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underwaterlily's review against another edition
5.0
In mid-2000, a friend who believed he was Maugham’s reincarnation gifted Of Human Bondage to me. I read it and saw myself in the book. I also understood my friend better. Perhaps he really was Maugham; after all, a person’s favorite book reveals some of their secrets. This quote will stay with me forever:
Anyone who loves Moulin Rouge! will enjoy this book.
When I read a book I seem to read it with my eyes only, but now and then I come across a passage, perhaps only a phrase, which has a meaning for me, and it becomes part of me.
Anyone who loves Moulin Rouge! will enjoy this book.
clara14xx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
2beenough's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
dchumphrey213's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
emleemay's review against another edition
3.0
I gotta say, while I like my books dark and depressing, this was a real misery ride. It probably didn't help that Philip Carey was such a horrid whiny little ingrate, either.
[b:Of Human Bondage|31548|Of Human Bondage|W. Somerset Maugham|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386924695s/31548.jpg|2547187] is supposed to be Maugham's masterpiece, but I thought [b:The Painted Veil|99664|The Painted Veil|W. Somerset Maugham|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320421719s/99664.jpg|1069201] was a vastly superior novel. Less than half the length, but containing a lot of depth, fascinating character development, and revealing small truths about human nature. It's not so much that this is a bad book, but I was definitely expecting something more.
It starts fairly interesting. Philip Carey is an orphan with a club foot who goes to live with his aunt and uncle at their vicarage, following the death of his mother. From there, his next step is a boarding school where he is bullied for his disability. This part of the book all seemed very Dickensian to me. The misery had some drama to it and, though Philip's constant self-pity gets a bit much, I liked it enough to want to keep reading.
Somewhere around the middle - when Philip finds himself discussing Degas and Manet with fellow art students in France - the book lost me a little. Depressing things still happened and Philip was still disgusted by the female attention he received (largely because they were fat and ugly, or else old), but the pacing slowed down noticeably, and I personally found the artistic and religious discussion tedious.
Things picked up a little again when he became a doctor, and throughout his interactions with Mildred.
Maugham narrates a series of events (apparently, many of them autobiographical) that read like "this happened and then this happened" which was fine when I was enjoying the story arc, but became dull during the parts that didn't interest me. I know many readers seem to think it is a deep meditation on life itself but I'm not convinced.
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[b:Of Human Bondage|31548|Of Human Bondage|W. Somerset Maugham|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386924695s/31548.jpg|2547187] is supposed to be Maugham's masterpiece, but I thought [b:The Painted Veil|99664|The Painted Veil|W. Somerset Maugham|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320421719s/99664.jpg|1069201] was a vastly superior novel. Less than half the length, but containing a lot of depth, fascinating character development, and revealing small truths about human nature. It's not so much that this is a bad book, but I was definitely expecting something more.
It starts fairly interesting. Philip Carey is an orphan with a club foot who goes to live with his aunt and uncle at their vicarage, following the death of his mother. From there, his next step is a boarding school where he is bullied for his disability. This part of the book all seemed very Dickensian to me. The misery had some drama to it and, though Philip's constant self-pity gets a bit much, I liked it enough to want to keep reading.
Somewhere around the middle - when Philip finds himself discussing Degas and Manet with fellow art students in France - the book lost me a little. Depressing things still happened and Philip was still disgusted by the female attention he received (largely because they were fat and ugly, or else old), but the pacing slowed down noticeably, and I personally found the artistic and religious discussion tedious.
Things picked up a little again when he became a doctor, and throughout his interactions with Mildred.
Maugham narrates a series of events (apparently, many of them autobiographical) that read like "this happened and then this happened" which was fine when I was enjoying the story arc, but became dull during the parts that didn't interest me. I know many readers seem to think it is a deep meditation on life itself but I'm not convinced.
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houyhnhnm64's review against another edition
4.0
This book, published in 1915, is a feat of pure storytelling. It is not very lyrical, or poetic, or innovative - it follows a straightforward chronology - but it is captivating and full of keen psychological insight. It tells the story of Philip Carey, from early childhood till his late twenties. The struggle of Philip, as he finds and loses friends and lovers, tries to pick a career and dreams of his future, provides an interesting mirror for any reader, I imagine, for when all is said and done, we all have to find our way through life.
While reading I wondered if J.D. Salinger had read this book, since his The catcher in the rye also has a male protagonist, wrestling with somewhat similar dilemmas. And then I read on the internet that Salinger actually lets one of his characters in The catcher in the rye make a reference to Of human bondage. Well, that does say something about this book.
A lengthy read, and sometimes, because of its conventional storytelling this does get a bit in the way, but all in all I heartily recommend it, because, as I have already said, it a feat of pure storytelling.
While reading I wondered if J.D. Salinger had read this book, since his The catcher in the rye also has a male protagonist, wrestling with somewhat similar dilemmas. And then I read on the internet that Salinger actually lets one of his characters in The catcher in the rye make a reference to Of human bondage. Well, that does say something about this book.
A lengthy read, and sometimes, because of its conventional storytelling this does get a bit in the way, but all in all I heartily recommend it, because, as I have already said, it a feat of pure storytelling.
gsheffy's review against another edition
Overall, I was pretty disappointed. I was expecting another Razor's Edge and was instead met with...this. Or perhaps I'm misremembering how good Razor's Edge actually was. I enjoyed the frankness with which Maugham depicted the existentialism of your twenties and upon losing religion (and the worship of art...) but the genuinely good insights and passages seemed few and far between in this dense brick of a text. I found it hard to empathize with Phillip, especially when it came to women. I actually groaned aloud when he kissed Sally. You know, the teenager. And couldn't stop talking about how "fertile" and "homely" and "domestic" she was. And that he also didn't love her. It was ridiculous--the way he talked about women was ridiculous. I don't even know what to make of the whole Mildred situation. Feels like some sort of Freudian Madonna-Whore Complex. He wanted to be mothered by his wife.
I was most disappointed upon reaching the end of the novel only for all the contemplation, struggle, and trial to end in, "the straight and narrow domestic middle-class life is actually the answer." That seems extremely diminutive. I enjoyed sections of this book and found I could readily relate to some of its existentialism, but it was nowhere near the novel I expected.
I was most disappointed upon reaching the end of the novel only for all the contemplation, struggle, and trial to end in, "the straight and narrow domestic middle-class life is actually the answer." That seems extremely diminutive. I enjoyed sections of this book and found I could readily relate to some of its existentialism, but it was nowhere near the novel I expected.
leslie_r_k's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hungerford's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lbolesta's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. Less douchey than Lawrence, occasionally amusing.