮 賵 毓賲乇 亘乇 亘丕丿 賳讴賳 " 夭賳丿诏蹖 讴乇丿..
賵 卮丕蹖丿 鬲賳賴丕 亘丕蹖爻鬲 亘丕 爻禺賳鈥屫官呚� 禺蹖丕賲 "丨丕賱蹖 禺賵卮 亘丕卮 賵 毓賲乇 亘乇 亘丕丿 賳讴賳 " 夭賳丿诏蹖 讴乇丿..
March 12, 2021
袥褞斜懈屑 屑懈 械 小褗屑褗褉褋械褌 袦芯褗屑, 邪 褋谢械写 锌褉芯褔懈褌邪薪械褌芯 薪邪 褌邪蟹懈 泻薪懈谐邪 - 芯褖 锌芯胁械褔械! 袧邪 屑械薪 屑懈 斜械褕械 懈薪褌械褉械褋薪邪 邪斜褋芯谢褞褌薪芯 褑褟谢邪褌邪 - 泻邪泻褌芯 褉邪蟹谐芯胁芯褉 褋 褔芯胁械泻, 泻芯泄褌芯 褌懈 械 懈薪褌械褉械褋械薪, 褋懈屑锌邪褌懈褔械薪, 胁褗蟹褏懈褖邪胁邪 褌械 懈 褍褋械褖邪褕 泻邪泻 芯斜褖褍胁邪薪械褌芯 褋 薪械谐芯 褌械 芯斜芯谐邪褌褟胁邪. 袠屑邪 懈 褎懈谢芯褋芯褎褋泻懈 械谢械屑械薪褌懈, 懈 褔懈褋褌芯 褔芯胁械褕泻懈, 薪邪锌懈褋邪薪邪 械 芯褌 懈褋褌懈薪褋泻懈 屑邪泄褋褌芯褉, 泻芯泄褌芯 械 懈蟹斜褉邪谢 褌邪泻褗胁 锌械褉懈芯写 蟹邪 薪邪锌懈褋胁邪薪械褌芯 泄, 胁 泻芯泄褌芯 褋械 械 褔褍胁褋褌胁邪谢 写芯褋褌邪褌褗褔薪芯 蟹褉褟谢 写邪 谐芯 薪邪锌褉邪胁懈. 袟邪 屑械薪 械 斜械蟹邪锌械谢邪褑懈芯薪薪邪 锌械褌懈褑邪!
June 24, 2021
鈥淧erskaityti t奴kstant寞 knyg懦 n臈ra didesnis nuopelnas, nei suarti t奴kstant寞 lauk懦. Ir ne k膮 didesnis nuopelnas tiksliai apibudinti paveiksl膮, nei sugeb臈ti nustatyti, kod臈l u啪geso automobilio variklis. Tai tik kvailas intelektual懦 nusistatymas, jog vien j懦 啪inios yra svarbios. Menininkai neturi teis臈s 寞 kitus 啪velgti i拧 auk拧to.鈥� (W.Somerset Maugham, 鈥淰isk膮 sud臈jus鈥�).
Galima sutikti, galima nesutikti... Taip, esu perskait臋s t奴kstan膷ius knyg懦, bet nepamenu, kad kada b奴膷iau tuo pasidid啪iav臋s 鈥� d臈l paprastos prie啪asties: puikiai suvokiu, kad jei mane kas laiko protingu 啪mogumi, tai ne d臈l perskaityt懦 knyg懦 kiekio, o d臈l to, ko i拧mokau bendraudamas su 啪mon臈mis, kaupdamas patirt寞, gretindamas j膮 su intuicija ir 寞gydamas dr膮sos. O jei nelaiko protingu 鈥� ko gero, ne d臈lto, kad perskai膷iau per ma啪ai knyg懦. 馃檪
K奴rinyje daug 寞domi懦 min膷i懦. Pvz.:
"沤i奴rov懦 emocijos, j懦 susidom臈jimas, juokas 鈥� tai neatskiriamos spektaklio dalys. Jos spektakl寞 sudaro visi拧kai tokiu pat b奴du, kaip mes i拧 objektyvi懦 duomen懦 susikuriame saul臈tekio gro啪寞 ir j奴ros ramyb臋. 沤i奴rovas yra vienas svarbiausi懦 spektaklio dalyvi懦, ir jeigu jis neatlieka jam skirto vaidmens, spektaklis 啪lunga. Tada dramaturgas b奴na lyg teniso 啪aid臈jas, kuris aik拧t臈je lieka vienas ir neturi su kuo 啪aisti."
Tikrai d臈mesio verta knyga.
Galima sutikti, galima nesutikti... Taip, esu perskait臋s t奴kstan膷ius knyg懦, bet nepamenu, kad kada b奴膷iau tuo pasidid啪iav臋s 鈥� d臈l paprastos prie啪asties: puikiai suvokiu, kad jei mane kas laiko protingu 啪mogumi, tai ne d臈l perskaityt懦 knyg懦 kiekio, o d臈l to, ko i拧mokau bendraudamas su 啪mon臈mis, kaupdamas patirt寞, gretindamas j膮 su intuicija ir 寞gydamas dr膮sos. O jei nelaiko protingu 鈥� ko gero, ne d臈lto, kad perskai膷iau per ma啪ai knyg懦. 馃檪
K奴rinyje daug 寞domi懦 min膷i懦. Pvz.:
"沤i奴rov懦 emocijos, j懦 susidom臈jimas, juokas 鈥� tai neatskiriamos spektaklio dalys. Jos spektakl寞 sudaro visi拧kai tokiu pat b奴du, kaip mes i拧 objektyvi懦 duomen懦 susikuriame saul臈tekio gro啪寞 ir j奴ros ramyb臋. 沤i奴rovas yra vienas svarbiausi懦 spektaklio dalyvi懦, ir jeigu jis neatlieka jam skirto vaidmens, spektaklis 啪lunga. Tada dramaturgas b奴na lyg teniso 啪aid臈jas, kuris aik拧t臈je lieka vienas ir neturi su kuo 啪aisti."
Tikrai d臈mesio verta knyga.
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June 23, 2022賲賵丕賲 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 丿乇 卮氐鬲 賵 趩賳丿 爻丕賱诏蹖 亘賴 毓賳賵丕賳 賳賵毓蹖 噩賲毓 亘賳丿蹖 丕夭 夭賳丿诏蹖 賴賳乇蹖卮 賳賵卮鬲賴貙 賴乇 趩賳丿 爻蹖 爻丕賱 亘毓丿 丕夭 趩丕倬 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 賴賲 夭賳丿诏蹖 讴乇丿賴 賵 賲爻賱賲丕 丕诏乇 賳賵卮鬲賳卮 乇賵 鬲丕 丕賵賳 賲賵賯毓 亘賴 鬲丕禺蹖乇 賲蹖 丕賳丿丕禺鬲 丨丕氐賱 讴丕乇 賲鬲賮丕賵鬲 亘賵丿 亘丕 趩蹖夭蹖 讴賴 丕賱丕賳 丕夭卮 亘賴 噩锟斤拷 賲賵賳丿賴.
讴鬲丕亘 亘賴 卮丿鬲 卮賱禺鬲賴 賵 丿乇 賴賲 賳賵卮鬲賴 卮丿賴 賵 噩夭 丿乇 趩賳丿 賲賵乇丿 禺丕氐 賲禺氐賵氐丕 亘禺卮 賲乇亘賵胤 亘賴 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賳賴 賳賵蹖爻蹖貙 丕賳爻噩丕賲 賳丿丕乇賴. 丕賮讴丕乇 倬乇丕讴賳丿賴 丕蹖賴 讴賴 丿乇 鄯郯 賮氐賱 丿乇 丿爻鬲乇爻 賲禺丕胤亘 賮乇丕乇 诏乇賮鬲賴 賵 亘丕 鬲賵噩賴 亘賴 賯丿蹖賲蹖 亘賵丿賳 丕乇噩丕毓丕鬲 賵 賲丨賱蹖 亘賵丿賳 丕胤賱丕毓丕鬲 賲賲讴賳賴 亘乇丕蹖 禺賵丕賳賳丿賴 禺丕乇噩蹖 讴爻賱 讴賳賳丿賴 亘丕卮賴. 亘丕 丕蹖賳 丨丕賱 亘丕夭 賴賲 亘乇丕蹖 讴爻蹖 讴賴 丕夭 胤乇賮丿丕乇丕賳 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 丕爻鬲 賵 毓賱丕賯賴 賲賳丿 亘賴 禺賵丕賳卮 賲噩賲賵毓賴 丌孬丕乇卮賴 禺丕賱蹖 丕夭 賱胤賮 賳蹖爻鬲.
丨丕賱丕 讴賴 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 禺賵賳丿賲 亘丕 噩乇卅鬲 亘蹖卮鬲乇蹖 賲蹖 鬲賵賳賲 亘诏賲 讴賴 賱賴 賳馗乇賲 賲賵丕賲 賳賴 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 蹖 亘丕賴賵卮 賵 賳賴 賲鬲賮讴乇 亘夭乇诏賴. 丿乇 賵丕賯毓 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 丕蹖 賲鬲賵爻胤 賵 爻乇诏乇賲 讴賳賳丿賴 丕爻鬲 讴賴 鬲毓丿丕丿 讴丕乇賴丕卮 賵 丕賯亘丕賱 毓賲賵賲蹖 丕蹖 讴賴 丿乇 夭賲丕賳 禺賵丿卮 丕夭卮 卮丿賴貙 丕爻賲卮 乇賵 鬲丕 亘賴 丨丕賱 夭賳丿賴 賳诏賴 丿丕卮鬲賴.
賲賳 乇賵夭賴丕蹖 鬲丕亘爻鬲賵賳蹖 夭蹖丕丿蹖 乇賵 亘賴 禺賵賳丿賳 讴丕乇賴丕蹖 賲賵丕賲 诏匕乇賵賳丿賲 賵 亘丕夭 賴賲 趩賳丿蹖賳 鬲蹖鬲乇 丿蹖诏賴 丕夭卮 鬲賵 賮賴乇爻鬲 讴鬲丕亘 賴丕賲 賴爻鬲.
丌賵丕
鬲蹖乇 郾鄞郯郾
讴鬲丕亘 亘賴 卮丿鬲 卮賱禺鬲賴 賵 丿乇 賴賲 賳賵卮鬲賴 卮丿賴 賵 噩夭 丿乇 趩賳丿 賲賵乇丿 禺丕氐 賲禺氐賵氐丕 亘禺卮 賲乇亘賵胤 亘賴 賳賲丕蹖卮賳丕賳賴 賳賵蹖爻蹖貙 丕賳爻噩丕賲 賳丿丕乇賴. 丕賮讴丕乇 倬乇丕讴賳丿賴 丕蹖賴 讴賴 丿乇 鄯郯 賮氐賱 丿乇 丿爻鬲乇爻 賲禺丕胤亘 賮乇丕乇 诏乇賮鬲賴 賵 亘丕 鬲賵噩賴 亘賴 賯丿蹖賲蹖 亘賵丿賳 丕乇噩丕毓丕鬲 賵 賲丨賱蹖 亘賵丿賳 丕胤賱丕毓丕鬲 賲賲讴賳賴 亘乇丕蹖 禺賵丕賳賳丿賴 禺丕乇噩蹖 讴爻賱 讴賳賳丿賴 亘丕卮賴. 亘丕 丕蹖賳 丨丕賱 亘丕夭 賴賲 亘乇丕蹖 讴爻蹖 讴賴 丕夭 胤乇賮丿丕乇丕賳 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 丕爻鬲 賵 毓賱丕賯賴 賲賳丿 亘賴 禺賵丕賳卮 賲噩賲賵毓賴 丌孬丕乇卮賴 禺丕賱蹖 丕夭 賱胤賮 賳蹖爻鬲.
丨丕賱丕 讴賴 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 禺賵賳丿賲 亘丕 噩乇卅鬲 亘蹖卮鬲乇蹖 賲蹖 鬲賵賳賲 亘诏賲 讴賴 賱賴 賳馗乇賲 賲賵丕賲 賳賴 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 蹖 亘丕賴賵卮 賵 賳賴 賲鬲賮讴乇 亘夭乇诏賴. 丿乇 賵丕賯毓 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 丕蹖 賲鬲賵爻胤 賵 爻乇诏乇賲 讴賳賳丿賴 丕爻鬲 讴賴 鬲毓丿丕丿 讴丕乇賴丕卮 賵 丕賯亘丕賱 毓賲賵賲蹖 丕蹖 讴賴 丿乇 夭賲丕賳 禺賵丿卮 丕夭卮 卮丿賴貙 丕爻賲卮 乇賵 鬲丕 亘賴 丨丕賱 夭賳丿賴 賳诏賴 丿丕卮鬲賴.
賲賳 乇賵夭賴丕蹖 鬲丕亘爻鬲賵賳蹖 夭蹖丕丿蹖 乇賵 亘賴 禺賵賳丿賳 讴丕乇賴丕蹖 賲賵丕賲 诏匕乇賵賳丿賲 賵 亘丕夭 賴賲 趩賳丿蹖賳 鬲蹖鬲乇 丿蹖诏賴 丕夭卮 鬲賵 賮賴乇爻鬲 讴鬲丕亘 賴丕賲 賴爻鬲.
丌賵丕
鬲蹖乇 郾鄞郯郾
January 2, 2020
Beautifully written autobiography, I got to know the story behind, and the feelings involved with some of the best novels i have ever read by one of my favorite authors
June 11, 2018
丕夭 丕爻賲 讴鬲丕亘 賲卮禺氐賴 讴賴 亘丕 趩賴 讴鬲丕亘蹖 胤乇賮 賴爻鬲蹖賲貨 丨丕氐賱 毓賲乇 蹖讴 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴. 賲噩賲賵毓賴鈥屬� 鄯鄯 賲賯丕賱賴 丕夭 丿睾丿睾賴鈥屬囏й� 卮禺氐蹖 賵 蹖丕 賲賵囟賵毓丕鬲 丕噩鬲賲丕毓蹖 賴爻鬲 丕夭 爻丕賲乇爻鬲 賲賵丕賲 讴賴 賴賲诏蹖 亘丕 毓丿丿 賲卮禺氐 卮丿賳丿 賵 毓賳賵丕賳 賳丿丕乇賳丿. 亘乇丕蹖 賲賳 丕夭 丕賵賳 丿爻鬲 讴鬲丕亘鈥屬囏ж池� 讴賴 賳賲蹖卮賴 蹖賴 賳賮爻 禺賵賳丿 趩賵賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳蹖 賳蹖爻鬲 匕賴賳賲 賳賲蹖鈥屫堎嗁� 讴丕賲賱丕 丿乇诏蹖乇 賲丨鬲賵丕 賵 賮囟丕蹖 讴鬲丕亘 亘卮賴 賵 蹖讴 丿賮毓賴 亘賴 禺賵丿賲 賲蹖丕賲 賵 賲蹖鈥屫ㄛ屬嗁� 丿賴 氐賮丨賴 禺賵賳丿賲 賵賱蹖 丕氐賱丕 蹖丕丿賲 賳蹖爻鬲 趩蹖 禺賵賳丿賲.. :/ 卮丕蹖丿 亘賴 賴賲蹖賳 丿賱蹖賱 卮賳蹖丿賳 丕蹖賳
讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 鬲乇噩蹖丨 賲蹖鈥屫�.. 賲賳 賳賲賵賳賴 氐賵鬲蹖 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 鬲賵 爻丕蹖鬲 賲丕賴 丌賵丕 卮賳蹖丿賲 丕賵賳 賴賲 亘丕 丕噩乇丕蹖 乇囟丕 毓賲乇丕賳蹖.. 亘蹖鈥屫地ㄘ必з嗁� 賲賳鬲馗乇賲 賲賳鬲卮乇 卮賴 賵 鬲賴蹖賴 讴賳賲..
丌倬丿蹖鬲:
賲賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 亘賴 氐賵乇鬲 氐賵鬲蹖 丕夭 賲丕賴 丌賵丕 卮賳蹖丿賲 賵 亘爻蹖丕乇 賱匕鬲 亘乇丿賲. 賱丨賳 丕噩乇丕 賵 氐丿丕蹖 诏賵蹖賳丿賴 鬲賲丕賲丕賸 丨爻 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 乇賵 賲賳鬲賯賱 賲蹖鈥屭┴必� 丿乇 丨丿蹖 讴賴 丨蹖賮 亘賵丿 讴賲鬲乇 丕夭 鄞 爻鬲丕乇賴 蹖賴 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘丿賲.
賱蹖賳讴 丿乇蹖丕賮鬲 讴鬲丕亘 丕夭 賲丕賴 丌賵丕貨
讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 鬲乇噩蹖丨 賲蹖鈥屫�.. 賲賳 賳賲賵賳賴 氐賵鬲蹖 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 鬲賵 爻丕蹖鬲 賲丕賴 丌賵丕 卮賳蹖丿賲 丕賵賳 賴賲 亘丕 丕噩乇丕蹖 乇囟丕 毓賲乇丕賳蹖.. 亘蹖鈥屫地ㄘ必з嗁� 賲賳鬲馗乇賲 賲賳鬲卮乇 卮賴 賵 鬲賴蹖賴 讴賳賲..
丌倬丿蹖鬲:
賲賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇賵 亘賴 氐賵乇鬲 氐賵鬲蹖 丕夭 賲丕賴 丌賵丕 卮賳蹖丿賲 賵 亘爻蹖丕乇 賱匕鬲 亘乇丿賲. 賱丨賳 丕噩乇丕 賵 氐丿丕蹖 诏賵蹖賳丿賴 鬲賲丕賲丕賸 丨爻 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 乇賵 賲賳鬲賯賱 賲蹖鈥屭┴必� 丿乇 丨丿蹖 讴賴 丨蹖賮 亘賵丿 讴賲鬲乇 丕夭 鄞 爻鬲丕乇賴 蹖賴 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 亘丿賲.
賱蹖賳讴 丿乇蹖丕賮鬲 讴鬲丕亘 丕夭 賲丕賴 丌賵丕貨
February 13, 2018
W Somerset Maugham has got to be one of my favourite writers. And this book which is essentially a summary of a lot of his philosophical thoughts was exquisite as well. I was first introduced to W Somerset Maugham when I read 鈥渙f human bondage鈥�. The simplicity with which he writes and his acute sense of word usage is what makes his writing style so easy to engage with. Of human bondage has got to be one of my top 20 all-time favourite books. In this book W Somerset Maugham talks about a lot of his different philosophies and the work is part autobiographical in that it discusses a lot of his youth and how the different things he read influenced him throughout the course of his life. In fact a lot of the things that happens to the protagonist in of human bondage are replicable and parallel to what happened in some the earlier stages of W Somerset Maugham鈥榮 life himself. He was also sent to live with family members when his own parents died at quite young an age and he also studied medicine and lived in other European countries; all of these things happened to the protagonist in of human bondage. Here are some of my best bits from the book;
鈥�"And the gift of speech as we know is not often accompanied by the power of thought".
鈥�"I鈥檝e always wondered of the passion many people have to meet the celebrated (celebrity). The procedure acquired by being able to tell your friends that you know someone famous proves only that you are yourself of small account".
鈥�"I鈥檝e been more concerned with the obscure than of the famous. They (the obscure) are more often themselves. They鈥檝e had no need to create a figure to protect themselves from the world. The idiosyncrasies have had more chance to develop in the limited circle of their activity and since they have never been in the public eye it never occurred to them that they have anything to conceal".
鈥�"And yet we know how fatal the pursuit of liveliness maybe 鈥� The flashy effects distract your mind. They destroy the persuasiveness; you would not believe them and yet we know how fatal the pursuit of liveliness maybe: it may result in the tiresome acrobatics of Meredith. McCauley and Carlisle were in the different ways arresting; but at the heavy cost of naturalness. These flashy affects distract the mind. They destroy the persuasiveness; you would not believe a Man was very intent on ploughing a field if he carried a hoop with him and jump through it every other step. A good style should show no sign of effort".
鈥�"For my part I do you not think I鈥檓 any better or any worse than most people but I know that if I set down every action in my life and every thought that has crossed my mind the world would consider me a monster. I want to how anyone can have the face to condemn other people when he reflects upon his own thoughts".
鈥�"Yes surely our reveries are as much part of us as our actions and if they were known we might just as well be held responsible for them as for our deeds".
鈥�"When I鈥檝e heard judges on the bench moralising with unction I鈥檝e asked myself whether it was possible for them to have forgotten humanity so completely as the words suggested. I wish that beside his bunch of flowers at the Old Bailey his lordship had a packet of toilet paper. It would remind him that he was a man like any other".
鈥�"I鈥檓 not my brothers keeper. I cannot bring myself to judge my fellows I am content to observe them".
鈥�"I do not want to spend too long the time with boring people but then I do not want to spend too long the time with amusing ones. I find social intercourse fatiguing. Most people I think are both exhilarated and rested by conversation; to me it was always been an effort. When I was young and stammered badly to talk for long singularly exhausted me and even now speaking at length can be a strain. It is a relief to me when I can get away and read a book".
鈥�"Selfishness and kindliness idealism, shyness, courage laziness nervousness obstinacy and diffidence they can all exist in the single person and achieve harmony. It鈥檚 taken a long time to persuade readers of the truth of this".
鈥�"I heartily wish that in my youth I had someone of good sense to direct my reading. It pains me when I reflect on the amount of time I鈥檝e wasted on books that were of no great profit to me".
鈥�"By taking thoughts by deliberate effort the artist must enlarge deepen and live for us his personality. Then the soul must follow. Like the bride of Christ the artist waits for the illumination. I shall bring forth a new spiritual life. The unconscious does its mysterious business; and then suddenly springing you might think from nowhere the idea is produced".
鈥�"In great cities men are like a lot of stones thrown together in a bag; the jagged corners are rubbed off in the end they are as smooth as marbles. These men have never had the jagged corners rubbed away 鈥�. I was one of the stones in a bag. I got back my jagged edges. I was at last myself. I ceased to travel because I felt the travel could give me nothing more. I was capable of no new development. I asked from others nothing more than they could give me and I learnt toleration and I was pleased with the goodness of my fellows; I was not distressed by the badness and I had acquired independence of spirit. I learnt to go my own way without bothering with what others thought about me".
鈥�"I鈥檒l give you my opinion of the human race in a nutshell: the hearts in the right place but the head is a thoroughly inefficient organ".
鈥�"The great critic should have a sympathy as wide as his knowledge is universal it should be grounded not a general indifference such as makes men tolerant of things, but an active delight in diversity he must be a physiologist and a psychologist and he must know how the basic elements of literature are related to the minds and bodies of men and he must be a philosopher for from philosophy he will learn serenity impartiality and the transitoriness of human things that ephemeral nature he must be familiar but only with the literature of his native land with standards found it on the literature of the past and studious of contemporary literature In other countries we will see clearly the trend that literature in its evolution is pursuing".
鈥�"In some deep recesses of my soul lingered still the old dread of hellfire and for long my expectation was tempered by the shadow of the ancestral anxiety. I no longer believed in God I still however in my bones believed in the devil".
鈥�"I came to the conclusion that man aimed at nothing but his own pleasure and that when he sacrificed himself for others it was only an illusion leading to believe that he was seeking anything but his own gratification".
鈥�"The absolute is the richer for every discord of all diversity which embraces just as in the machine which tells us the resistance and impression of the parts subserve an end beyond any of them it may be with the absolute and if this is possible it is indubitably real that evil also subserves a wider scheme and in this they realise they play a part in a higher good and in this sense unknowingly they are good. Evil is a deception of our senses and nothing more".
鈥�"The work of arts I decided were the crowning product of human activity and the final justification for all the misery the endless toil and the frustrated strivings of humanity so that Michelangelo might paint certain figures on the Sistine chapel ceiling so that Shakespeare might write certain speeches and Keats his odes it seemed to me worth while the untold millions should鈥檝e left and suffered and died".
鈥�"The great values of life must teach men humility tolerance wisdom and magnanimity; the value of art is not beauty but right action".
鈥�"And the gift of speech as we know is not often accompanied by the power of thought".
鈥�"I鈥檝e always wondered of the passion many people have to meet the celebrated (celebrity). The procedure acquired by being able to tell your friends that you know someone famous proves only that you are yourself of small account".
鈥�"I鈥檝e been more concerned with the obscure than of the famous. They (the obscure) are more often themselves. They鈥檝e had no need to create a figure to protect themselves from the world. The idiosyncrasies have had more chance to develop in the limited circle of their activity and since they have never been in the public eye it never occurred to them that they have anything to conceal".
鈥�"And yet we know how fatal the pursuit of liveliness maybe 鈥� The flashy effects distract your mind. They destroy the persuasiveness; you would not believe them and yet we know how fatal the pursuit of liveliness maybe: it may result in the tiresome acrobatics of Meredith. McCauley and Carlisle were in the different ways arresting; but at the heavy cost of naturalness. These flashy affects distract the mind. They destroy the persuasiveness; you would not believe a Man was very intent on ploughing a field if he carried a hoop with him and jump through it every other step. A good style should show no sign of effort".
鈥�"For my part I do you not think I鈥檓 any better or any worse than most people but I know that if I set down every action in my life and every thought that has crossed my mind the world would consider me a monster. I want to how anyone can have the face to condemn other people when he reflects upon his own thoughts".
鈥�"Yes surely our reveries are as much part of us as our actions and if they were known we might just as well be held responsible for them as for our deeds".
鈥�"When I鈥檝e heard judges on the bench moralising with unction I鈥檝e asked myself whether it was possible for them to have forgotten humanity so completely as the words suggested. I wish that beside his bunch of flowers at the Old Bailey his lordship had a packet of toilet paper. It would remind him that he was a man like any other".
鈥�"I鈥檓 not my brothers keeper. I cannot bring myself to judge my fellows I am content to observe them".
鈥�"I do not want to spend too long the time with boring people but then I do not want to spend too long the time with amusing ones. I find social intercourse fatiguing. Most people I think are both exhilarated and rested by conversation; to me it was always been an effort. When I was young and stammered badly to talk for long singularly exhausted me and even now speaking at length can be a strain. It is a relief to me when I can get away and read a book".
鈥�"Selfishness and kindliness idealism, shyness, courage laziness nervousness obstinacy and diffidence they can all exist in the single person and achieve harmony. It鈥檚 taken a long time to persuade readers of the truth of this".
鈥�"I heartily wish that in my youth I had someone of good sense to direct my reading. It pains me when I reflect on the amount of time I鈥檝e wasted on books that were of no great profit to me".
鈥�"By taking thoughts by deliberate effort the artist must enlarge deepen and live for us his personality. Then the soul must follow. Like the bride of Christ the artist waits for the illumination. I shall bring forth a new spiritual life. The unconscious does its mysterious business; and then suddenly springing you might think from nowhere the idea is produced".
鈥�"In great cities men are like a lot of stones thrown together in a bag; the jagged corners are rubbed off in the end they are as smooth as marbles. These men have never had the jagged corners rubbed away 鈥�. I was one of the stones in a bag. I got back my jagged edges. I was at last myself. I ceased to travel because I felt the travel could give me nothing more. I was capable of no new development. I asked from others nothing more than they could give me and I learnt toleration and I was pleased with the goodness of my fellows; I was not distressed by the badness and I had acquired independence of spirit. I learnt to go my own way without bothering with what others thought about me".
鈥�"I鈥檒l give you my opinion of the human race in a nutshell: the hearts in the right place but the head is a thoroughly inefficient organ".
鈥�"The great critic should have a sympathy as wide as his knowledge is universal it should be grounded not a general indifference such as makes men tolerant of things, but an active delight in diversity he must be a physiologist and a psychologist and he must know how the basic elements of literature are related to the minds and bodies of men and he must be a philosopher for from philosophy he will learn serenity impartiality and the transitoriness of human things that ephemeral nature he must be familiar but only with the literature of his native land with standards found it on the literature of the past and studious of contemporary literature In other countries we will see clearly the trend that literature in its evolution is pursuing".
鈥�"In some deep recesses of my soul lingered still the old dread of hellfire and for long my expectation was tempered by the shadow of the ancestral anxiety. I no longer believed in God I still however in my bones believed in the devil".
鈥�"I came to the conclusion that man aimed at nothing but his own pleasure and that when he sacrificed himself for others it was only an illusion leading to believe that he was seeking anything but his own gratification".
鈥�"The absolute is the richer for every discord of all diversity which embraces just as in the machine which tells us the resistance and impression of the parts subserve an end beyond any of them it may be with the absolute and if this is possible it is indubitably real that evil also subserves a wider scheme and in this they realise they play a part in a higher good and in this sense unknowingly they are good. Evil is a deception of our senses and nothing more".
鈥�"The work of arts I decided were the crowning product of human activity and the final justification for all the misery the endless toil and the frustrated strivings of humanity so that Michelangelo might paint certain figures on the Sistine chapel ceiling so that Shakespeare might write certain speeches and Keats his odes it seemed to me worth while the untold millions should鈥檝e left and suffered and died".
鈥�"The great values of life must teach men humility tolerance wisdom and magnanimity; the value of art is not beauty but right action".
May 17, 2024
In The Summing Up, W. Somerset Maugham has written a delightfully entertaining and candid account of his journey to becoming a prominent man of letters in the twentieth century (although strictly speaking, his successful first novel Liza of Lambeth was written in the very late nineteenth century). He was only in his sixties when he wrote The Summing Up, and would go on to live almost another thirty years and write several more successful novels and short stories.
Whether or not he intended it, I would argue that this autobiography is something of a master class for would-be writers of plays and novels. It is sprinkled with the wisdom of Maugham鈥檚 experiences in both those contexts. Playwrights might heed the following: 鈥淏ut I think the secret of play-writing can be given in two maxims: stick to the point, and, whenever you can, cut. The first of these demands a logical mind. Few of us have it. Second, however brilliant a scene may be, however witty a line or profound a reflection, if it is not essential to his play the dramatist must cut it. Here it may serve him if he is a man of letters.鈥�
For would-be novelists, Maugham says: 鈥淏ut the author does not only write when he is at his desk; he writes all day long, when he is thinking, when he is reading, when he is experiencing; everything he sees and feels is significant to his purpose and, consciously or unconsciously, he is for ever storing and making over his impressions.鈥� He talks about the power of novelists to transform human beings from one person to another as they suffer the vicissitudes of life. 鈥淓verything is grist to his mill, from a glimpse of a face in the street to a war that convulses the civilized world, from the scent of a rose to the death of a friend. Nothing befalls him that he cannot transmute into a stanza, a song, or a story, and having done this be rid of it. The artist is the only free man.鈥� Maugham also offers a metric for the novelist鈥檚 power: 鈥淏ut the point of the writer is that he is not one man but many. It is because he is many that he can create many, and the measure of his greatness is the number of selves that he comprises.鈥�
Maugham flirted in his late teens and early twenties with becoming a doctor and did, in fact, work for a number of years in a hospital, but the surprising success of Liza of Lambeth when he was 23 years old revealed the real possibility of becoming a writer. There is no doubt that this early and easy success persuaded him that this was the life he was meant to lead. He wanted to make money, travel, expose his senses to experiences, and achieve fame.
Maugham was a successful playwright before he became a novelist, and at one time had multiple plays running simultaneously in London theaters. But the speed of success with that literary endeavor seemed to cause him burnout with the theater and stage. The collaborative effort required by putting on a play was too great for him, and he had choice things to say about actors, directors, and critics. For example: 鈥淚 have known a number of actors very well. I have found them good company. Their gift of mimicry, their knack of telling a story, their quick wit, make them often highly entertaining. They are generous, kindly, and courageous. But I have never quite been able to look upon them as human beings.鈥�
Eventually he suspected that he 鈥渨as out of touch with the taste of the public,鈥� and he 鈥渟ighed for the liberty of fiction.鈥� He believed writing novels could afford him greater intimacy with readers than he 鈥渃ould ever hope for in the garish publicity of the theater.鈥� Yet even with novel writing, he felt he was being held back by some personal baggage鈥攖he early death of his parents, his stammer, and a boyhood spent entirely in France. He felt he could write this baggage out of his system if he put it all into one book鈥攚hich he did, along with an anecdote of how that great, big novel got its name. 鈥淚 called my book Beauty from Ashes, which is a quotation from Isaiah, but finding that this title had been recently used, I chose instead the title of one of the books in Spinoza鈥檚 Ethics and called it Of Human Bondage.鈥�
The Summing Up is also replete with humor (a characteristic which, from his novels, one might not suspect Maugham of possessing!), sometimes sharp, other times droll. For example:
Yet there is in writers a feeling that the public ought to like what they write, and if their books do not sell the fault is not with them but with the public.
Like all writers (and in all writers there is a certain amount of humbug) they make a merit of their limitations and either tell the reader that he can imagine for himself what happens or else berate him for wanting to know.
I had found out that money was like a sixth sense without which you could not make the most of the other five.
In the last quarter of the book, Maugham does turn to the serious matters of religion and philosophy, and he unabashedly shares his beliefs, or lack of them, as the case may be. But whether about deeply serious and personal topics, or about the joys Maugham clearly enjoyed as a writer, readers will find solid, sparkling prose on every page and in every paragraph of The Summing Up. One would be shortsighted to expect anything less from a master!
Whether or not he intended it, I would argue that this autobiography is something of a master class for would-be writers of plays and novels. It is sprinkled with the wisdom of Maugham鈥檚 experiences in both those contexts. Playwrights might heed the following: 鈥淏ut I think the secret of play-writing can be given in two maxims: stick to the point, and, whenever you can, cut. The first of these demands a logical mind. Few of us have it. Second, however brilliant a scene may be, however witty a line or profound a reflection, if it is not essential to his play the dramatist must cut it. Here it may serve him if he is a man of letters.鈥�
For would-be novelists, Maugham says: 鈥淏ut the author does not only write when he is at his desk; he writes all day long, when he is thinking, when he is reading, when he is experiencing; everything he sees and feels is significant to his purpose and, consciously or unconsciously, he is for ever storing and making over his impressions.鈥� He talks about the power of novelists to transform human beings from one person to another as they suffer the vicissitudes of life. 鈥淓verything is grist to his mill, from a glimpse of a face in the street to a war that convulses the civilized world, from the scent of a rose to the death of a friend. Nothing befalls him that he cannot transmute into a stanza, a song, or a story, and having done this be rid of it. The artist is the only free man.鈥� Maugham also offers a metric for the novelist鈥檚 power: 鈥淏ut the point of the writer is that he is not one man but many. It is because he is many that he can create many, and the measure of his greatness is the number of selves that he comprises.鈥�
Maugham flirted in his late teens and early twenties with becoming a doctor and did, in fact, work for a number of years in a hospital, but the surprising success of Liza of Lambeth when he was 23 years old revealed the real possibility of becoming a writer. There is no doubt that this early and easy success persuaded him that this was the life he was meant to lead. He wanted to make money, travel, expose his senses to experiences, and achieve fame.
Maugham was a successful playwright before he became a novelist, and at one time had multiple plays running simultaneously in London theaters. But the speed of success with that literary endeavor seemed to cause him burnout with the theater and stage. The collaborative effort required by putting on a play was too great for him, and he had choice things to say about actors, directors, and critics. For example: 鈥淚 have known a number of actors very well. I have found them good company. Their gift of mimicry, their knack of telling a story, their quick wit, make them often highly entertaining. They are generous, kindly, and courageous. But I have never quite been able to look upon them as human beings.鈥�
Eventually he suspected that he 鈥渨as out of touch with the taste of the public,鈥� and he 鈥渟ighed for the liberty of fiction.鈥� He believed writing novels could afford him greater intimacy with readers than he 鈥渃ould ever hope for in the garish publicity of the theater.鈥� Yet even with novel writing, he felt he was being held back by some personal baggage鈥攖he early death of his parents, his stammer, and a boyhood spent entirely in France. He felt he could write this baggage out of his system if he put it all into one book鈥攚hich he did, along with an anecdote of how that great, big novel got its name. 鈥淚 called my book Beauty from Ashes, which is a quotation from Isaiah, but finding that this title had been recently used, I chose instead the title of one of the books in Spinoza鈥檚 Ethics and called it Of Human Bondage.鈥�
The Summing Up is also replete with humor (a characteristic which, from his novels, one might not suspect Maugham of possessing!), sometimes sharp, other times droll. For example:
Yet there is in writers a feeling that the public ought to like what they write, and if their books do not sell the fault is not with them but with the public.
Like all writers (and in all writers there is a certain amount of humbug) they make a merit of their limitations and either tell the reader that he can imagine for himself what happens or else berate him for wanting to know.
I had found out that money was like a sixth sense without which you could not make the most of the other five.
In the last quarter of the book, Maugham does turn to the serious matters of religion and philosophy, and he unabashedly shares his beliefs, or lack of them, as the case may be. But whether about deeply serious and personal topics, or about the joys Maugham clearly enjoyed as a writer, readers will find solid, sparkling prose on every page and in every paragraph of The Summing Up. One would be shortsighted to expect anything less from a master!
April 19, 2024
芦丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 乇丕 賲蹖鈥屬嗁堐屫迟� 鬲丕 乇賵丨 禺賵丿 乇丕 丕夭 丿爻鬲 丕賮讴丕乇蹖 讴賴 賲丿鬲蹖 亘丕毓孬 賳丕乇丕丨鬲蹖 賲賳 亘賵丿賴鈥屫ж池� 亘乇賴丕賳賲. 賲賳 丿乇 倬蹖 賲鬲賯丕毓丿 爻丕禺鬲賳 讴爻蹖 賳蹖爻鬲賲. 賲賳 丕夭 睾乇蹖夭賴鈥屰� 鬲毓賱蹖賲 亘蹖鈥屫ㄙ囏辟団€屫з� 賵 賴賳诏丕賲蹖 讴賴 趩蹖夭蹖 乇丕 亘丿丕賳賲 賴乇诏夭 亘乇丕蹖 丕賳鬲賯丕賱 丌賳 亘賴 丿蹖诏乇丕賳 丿乇 丿乇賵賳 禺賵丿 丕丨爻丕爻 鬲賲丕蹖賱蹖 賳賲蹖讴賳賲. 趩賳丿丕賳 鬲賵噩賴蹖 賳丿丕乇賲 讴賴 賲乇丿賲 亘丕 賲賳 賲賵丕賮賯賳丿 蹖丕 賳賴. 丕賱亘鬲賴 鬲氐賵乇 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁� 讴賴 丨賯 亘賴 噩丕賳亘 賲賳 丕爻鬲 賵 丌賳鈥屬囏� 丕卮鬲亘丕賴 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁嗀� 賱蹖讴賳 丕夭 丕蹖賳讴賴 丌賳鈥屬囏� 丿乇 丕卮鬲亘丕賴賳丿 丕丨爻丕爻 賳丕乇丕丨鬲蹖 賳賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁呚� 賴賲趩賳蹖賳 讴卮賮 丕蹖賳讴賴 賯囟丕賵鬲 賲賳 禺賱丕賮 賯囟丕賵鬲 丕讴孬乇蹖鬲 丕爻鬲貙 賲賵噩亘 丕囟胤乇丕亘 賲賳 賳賲蹖鈥屫促堌�. 賳賵毓蹖 丕毓鬲賲丕丿 亘賴 睾乇蹖夭賴 禺賵丿 丿丕乇賲.
賲賳 亘丕蹖丿 亘賳賵蹖爻賲 趩賳丕賳鈥屭┵� 诏賵蹖蹖 丌丿賲 賲賴賲蹖 賴爻鬲賲貙 賵 亘賴 乇丕爻鬲蹖 賴賲 賴爻鬲賲貙 賲賳鬲賴丕 亘乇丕蹖 禺賵丿賲.禄
賲賳 亘丕蹖丿 亘賳賵蹖爻賲 趩賳丕賳鈥屭┵� 诏賵蹖蹖 丌丿賲 賲賴賲蹖 賴爻鬲賲貙 賵 亘賴 乇丕爻鬲蹖 賴賲 賴爻鬲賲貙 賲賳鬲賴丕 亘乇丕蹖 禺賵丿賲.禄
August 21, 2011
Ever since I read "Of Human Bondage" a few years ago I've always felt the urge to revisit this writer every so often, picking up a couple of his books and devouring them. Some have been excellent, some not so. In "The Summing Up", a non-fiction book detailing Maugham's own personal philosophy, I thought I'd enjoy it far more than I did. I assumed because the blurb says that he looks back at his work that this would entail detailed views on the background of each book, the circumstances in which it was written, what the aim was, the reception, and now looking back X years later what the author thinks about them. In part his is true, a couple of books are singled out, but their sections are few and far between and much too short for my liking.
Instead there are lengthy and quite tedious sections on subjects such as the theatre world and the role of the theatre director, or philosophy as a subject and the practitioners of it. He writes at length on God and religion which, despite concluding in favour of atheism to which view I subscribe, I found quite dull as it contained many arguments I've heard and read from various sources over the years. His views on philosophy are also quite tedious and amateurish. And the lengthy treatise on the theatre world held no interest for me whatsoever. It's a world that's quite petty and dull behind the scenes, his views being out-dated today.
For a book just over 300 pages, it's quite unsubstantial in it's contents. The tone of the book is very chatty and Maugham writes clearly and eloquently about whatever's on his mind, but the book has no structure and no clear path to the topics. Maugham rambles and goes wherever his mind is on the day he's writing. This approach, to me, felt very lazy and haphazard as quite often Maugham isn't saying anything particularly interesting and for a man who lived as interesting a life as he did, it's a shame he forgoes a lot of it to tell you what he thought about the work of Matthew Arnold or Hazlitt.
This could have been a great book if it had been more focused and, for a fan like me, centred around the work he produced, thus being a real summing up of his massive body of literature. Instead it felt like a missed opportunity and, despite the occasional gem found here and there, was overall a very boring book that I was glad to set down once I'd finished it. Maugham is an excellent writer but a biography written by someone else is the best way to go if you're looking for views on his life and work. "The Summing Up" is unfortunately quite sparse in both departments and ends up being a very dry read.
Instead there are lengthy and quite tedious sections on subjects such as the theatre world and the role of the theatre director, or philosophy as a subject and the practitioners of it. He writes at length on God and religion which, despite concluding in favour of atheism to which view I subscribe, I found quite dull as it contained many arguments I've heard and read from various sources over the years. His views on philosophy are also quite tedious and amateurish. And the lengthy treatise on the theatre world held no interest for me whatsoever. It's a world that's quite petty and dull behind the scenes, his views being out-dated today.
For a book just over 300 pages, it's quite unsubstantial in it's contents. The tone of the book is very chatty and Maugham writes clearly and eloquently about whatever's on his mind, but the book has no structure and no clear path to the topics. Maugham rambles and goes wherever his mind is on the day he's writing. This approach, to me, felt very lazy and haphazard as quite often Maugham isn't saying anything particularly interesting and for a man who lived as interesting a life as he did, it's a shame he forgoes a lot of it to tell you what he thought about the work of Matthew Arnold or Hazlitt.
This could have been a great book if it had been more focused and, for a fan like me, centred around the work he produced, thus being a real summing up of his massive body of literature. Instead it felt like a missed opportunity and, despite the occasional gem found here and there, was overall a very boring book that I was glad to set down once I'd finished it. Maugham is an excellent writer but a biography written by someone else is the best way to go if you're looking for views on his life and work. "The Summing Up" is unfortunately quite sparse in both departments and ends up being a very dry read.
January 28, 2025
I read Somerset Maugham for the first time while on vacation at Kariba Dam on the Zambesi River. We had been living and working a few hundred miles north of the river and had taken time off just to relax among much of the beauty of Zambia and the wild life. Of Human Bondage was well written, but for me at the time, dreary. Moon and Sixpence also did not satisfy, but somehow I was drawn on as if mesmerized to read many things by Maugham. It must have been his frankness, which is manifest in The Summing Up. Later, I was saddened to have finished both volumes of his short stories, also reviewed here, of which I think we see his genius more clearly.
March 2, 2013
袗胁褌芯褉褗褌 褋锌芯写械谢褟 胁懈卸写邪薪懈褟褌邪 懈 褋胁芯懈褌械 屑懈褋谢懈 胁褗褉褏褍 锌懈褋邪薪械褌芯 薪邪 泻薪懈谐懈 懈 锌懈械褋懈, 邪 褋褗褖芯 懈 薪邪斜谢褞写械薪懈褟褌邪 褋懈 懈 褋胁芯械褌芯 屑薪械薪懈械 蟹邪 卸懈胁芯褌邪, 褋屑褗褉褌褌邪, 懈蟹泻褍褋褌胁芯褌芯, 谢褞斜芯胁褌邪, 胁褟褉邪褌邪, 写芯斜褉芯褌芯, 泻褉邪褋芯褌邪褌邪 懈 芯褖械 锌芯胁械褔械. 袠蟹泻谢褞褔懈褌械谢薪芯 薪邪褏芯写褔懈胁, 锌褉芯薪懈褑邪褌械谢械薪 懈 写芯褋褌邪 褉褟蟹褗泻 薪邪 屑芯屑械薪褌懈. 袘械褕械 屑懈 屑薪芯谐芯 懈薪褌械褉械褋械薪, 蟹邪褖芯褌芯 芯褌写邪胁薪邪 褋锌芯写械谢褟屑 谐芯谢褟屑邪 褔邪褋褌 屑懈褋谢懈褌械 屑褍, 邪 写褉褍谐懈 屑械 薪邪泻邪褉邪褏邪 写邪 胁懈写褟 褉邪蟹谢懈褔薪邪, 懈薪褌械褉械褋薪邪 谐谢械写薪邪 褌芯褔泻邪. 袣薪懈谐邪褌邪 蟹胁褍褔懈 屑薪芯谐芯 懈褋泻褉械薪芯 懈 褋懈谢薪芯.
June 15, 2008
Now let me begin by admitting that I will give five stars to almost everything this man wrote. But I do believe this book is one for his fans. I think you have to be into Mr. Maugham's style to truly enjoy all the wisdom and insight he offers here.
May 16, 2020
A brilliant writer and thinker sums up his vision of life. A wise and candid memoir. I now know why Orwell said this about Maugham: 鈥淭he modern writer who has influenced me the most.鈥�
June 16, 2023
袧械褋泻芯谢褜泻芯 薪褉邪胁芯褍褔懈褌械谢褜薪芯, 薪芯 袦芯褝屑 懈蟹 褌械褏, 泻芯谐芯 锌褉懈褟褌薪芯 懈 锌芯谢械蟹薪芯 锌芯褋谢褍褕邪褌褜.
September 30, 2023
丿賱賲 賲蹖鈥屫堌ж� 丕蹖賳賵 亘诏賲 讴賴 賲賵丌賲 禺蹖賱蹖 鬲丕 丕賵賳 亘乇賴賴 丕夭 夭賳丿诏蹖卮賵 禺賵亘 鬲賵氐蹖賮 讴乇丿賴 賵賱蹖 禺蹖賱蹖 亘賴 禺賵丿卮 爻禺鬲 賲蹖鈥屭辟佖� 賵 亘賴 賳馗乇賲 蹖賴 丕爻鬲亘丿丕丿蹖 鬲賵 賱丨賳卮 亘丕 禺賵丿卮賴 讴賴 乇賵 鬲氐賲蹖賲丕鬲卮 賵 乇賵丕亘胤 丕噩鬲賲丕毓蹖卮賲 鬲丕孬蹖乇 賲蹖鈥屭柏ж簇�. 賵賱蹖 禺亘 賲賵丕賲 賴賳乇賲賳丿賴. 毓丕卮賯 蹖丕丿诏乇賮鬲賳賴. 賵 丕蹖賳 亘丕毓孬 賲蹖鈥屫促� 亘鬲賵賳蹖 亘丕 丕禺賱丕賯丕蹖 賲賳丨氐乇 亘賴 賮乇丿卮 讴賳丕乇 亘蹖丕蹖 賵 丕夭 亘毓囟蹖 趩蹖夭丕蹖蹖 讴賴 丿賵爻鬲 賳丿丕乇蹖 亘卮賳賵蹖 亘诏匕乇蹖 賵 亘诏蹖 噩賲毓鈥屫ㄙ嗀� 禺賵亘蹖 乇賵 禺賵賳丿蹖. 亘毓囟蹖 噩丕賴丕卮 乇賵 丕夭 丿蹖丿 卮禺氐蹖 禺賵丿賲 丿賵亘丕乇賴 賲毓賳蹖 賲蹖鈥屭┴必� 賵 賲蹖鈥屬佡囐呟屫� 趩蹖 賲蹖鈥屭�. 賵 丕蹖賳讴賴 賲賵丕賲 爻蹖 爻丕賱 亘毓丿 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 夭賳丿诏蹖 讴乇丿賴. 賲賳 鬲賵 爻蹖鈥屫池з勞� 丕蹖賳賵 禺賵賳丿賲. 蹖毓賳蹖 賯丿 毓賲乇 賲賳貙 亘丕夭賲 夭蹖爻鬲賴. 賮讴乇 讴賳賲 賴乇 丕賳鬲賯丕丿蹖 賳丕乇賵丕爻 趩賵賳 禺賵丿卮 賴賲 卮丕蹖丿 丕诏賴 丿賵亘丕乇賴 賲蹖鈥屬嗁堌簇� 讴賱蹖 毓賵囟卮 賲蹖鈥屭┴必�. 丿乇 讴賱 噩丕賱亘 亘賵丿. 賲賳 鬲賵 丕蹖丕賲 丿亘蹖乇爻鬲丕賳 禺賵賳丿賴 亘賵丿賲卮 賵 蹖賴 噩丕賴丕蹖蹖卮 禺胤 讴卮蹖丿賴 亘賵丿 賵賱蹖 丕氐賱丕 蹖丕丿賲 賳賲賵賳丿賴 亘賵丿 趩賵賳 丕賵賳 賲賵賯毓 賲鬲賳蹖 乇丕噩毓 亘賴 芦丨丕氐賱禄 毓賲乇 禺蹖賱蹖 賯亘賱 丿乇讴 亘乇丕 爻賳 賵 爻丕賱賲 賳亘賵丿.
January 30, 2024
Tinkama ra拧ytojams ir filosofams m臈g臈jams.
June 16, 2018
讴鬲丕亘 氐賵鬲蹖 丨丕氐賱 毓賲乇 乇丕 亘丕 氐丿丕蹖 乇囟丕 毓賲乇丕賳蹖 丕夭 賲丕賴 丌賵丕 亘卮賳賵蹖丿貨
讴鬲丕亘 氐賵鬲蹖 亘賴 爻亘讴 賲丕賴 丌賵丕
讴鬲丕亘 氐賵鬲蹖 亘賴 爻亘讴 賲丕賴 丌賵丕
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