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Ah King and Other Stories
Ah King --
Footprints in the jungle --
The door of opportunity --
The vessel of wrath --
The book-bag --
The back of beyond --
Neil MacAdam.
Footprints in the jungle --
The door of opportunity --
The vessel of wrath --
The book-bag --
The back of beyond --
Neil MacAdam.
346 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1933
5 people are currently reading
138 people want to read
About the author
W. Somerset Maugham
2,113 books6,060 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 clichés' 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 clichés' 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 9, 2025
This is my favorite book of short stories. I’ve read it at least five times. The stories take place in the Malay Archipelago during the time of British imperialism in the 1920s and 30s. They are a blend of mystery and crime written with the skill of Maugham in his prime.
July 6, 2018
Of course W Somerset Maugham is a powerful narrative writer. His five quite interesting stories here all tell of other people's lives, as a character recounts them. Set in Malaya in the 1950s, these are British lives lived in a bubble. The focus is on sexual tensions within relationships. Almost nothing emerges of their full situations and surroundings.
May 6, 2015
I picked this up at random in a used bookstore on a rainy day. I wish I could give it six stars. Lust, betrayal, reversals of fortune, crimes of passion... Every one of these stories is a gem.
January 24, 2025
So much passion
March 18, 2018
"... dacă înseamnă să fii cinic când privești oamenii așa cum sunt, și zâmbești când îi vezi că sunt absurzi, sau te mâhnești fără să exagerezi, când vezi cât sunt de meschini, atunci să știi că eu sunt un cinic. În majoritatea lor oamenii sunt absurzi și meschini, dar dacă viața te-a învățat ce este îndelunga răbdare, vei avea ocazia de mai multe ori să râzi, decât să le plângi de milă."
George Moon- Cealaltă față
George Moon- Cealaltă față
February 27, 2025
My impression of Maugham as an adventurer is that he liked adventures that were comforted by European conveniences. He needed the presence of European colonial order, including European people, comfortable housing, and submissive native servants, to make his journey into Southeast Asia enjoyable.
It’s this imperial attitude that is reflected in the stories of Ah King. The natives, the indigenous culture, the history of the lands are all ignored in favor of rather mundane depictions of Maugham’s colonial peers. There was no local research that went into these stories. In fact, all of these stories could have easily happened within European countries while maintaining the same plots and outcomes. They are only colored by their Southeast Asia setting.
I once read that Maugham journeyed to Mexico to develop similar stories from that far away land, but found the experience wholly unsatisfying. Given the content of Ah King, I can see why. Maugham would have found Mexico practically devoid of any European transplants to write about. He would have been forced to interact with the native people and to tell their stories, which appears to be the last thing that Maughan would have wanted to do.
Overall, this collection does not bode well for Maugham as a short story writer. When thinking about his novels, I remember him best for the complexity and realism of his characters. Of Human Bondage and The Painted Veil are examples. In these short stories, there seems to be not enough literary space to develop his characters to that level of life. As such, with the exception of "Neil MacAdam" they all suffer from character stiffness, which in turn makes these stories far less engaging than his novels.
It’s this imperial attitude that is reflected in the stories of Ah King. The natives, the indigenous culture, the history of the lands are all ignored in favor of rather mundane depictions of Maugham’s colonial peers. There was no local research that went into these stories. In fact, all of these stories could have easily happened within European countries while maintaining the same plots and outcomes. They are only colored by their Southeast Asia setting.
I once read that Maugham journeyed to Mexico to develop similar stories from that far away land, but found the experience wholly unsatisfying. Given the content of Ah King, I can see why. Maugham would have found Mexico practically devoid of any European transplants to write about. He would have been forced to interact with the native people and to tell their stories, which appears to be the last thing that Maughan would have wanted to do.
Overall, this collection does not bode well for Maugham as a short story writer. When thinking about his novels, I remember him best for the complexity and realism of his characters. Of Human Bondage and The Painted Veil are examples. In these short stories, there seems to be not enough literary space to develop his characters to that level of life. As such, with the exception of "Neil MacAdam" they all suffer from character stiffness, which in turn makes these stories far less engaging than his novels.
June 23, 2023
Esperaba más de la cultura de Malasia, las historias van de ingleses y sus inglesadas.
huellas en la jungla: muy predecible, no estaba buscando historia de misterio
Puerta de la oportunidad: vaya mierda (?) Jsjdjd todo eso pa contar que? Los personajes son insufribles
El pasado que vuelve: simplemente historias aburridas sin emoción.
Neil macadam: ñe.
La bolsa de libros: tal vez la más interesante
"No le parece un poco duros que cuando nos hemos portado noblemente con unas personas estas son precisamente las que nos juegan una mala pasada. Es una terrible ingratitud."
huellas en la jungla: muy predecible, no estaba buscando historia de misterio
Puerta de la oportunidad: vaya mierda (?) Jsjdjd todo eso pa contar que? Los personajes son insufribles
El pasado que vuelve: simplemente historias aburridas sin emoción.
Neil macadam: ñe.
La bolsa de libros: tal vez la más interesante
"No le parece un poco duros que cuando nos hemos portado noblemente con unas personas estas son precisamente las que nos juegan una mala pasada. Es una terrible ingratitud."
December 10, 2024
Rereading this book - not a great collection but the last story 'Neil MacAdam' is excellent! 'The Book-Bag' is also good (Christopher Isherwood likes it too.) I found the illustrated hardcover first edition from the University Vice Chancellor's Book Fair last year for only 2 dollars, worth collecting.
December 16, 2015
Escritos casi por diversión, los relatos que Somerset Maugham encierra bajo el título (que homenajea a su discreto sirviente en su viaje por Asia) son una muestra de su fina destreza a la hora de capturar ambientes y crear personajes, plenamente demostrada en "Servidumbre Humana" y aquí presente en historias que abren el exotismo oriental desde la perspectiva europea, obsesiva y a ratos torpe. Recomendable para quienes desean conocer a este singular novelista.
April 28, 2025
Cada una de las historias son excepcionales. Ilustra de una manera interesante cada persona, paisajes y diálogos que se manejan.
Tal vez la temática fue parecida en cada historia, pero cada una tenía un toca tan interesante que no podía evitar tratar de leer más y más para saber en cómo iba a terminar.
Las compras de libros usados pueden dar muchas sorpresas, y este fue una de esas.
Tal vez la temática fue parecida en cada historia, pero cada una tenía un toca tan interesante que no podía evitar tratar de leer más y más para saber en cómo iba a terminar.
Las compras de libros usados pueden dar muchas sorpresas, y este fue una de esas.
August 11, 2011
مجموعة قصص سطحية فكريا - في رأيي - ،... يمكن الاستفادة الوحيدة منها التعرف على أماكن غير مسبوقة للأحداث زارها سومرست !
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews