Of Human Bondage

by W. Somerset Maugham
Of Human Bondage  
published January 2nd 2007 by Signet Classics
first published 1915
binding Paperback
isbn 0451530179   (isbn13: 9780451530172)
pages 704
setting United Kingdom
description From an orphan with a clubfoot, Philip Carey grows into an impressionable young man with a voracious appetite for adventure and knowledge. Then he fal...more
date added
01-08-07



Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of Of Human Bondage.







discuss this book

topics replies views last activity
Of Human Bondage 1 17 04/03/2008 04:26PM

groups with this book

1001  Books You Must Read Before You Die
Modern Library 100 Best Novels
The Snotty Persons Book Club




friend reviews (0)

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.



lists with this book




other reviews (showing 1-20 of 3192)



Trevor
Trevor rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
02/16/08

Read in February, 2008
A lot of this book is quite harrowing – you know the drill, young boy orphaned and alone in the world and being brought up by people without affection. Public school nightmares, a child with a deformity that causes him shame all his life.

I was not surprised to learn that Maugham was homosexual, or bisexual, or trisexual – or whatever it was that he was. There are subtle hints to the fact throughout the book.

Young Philip, the central character (rather than protagonist, I think –...more
Like this review?   yes   (4 people liked it)
  add a comment

Martine
bookshelves: british, early-twentieth-century, film, modern-fiction, psychological-drama
Read in December, 2003
recommends it for: people who are looking for the meaning of life
Of Human Bondage is a Bildungsroman which frequently makes you groan and mentally exclaim 'Oh, no!', only to blow you away with the power of its message and the perfection of its ending. Over the course of the 656-page book, the main character, Philip Carey, a young orphan born with a clubfoot, takes many wrong turns, mostly because he has taken it into his head that he wants to live the life of a romantic hero. He makes unwise career moves, recklessly spends money he should have saved, a...more
Like this review?   yes   (1 person liked it)
  add a comment

Jen
Jen rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
06/23/08

Read in June, 2008
I confess that when I first began this book, I found myself with little sympathy for the main character, Phillip. In fact, I couldn't relate to him at all through the first 3/4s of the book. I found him to be vapid, silly, immature, and generally difficult. As a result, I had difficulty becoming interested in his plight. He continued time and time again to make bad decisions and to be interested in following the wrong sort of people. And yes, we all do this in our lives, but not with the consist...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Katherine M
Read in June, 2007
Maugham mastered all the techniques necessary to be an excellent writer. The book flowed easily pulling the reader deeper and deeper into the story, the detailed descriptions allowing the characters to rise alive and unique from the story. The strength Maugham used to pull the reader into the story, however, created a few hundred unbearably emotionally taxing pages. Philip's unrequited, obsessive love for Mildred felt akin to smashing one's head repeatedly into a brick wall, and as a frustrate...more
Like this review?   yes   (2 people liked it)
  add a comment

Jeffrey
Jeffrey rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
06/27/08

Read in May, 2008
W. Somerset Maugham is an author's favorite author. Graham Greene and Gore Vidal certainly tip their hats to him. Maybe it's because this turn-of-the century (the Victorian one, not the latest) author makes storytelling seem so easy. With Of Human Bondage, the reader is introduced to a very believable and unsettling and irritating protagonist, Philip Carey. His childhood is typical heart-wrenching literature in which he is the boy with the clubbed foot who is orphaned and raised by a religious a...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Venessa
Venessa rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/10/08

Read in March, 2008
Of human bondage: life and all of its hardships. I feel that there is something in here that everyone can relate to. Main lesson learned: if you persevere, you will prevail. At times I got so annoyed and frustrated with Phillip, yet he pushes onward and upward and ultimately redeems himself. This is a tale of one man's struggle for himself, in the midst of all the curve balls life will always throw you. Something my QT always tells me: if you think it, it will happen, so therefore, be careful ab...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Siobhan
Siobhan rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
07/19/07

Read in June, 2007
recommends it for: anyone, but especially young adults and boys
It's hard for a <i>bildungsroman<i> not to seem trite, when we've all gone through much the similar phases as the protagonist - there's something slightly embarrassing about revisiting the gradual death of innocence, the flailing search for Meaning, and all that comes inherent with becoming an adult.

So it's pretty impressive that Somerset Maugham manages to capture the reader's attention so completely, as we follow Philip Carey through death, exclusion, lust, discovery, disillu...more
Like this review?   yes   (2 people liked it)
  add a comment

anne
anne rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
05/21/08

Read in May, 2008
Having plowed through The Razor's Edge the week before, I found the first several chapters of Maugham's most famous/best reviewed work a little disappointing. The story is extremely autobiographical, so the plot follows a tedious poor bullied english orphan schoolboy trajectory and it's hard to see how this defensive, angry little boy is going to grow up into an interesting adult. Phillip as both a boy and a man is a frustrating character, and very unlike the colorful strong-willed menagerie of ...more
Like this review?   yes   (1 person liked it)
  add a comment

David
David rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
06/16/08

Read in June, 2008
recommended to David by: my mom
recommends it for: anyone
The pocket-sized version of this book has sat on my parent's shelf for years and before that, my grandparents. I remember thinking it was about slavery as the title would suggest and I thought it might be some sort of essay about that subject. I thought it may be boring so I never gave it a thought to read until my mother started reading it and finished it on a long road trip we were taking. I decided to read it myself as I nothing else to do when not driving.

It's a strange book to say the l...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

LMS
LMS rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
05/06/07

Read in April, 2007
I have just read the abridged edition of this novel, cut into pieces by Maugham to suit the public need for a "pocket book" version of his work. I have gingerly looked after my vintage 35 cent Cardinal edition, which I picked up at a used book store, wiping away the crumbling pages after every read and delicately holding the binding together so as not to completely destroy it. Since this was not acomplete novel I feel amiss at trying to gather my feelings for it, but I'll attempt it si...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Kimie
06/17/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in June, 2008
recommends it for: people who like classics
At first, there I felt great certain pity for Philip Carey as his childhood was less than ideal and he had to endure an overwhelming emotional burden. However, as time progressed, my sympathy waned, then disappeared altogether. His repeated follies and total lack of control of his actions and emotions are frustrating and I found him to be just plain annoying. But then I had to remember how lost he was and how, in his sad childhood, there was no one there to teach about self esteem, the value of ...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Sway
Sway rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
08/17/08

Read in August, 2008
I really thought this was going to be just another British disillusionment tome. It wasn't. From the very beginning, when Philip Carey's mother wonders aloud what's to become of her club-footed, sensitive son, it's clear that Maugham already knows the trajectory of his life.

There's a little bit of Philip Carey in all of us--the aching for romance and meaning, the impressionable desire to please others, the helpless submission to things we know are not good for us. Which is why, although I h...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Kristin
Kristin rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
11/18/07

Read in November, 2007
At times, just as with life, I had to force myself to continue with this.

It's about life and death and growing up, making decisions, becoming a human being and all of the influences that make one's personality. Because of this, I enjoyed the book immensely.

I'm a huge fan of books in which there seems to be no "story" or "plot," and this is definitely one of those books, but it may try to be too full of no story; what I mean is, the book opens at the beginning of th...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Anne
Anne rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/26/07

recommends it for: anyone who likes descriptions and Brit Lit
This was my Spring Break project. Just to give you an idea of what my "projects" often look like, my trip-to-San-Francisco project last August was Anna Karenina. Large in scope, lengthy of page.

This was no exception, though I must say I found it much more enjoyable that Anna K. I had previously read The Razor's Edge and Christmas Holiday, so I knew basically the style I was in for.

I found Of Human Bondage to be a good deal more readable than expected. It's enormous, and th...more
Like this review?   yes   (2 people liked it)
  add a comment

Diane
Diane rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
07/12/08

Read in March, 2008
I love Somerset Maugham, and I did enjoy this picture of life for a struggling poor, but upper class guy in the early part of the 1900s. It was fascinating to understand what the limitations and possililties of the times. He really creates a mood, but then the character does get tiresome by making the same mistake. The love of a woman that is not even likable becomes a repeating downfall - the same chick, not even the same mistake on a different person, but the mistake is on the SAME awful wo...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Kate
10/01/07

Read in October, 2007
recommends it for: most everyone, I dug it
This is one of those 600 pagers that slowly but surely begins to feel like one of your own appendages. I became very fond of the feel of this 2 pound monstrosity in my work bag and in my hands on the subway. I'm sad that Of Human Bondage is over. I became so attached to Phillip and his tumultuous love life, so pissed at that stuffy vicar, and don't even get me started on Mildred. What a bitch. Sure the steps that Phillip takes in his life and the language used are a little dated in an it-all-ha...more
Like this review?   yes   (1 person liked it)
  1 comments

Matt
Matt rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
10/24/07

bookshelves: classics
Read in October, 2007
recommends it for: Classic fans
Anyone with artistic or literary intent that faced weekness or a disabitity should read this book by Maugham.
The only reason I gave this four stars instead of five is the slowness of the book. For about the first 150 pages it's nothing but boarding school drudgery, and religious issues that may not apply so much in today's world. If you can get to where Philip goes leaves school for Germany and later Paris you can't put it down. Maugham shows a great depth showing coming of age with the constr...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Amy
Amy rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/24/08

Read in April, 2008
recommended to Amy by: Book Club
recommends it for: English Lit lovers
Rated: PG-13
This book was very LONG and frusterating. Yet I couldn't put it down. The book is more character driven than plot. I was intrigued by the main character Phillip Carey and wanted to know what happened with his life. I found myself getting angry with him for his poor choices and his lack of understanding. I think that is also part of the reason I liked this book. It captured me in such a way that I was concerned for his well being. I wanted to be sure by the end he made a good choice...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Jori
Jori rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
04/12/08

Read in April, 2008
recommended to Jori by: Kathryn
OHB is a detailed examination of a man's life, from boyhood through a moment that might (the reader hopes) mark the end of his youth, self-doubt and world-weariness. Certainly not the most sympathetic of characters, Philip is all the same pitiable and familiar, an underdog that might not deserve to win but whom you have a lot (of pages) invested in. Realistic, cynical, once touted as immoral, this is a great classic to sink into-- it offers flashes of poetic insight and pages of simple descript...more
Like this review?   yes  
  add a comment

Nora
Nora rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
06/05/07

bookshelves: 20th-century-fiction
Read in June, 2007
Maugham's story of a young man who finds himself and his philosophy in travel, poverty, art and work, is not the best of this kind of story, but it isn't the worst. As sort of a history of a young man's mind - a man revolting against the mores and manners of post-Victorian England - it's less a revelation than a work of nostalgia for those who've already formed their own philosophies at odds with the wider world.

Maugham slowly and steadily follows his character's thoughts, deeds and encounte...more
Like this review?   yes   (1 person liked it)
  add a comment


« previous 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 159 160



book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 4.11 (2550 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 4.11 (1942 ratings)
number of reviews: 301






other editions

Of Human Bondage (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
Of Human Bondage (Modern Library Classics)
Of Human Bondage (Hardcover)