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Rain and Other South Sea Stories
W. Somerset Maugham led many lives, including that of a doctor in London's slums, a successful playwright and novelist, an agent for British Intelligence during World War I, and a world traveler. In 1917, he took the first of many voyages to the Pacific Islands and the Far East, where his keen sense of observation found inspiration for some of his finest writing.
Rain and Other South Sea Stories features one of Maugham's most famous tales, concerning the clash between a missionary and a prostitute. "Rain" was adapted for the stage and filmed on three separate occasions, its leading character portrayed by Gloria Swanson, Joan Crawford, and Rita Hayworth. This collection also includes "Macintosh," a psychological study of the competition between two officials; "The Fall of Edward Barnard," a tale of social rebellion that foreshadows The Razor's Edge; "The Pool," a portrait of a marriage between people from different cultures; and other compelling stories of life in the tropics.
Rain and Other South Sea Stories features one of Maugham's most famous tales, concerning the clash between a missionary and a prostitute. "Rain" was adapted for the stage and filmed on three separate occasions, its leading character portrayed by Gloria Swanson, Joan Crawford, and Rita Hayworth. This collection also includes "Macintosh," a psychological study of the competition between two officials; "The Fall of Edward Barnard," a tale of social rebellion that foreshadows The Razor's Edge; "The Pool," a portrait of a marriage between people from different cultures; and other compelling stories of life in the tropics.
166 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1921
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About the author
W. Somerset Maugham
2,118 books6,068 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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August 15, 2024
ACQUE MORTE
William Somerset Maugham è probabilmente lo scrittore in assoluto più saccheggiato dal cinema: più di Graham Greene, e anche più di Conan Doyle.
Di questi sei racconti, apparsi in originale in raccolte diverse (e quindi la selezione è dell’editore italiano), il primo è quello più famoso, Rain – Pioggia, e ha ispirato diversi adattamenti: uno teatrale, il più recente in forma di opera musicale, e tre film, di cui il primo muto intitolato Sadie Thompson – Tristana e la maschera (1928) che è il nome della protagonista femminile, qui interpretata da Gloria Swanson.
1928, Gloria Swanson.
È seguito un secondo film in bianco e nero, questa volta sonoro, nel 1932, dove l’aspetto esotico è ridotto all’osso (anche perché invece che a Pago Pago, dove è ambientato il racconto di Maugham, fu girato all’isola di Catalina, non molto al largo di Los Angeles), molti interni e pochi esterni. Sadie, la prostituta, o donna di facili costumi, è interpretata da Joan Crawford – il missionario-predicatore che la perseguita pur affermando di volerla redimere, è appannaggio di Walter Huston. Entrambi molto efficaci.
Nel 1953 il film tornò a intitolarsi col nome della protagonista, Miss Sadie Thompson - Pioggia, che questa volta ha il volto e il corpo di Rita Hayworth.
1932, Joan Crawford.
Tutti i racconti come indica il titolo della raccolta italiana sono ambientati nei mari del sud, tra Malesia e Polinesia, dove si spingeva l’impero coloniale britannico che Maugham illustra in fase di disfacimento. Dove i bianchi si perdono, e dannano, o fanno la bella vita, senza mai ambientarsi davvero, senza mai davvero integrarsi coi locali.
E la natura forte, rigogliosa, potente, incontaminata, a suo modo irresistibile e spietata, non aiuta l’inserimento, l’ambientamento. Nel racconto più famoso, la pioggia cade e batte con insistenza, arrivando a determinare le azioni degli uomini.
1953, Rita Hayworth.
Non ci sono eroi in questi racconti, più spesso uomini meschini, uomini piccoli, aggrappati alle loro certezze che Maugham dimostra quanto siano ipocrite, e fa sfaldare nel corso delle storie.
Qualche personaggio femminile ha caratura più alta, a cominciare da quello della prostituta Sadie: nel racconto la meschinità è tutta appannaggio del melmoso predicatore (e di sua moglie), uomo che moralizza a parole, o come si usa dire, predica bene e razzola male.
Sei racconti di magnifico artigianato letterario.
Graham Sutherland: Ritratto di William Somerset Maugham. 1949
William Somerset Maugham è probabilmente lo scrittore in assoluto più saccheggiato dal cinema: più di Graham Greene, e anche più di Conan Doyle.
Di questi sei racconti, apparsi in originale in raccolte diverse (e quindi la selezione è dell’editore italiano), il primo è quello più famoso, Rain – Pioggia, e ha ispirato diversi adattamenti: uno teatrale, il più recente in forma di opera musicale, e tre film, di cui il primo muto intitolato Sadie Thompson – Tristana e la maschera (1928) che è il nome della protagonista femminile, qui interpretata da Gloria Swanson.
1928, Gloria Swanson.
È seguito un secondo film in bianco e nero, questa volta sonoro, nel 1932, dove l’aspetto esotico è ridotto all’osso (anche perché invece che a Pago Pago, dove è ambientato il racconto di Maugham, fu girato all’isola di Catalina, non molto al largo di Los Angeles), molti interni e pochi esterni. Sadie, la prostituta, o donna di facili costumi, è interpretata da Joan Crawford – il missionario-predicatore che la perseguita pur affermando di volerla redimere, è appannaggio di Walter Huston. Entrambi molto efficaci.
Nel 1953 il film tornò a intitolarsi col nome della protagonista, Miss Sadie Thompson - Pioggia, che questa volta ha il volto e il corpo di Rita Hayworth.
1932, Joan Crawford.
Tutti i racconti come indica il titolo della raccolta italiana sono ambientati nei mari del sud, tra Malesia e Polinesia, dove si spingeva l’impero coloniale britannico che Maugham illustra in fase di disfacimento. Dove i bianchi si perdono, e dannano, o fanno la bella vita, senza mai ambientarsi davvero, senza mai davvero integrarsi coi locali.
E la natura forte, rigogliosa, potente, incontaminata, a suo modo irresistibile e spietata, non aiuta l’inserimento, l’ambientamento. Nel racconto più famoso, la pioggia cade e batte con insistenza, arrivando a determinare le azioni degli uomini.
1953, Rita Hayworth.
Non ci sono eroi in questi racconti, più spesso uomini meschini, uomini piccoli, aggrappati alle loro certezze che Maugham dimostra quanto siano ipocrite, e fa sfaldare nel corso delle storie.
Qualche personaggio femminile ha caratura più alta, a cominciare da quello della prostituta Sadie: nel racconto la meschinità è tutta appannaggio del melmoso predicatore (e di sua moglie), uomo che moralizza a parole, o come si usa dire, predica bene e razzola male.
Sei racconti di magnifico artigianato letterario.
Graham Sutherland: Ritratto di William Somerset Maugham. 1949
November 19, 2017
There's a politically incorrect expression used in this book, "going native," but that is a lot of what these stories are about.
Brits (mostly men) from the sun-deprived northern climes (and in one case, an American) arrive in the tropical South Pacific isles, mainly Tahiti, to shed their clothes and their work ethic and to drink and chase island women. But there is trouble in paradise and these stories focus on murder, suicide, prostitution and the clash of races and classes.
The stories are set in the steamship era, late 19th to early 20th Century, and around the time other European notables visited the South Pacific, including Paul Gauguin and Robert Louis Stevenson. In fact, Maugham visited Tahiti to research Gauguin's life which he wrote about in The Moon and Sixpence.
These are great stories that have withstood the test of time.
Photos from top:
surfer.com
travelandleisure.com
wikipedia.en
Brits (mostly men) from the sun-deprived northern climes (and in one case, an American) arrive in the tropical South Pacific isles, mainly Tahiti, to shed their clothes and their work ethic and to drink and chase island women. But there is trouble in paradise and these stories focus on murder, suicide, prostitution and the clash of races and classes.
The stories are set in the steamship era, late 19th to early 20th Century, and around the time other European notables visited the South Pacific, including Paul Gauguin and Robert Louis Stevenson. In fact, Maugham visited Tahiti to research Gauguin's life which he wrote about in The Moon and Sixpence.
These are great stories that have withstood the test of time.
Photos from top:
surfer.com
travelandleisure.com
wikipedia.en
March 18, 2017
The short story Rain, may be one of the best short stories I have ever read and I am an avid short story reader. The human condition, religion, power, lust, a tropical setting, outsiders vs. natives against the backdrop of the constant, seemingly never ending rain. Thought this was a very powerful story and though come could say the language and situation is dated, I don't necessarily consider that true as there are still missionaries serving all over the world and there are new cultures being discovered yearly.
The other stories take place in Samoa and also highlight the human condition, something this author chronicles very ably. Many of the themes are repeated, though the outcomes vary. All were very good but none had the power for me that Rain did, first story set the bar high. They all do though serve to enlighten as to a particular time and place and the invasion and consequences of the imposition of will on native peoples.
The other stories take place in Samoa and also highlight the human condition, something this author chronicles very ably. Many of the themes are repeated, though the outcomes vary. All were very good but none had the power for me that Rain did, first story set the bar high. They all do though serve to enlighten as to a particular time and place and the invasion and consequences of the imposition of will on native peoples.
November 25, 2023
My copy was an English language version, not the Spanish version listed here.
Maugham’s South Sea stories are wonderfully crafted. I can’t think of an equal at his time. Not only are they extremely illuminating as far as human nature goes, but the dialog seems very realistic and the settings are breathtaking.
Occasionally I step back and think something was ruined by a pat ending or overt, ugly racism makes me cringe, but that was absolutely true for its time and shows the ugliness of colonialism. Three stories in this collection are terrific—Mackintosh, The Fall of Edward Barnard and Rain.
Maugham’s South Sea stories are wonderfully crafted. I can’t think of an equal at his time. Not only are they extremely illuminating as far as human nature goes, but the dialog seems very realistic and the settings are breathtaking.
Occasionally I step back and think something was ruined by a pat ending or overt, ugly racism makes me cringe, but that was absolutely true for its time and shows the ugliness of colonialism. Three stories in this collection are terrific—Mackintosh, The Fall of Edward Barnard and Rain.
September 21, 2018
The Male's Ancient Conflict: His Inherent Sexual Nature vs. His Moral Fibers, Bonds of Loyalty and Religion
If you play with fire....
I consider Maugham as one of the top two or three short story writers of all time. His best is "Rain," one of the most powerful and symbolic short stories in the canon of Western lit. The tale explores in a most profound way the inescapable nature of all men as sexual beings (here, heterosexual*).
On a Pacific island quarantined during the tropical wet season, two married couples reside in the same building as a prostitute. One couple are missionaries, the other a mild-mannered doctor and his wife. The doctor is the story's narrator. I cannot think of another tale (in short or novel form) better illustrating a man's losing struggle, despite calling to all his morals, loyalty and religious beliefs, against his overpowering natural desires for the female. If you've not read it, I won't spoil for you one of the most affecting and effective last few pages I've read in all of literature. Prayers and faith can fortify the spirit, but they cannot stop the Rain. Ironically, man could have saved himself, as with the Fall, by walking away.
Moral: avoid, at all costs, any situation that may provoke the masculine inner predations; else, you play a deadly game.
It seems to me that Maugham is one of the most underrated writers in Western Literature. Here, he displays his masterful creative talents for the short story in this collection of his stories set in the South Seas.
*I only note this here because Maugham was not.
If you play with fire....
I consider Maugham as one of the top two or three short story writers of all time. His best is "Rain," one of the most powerful and symbolic short stories in the canon of Western lit. The tale explores in a most profound way the inescapable nature of all men as sexual beings (here, heterosexual*).
On a Pacific island quarantined during the tropical wet season, two married couples reside in the same building as a prostitute. One couple are missionaries, the other a mild-mannered doctor and his wife. The doctor is the story's narrator. I cannot think of another tale (in short or novel form) better illustrating a man's losing struggle, despite calling to all his morals, loyalty and religious beliefs, against his overpowering natural desires for the female. If you've not read it, I won't spoil for you one of the most affecting and effective last few pages I've read in all of literature. Prayers and faith can fortify the spirit, but they cannot stop the Rain. Ironically, man could have saved himself, as with the Fall, by walking away.
Moral: avoid, at all costs, any situation that may provoke the masculine inner predations; else, you play a deadly game.
It seems to me that Maugham is one of the most underrated writers in Western Literature. Here, he displays his masterful creative talents for the short story in this collection of his stories set in the South Seas.
*I only note this here because Maugham was not.
December 14, 2020
This collection is the first I’ve read by Somerset Maugham. The stories draw on his own experiences of travel in the Pacific, and were first published in 1921.
A word of warning at the outset. These stories are centred around Europeans and white Americans who live in the Pacific islands. Many of the characters display racist attitudes and use offensively racist language towards Polynesian people, as well as other minorities such as those of Chinese and Japanese origin. Maugham is neither approving nor disapproving in the way he portrays these attitudes. They were part of the world of a century ago.
This is a collection of 6 tales, each story being between 40 and 60 pages long. All of them focus on clashes in relationships. I thought three of them, “Mackintosh”, “The Pool”, and “Rain”, were excellent.
The opening story “Mackintosh” possibly edges it as my favourite in the collection. The title character is a sort of Assistant Administrator in one of the smaller islands of Samoa, and he gradually develops a loathing of his overbearing senior colleague, Walker. I thought the story was a superb character study, and quite tense as well.
Next is “The Fall of Edward Barnard”, which is the lightest of the six stories in mood. A wealthy young man from Chicago, Hunter Bateman, travels to Tahiti to visit the title character. Barnard himself grew up amongst the Chicago elite but ended up in the South Seas after his father went bankrupt. The story contrasts Barnard’s life in the Pacific with that of Bateman, who is something of a “stuffed shirt”. I think this theme is a bit hackneyed now, though obviously less so 100 years ago. There’s an amusing end to this one.
The third story, “Red” was apparently chosen by Maugham as his best short story, and I can see why he thought so. Initially I thought the scene-setting part of the tale was overdone, but I eventually got the reason for that. It’s a story with a marked mood change between beginning and end.
“The Pool” tells the story of Lawson, who is married to a woman genetically half-Samoan but culturally 100% so, and neither party can fully adapt to the ways of the other. From the beginning it’s clear that Lawson is held in contempt by everyone on the island, regardless of their background, but Maugham creates a sympathetic portrait of a man who has taken all the wrong turnings in life. A great story.
The next story, “Honolulu” was for me the weakest in the collection. In this tale the clash is between the white captain of a schooner and his Polynesian first mate. There was a slightly odd ending that left me with the feeling I had missed some subtlety contained within.
The final entry “Rain” was another top-class tale, and probably the best known from this collection. The title derives from the setting, Pago-Pago in American Samoa during the rainy season, and Maugham uses the weather conditions to create an appropriately oppressive atmosphere. A group of passengers bound for the British ruled islands get stranded in Pago-Pago by a measles outbreak, which leads to them being quarantined. It’s told from the perspective of Macphail, a doctor, but the story centres on a dispute between Davidson, a puritanical missionary, and “Miss Thompson”, a woman who works as a prostitute. In one sense, it’s probably the most “modern” of the stories. In another sense, it’s the oldest.
A word of warning at the outset. These stories are centred around Europeans and white Americans who live in the Pacific islands. Many of the characters display racist attitudes and use offensively racist language towards Polynesian people, as well as other minorities such as those of Chinese and Japanese origin. Maugham is neither approving nor disapproving in the way he portrays these attitudes. They were part of the world of a century ago.
This is a collection of 6 tales, each story being between 40 and 60 pages long. All of them focus on clashes in relationships. I thought three of them, “Mackintosh”, “The Pool”, and “Rain”, were excellent.
The opening story “Mackintosh” possibly edges it as my favourite in the collection. The title character is a sort of Assistant Administrator in one of the smaller islands of Samoa, and he gradually develops a loathing of his overbearing senior colleague, Walker. I thought the story was a superb character study, and quite tense as well.
Next is “The Fall of Edward Barnard”, which is the lightest of the six stories in mood. A wealthy young man from Chicago, Hunter Bateman, travels to Tahiti to visit the title character. Barnard himself grew up amongst the Chicago elite but ended up in the South Seas after his father went bankrupt. The story contrasts Barnard’s life in the Pacific with that of Bateman, who is something of a “stuffed shirt”. I think this theme is a bit hackneyed now, though obviously less so 100 years ago. There’s an amusing end to this one.
The third story, “Red” was apparently chosen by Maugham as his best short story, and I can see why he thought so. Initially I thought the scene-setting part of the tale was overdone, but I eventually got the reason for that. It’s a story with a marked mood change between beginning and end.
“The Pool” tells the story of Lawson, who is married to a woman genetically half-Samoan but culturally 100% so, and neither party can fully adapt to the ways of the other. From the beginning it’s clear that Lawson is held in contempt by everyone on the island, regardless of their background, but Maugham creates a sympathetic portrait of a man who has taken all the wrong turnings in life. A great story.
The next story, “Honolulu” was for me the weakest in the collection. In this tale the clash is between the white captain of a schooner and his Polynesian first mate. There was a slightly odd ending that left me with the feeling I had missed some subtlety contained within.
The final entry “Rain” was another top-class tale, and probably the best known from this collection. The title derives from the setting, Pago-Pago in American Samoa during the rainy season, and Maugham uses the weather conditions to create an appropriately oppressive atmosphere. A group of passengers bound for the British ruled islands get stranded in Pago-Pago by a measles outbreak, which leads to them being quarantined. It’s told from the perspective of Macphail, a doctor, but the story centres on a dispute between Davidson, a puritanical missionary, and “Miss Thompson”, a woman who works as a prostitute. In one sense, it’s probably the most “modern” of the stories. In another sense, it’s the oldest.
March 22, 2024
This is my second time through this collection of Maugham short stories, and in reading my review of the first, I think I was originally a bit harsh. Coincidently, I’ve started reading a book by Carl Sagan wherein he covers my original concerns about racism rather elegantly…
Another change since my last time through this collection is that I recently read a biography of Maugham’s life. This experience added depth to these stories. In my previous review I wrote about the various aspects of love that these stories explore. After reding Maugham’s biography, I could see the personal experiences in his life that informed his writing.
Overall, it’s a nice collection of Maugham’s writing. These stories were inspired by his 1916 journey to the South Seas and they are filled with the beautiful imagery of the region. Tropical seas, fiery sunsets, and torrential rains are all brought to life. "Rain" is masterful example of literary writing, and the closing vignette, "Envoi," practically waves goodbye to the reader at the collection’s end.
---
[First Reading]...
The colonial era in the South Pacific was filled with self-righteous imperialists whose own good opinions of themselves were only overshadowed by their racist opinions of the native inhabitants. Maugham, captures this aspect of life and places it up front in every story. I understand that attitudes were different during Maugham’s life, and that Maugham, given his dedication to capturing life as it is, could not write stories that were otherwise. Nonetheless, this aspect of the book makes each story somewhat acidic.
The stories themselves range from average to very good. Maugham exhibits his ability to capture life, and, in particular, the imperfections of love. In actuality, these stories are more about love than they are about the south seas. In much the same way that Maugham captured the emotions of love in his book Of Human Bondage, he captures various aspects of this complicated emotion in these tales.
Maugham also captures the beautiful setting of the tropical islands. The setting is not overplayed and he uses the setting as a reminder that many times the breathtaking beauty of the tropics is more permanent and lasting then any moment in time experienced by the humans residing among them.
Society corrupts the best of us. It is a little unfair, I think, to criticize a person for not sharing the enlightenment of a later epoch, but it is also profoundly saddening that such prejudices were so extremely pervasive. The question raises nagging uncertainties about which of the conventional truths of our own age will be considered unforgivable bigotry by the next.
Another change since my last time through this collection is that I recently read a biography of Maugham’s life. This experience added depth to these stories. In my previous review I wrote about the various aspects of love that these stories explore. After reding Maugham’s biography, I could see the personal experiences in his life that informed his writing.
Overall, it’s a nice collection of Maugham’s writing. These stories were inspired by his 1916 journey to the South Seas and they are filled with the beautiful imagery of the region. Tropical seas, fiery sunsets, and torrential rains are all brought to life. "Rain" is masterful example of literary writing, and the closing vignette, "Envoi," practically waves goodbye to the reader at the collection’s end.
---
[First Reading]...
The colonial era in the South Pacific was filled with self-righteous imperialists whose own good opinions of themselves were only overshadowed by their racist opinions of the native inhabitants. Maugham, captures this aspect of life and places it up front in every story. I understand that attitudes were different during Maugham’s life, and that Maugham, given his dedication to capturing life as it is, could not write stories that were otherwise. Nonetheless, this aspect of the book makes each story somewhat acidic.
The stories themselves range from average to very good. Maugham exhibits his ability to capture life, and, in particular, the imperfections of love. In actuality, these stories are more about love than they are about the south seas. In much the same way that Maugham captured the emotions of love in his book Of Human Bondage, he captures various aspects of this complicated emotion in these tales.
Maugham also captures the beautiful setting of the tropical islands. The setting is not overplayed and he uses the setting as a reminder that many times the breathtaking beauty of the tropics is more permanent and lasting then any moment in time experienced by the humans residing among them.
September 29, 2018
Each story is reviewed one by one, following the order they occur in the book. Not all the stories are set in South East Asia, as the title erroneously indicates.
1,”Pacific” 3 stars
This is best seen as a preamble. It draws the setting for the South Sea stories that follow. The Pacific may shift from a raging sea to the calm surface of a mirror like lake. Only after having delved into the stories, did it occur to me why it had been placed here. It is good as an introduction.
2. "Mackintosh" 3 stars
Set on a small island of Samoa, the story is about the Scott Macintosh and his employer, Walker, for whom Mackintosh has great disdain. Opposites of each other, I failed to like anything about either. The story did pull me in. It upset me a lot. I found it extremely depressing. Both men . Three stars because it played with my emotions as much as it did.
3. "Rain" 3 stars
The setting for this story is Pago Pago, the territorial capital on the main island of American Samoa. The time setting is somewhere around the First World War. A missionary couple, the Davidsons, and a doctor and his wife, the Macphails, are on their way to Apia in the Pacific. The Macphails and the Davidsons must stay on Pago Pago for a fortnight; they are quarantined because one of the ship’s crew may have the measles. They are given lodging at an inn on the island. A “Miss Thompson” is lodged there too. She shows herself to be a prostitute. We observe how all five characters behave. A death occurs, but who is at fault? The story is sure to provoke lively discussion—on religion, on forgiveness, on moral rectitude, on the diametrically opposed views of colonists and indigenous people.
I find the story too open ended. Since we are not told why Miss Thompson . Neither are we given adequate information concerning Davidson. I know I dislike him; I find him to be sanctimonious, judgmental and self-righteous. Let’s just call him what he is—a religious fanatic! He may have . The two wives I also dislike—both are gossipy, condescending and spiteful. Maugham is delivering a message.
A central theme of the story is if one has a moral obligation to aid in the capture of a criminal. Once again, I need more information about the crime before making a decision. The story does give food for thought and there is lots to discuss.
Maugham did make me laugh at the antics of the missionary; first Davidson teaches his parishioners what sin is and then punishes them for it! How? By means of fines.
4. "Envoi" 3 stars
Too short to be even called a story. It takes one minute to read. It could also be called “Bon voyage”. It poignantly captures in a minimum of words “departure”, in this case on a ship.
5."The Casuarina Tree" 2 stars
“Casuarina equisetifolia, or Australian pine tree, is a she-oak species of the genus Casuarina. The native range extends from Thailand, Burma and Vietnam throughout Malaysia east to French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu, and south to Australia and is also found in Brunei.” Source Wikipedia
Maugham sees the trees-- gray, hardy, rugged and sad-- as representative of British expatriates in Borneo. I know too little about the people and the place to form an opinion. Another very short piece; it is read in three minutes in the audio version.
6. "The Letter" 2 stars
Set in Singapore, probably right after the First World War.
A mystery and a murder to be solved, or let’s say . It draws people at their most despicable. I believe Maugham is reflecting on people encountered on his foreign travels.
A statement about the hypocrisy and shallowness of the moneyed, and yes even educated upper-class.
7."Sanatorium" 4 stars
Life as a consumptive in a sanatorium--superbly drawn. Set in Scotland at the turn of the 20th century. Atmospheric, accurate and philosophical in message. A blend of both the macabre and wistful hopes and dreams. Choices laid bare; pretenses discarded. I like this as much as I did due to its portrayal of both despair and happiness.
Campbell and McLeod are long time competitive “enemies” and, as we come to see, also best friends. McLeod has lived in the sanatorium for eighteen long years. He.
In a sanatorium there is no place for pretense and emotions are laid bare. The beauty and wonder of life contrast sharply with and are magnified by the arduous fight for survival
8. "Jane" 4 stars
An unexpected twist at the end, superb dialog, humor and the point made that honesty and plain speaking are refreshing makes this a very good story. Both the story’s message and the way it is told make this a winner.
9. "The Judgement Seat" 2 stars
This may be viewed as a parable. It is set on Judgment Day--God is to judge three individuals’ lives. Is following the rules and doing one’s duty always right? One must be sympathetic to human frailty is the message delivered. I wholeheartedly agree but prefer a story that pushes a reader to think and draw their own conclusion. I am not in favor of messages being spoon-fed to readers. It is kind of a parody because God is in a rush and has too much on his hands.
10. "The Colonel’s Lady" 3 stars
What is described is the marriage of two middle-aged people. Husband and wife have grown apart. Love has been replaced by indifference. Sheffield and London is the setting, Please note that not all the stories are set in the South East Asia! The husband gets an awakening. How well does h know the woman he is married to and will his behavior change? Can he appreciate who she has become?
11. "The Verger" 4 stars
The story is short but packs a punch. Earlier this year I read it online and reviewed it on GR here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A free online link to the short story is provided in my review. The setting is again London, not South East Asia!
************************
I listened to the above stories collected in an audiobook read by Steven Crossley. I have given his performance four stars. Each and every one is easy to follow and read at a good speed. It is much easier listening than reading stories online—particularly if one has poor vision, as I do. I recommend the audiobook despite that it is possible to get the stories free online.
Phew, reviewing all the stories in an anthology takes time and effort. I hope I have provided adequate information to help you decide if the book is for you. One may wish to pick out one or two from the best. Maugham is a talented storyteller. His prose, his humor and his ability to construct a story have made his books into classics.
**************************
My ratings of Maugham’s books :
*Then and Now 5 stars
*Mrs Craddock 4 stars
*Cakes and Ale 4 stars
*The Painted Veil 4 stars
*The Verger 4 stars
*Liza of Lambeth 3 stars
*The Razor's Edge 3 stars
*The Summing Up 3 stars
*The Gentleman in the Parlour: A Record of a Journey from Rangoon to Haiphong 3 stars
*The Magician 3 stars
*Up at the Villa 3 stars
*Christmas Holiday 3 stars
*Catalina 3 stars
*The Narrow Corner 3 stars
*Ashenden 3 stars
*Rain and Other South Sea Stories 3 stars
*Theatre 2 stars
*The Moon and Sixpence 2 stars
*Of Human Bondage 2 stars
*The Merry-Go-Round 1 star
Books and short stories by Maugham still to be read :
*The Constant Wife
*Don Fernando
1,”Pacific” 3 stars
This is best seen as a preamble. It draws the setting for the South Sea stories that follow. The Pacific may shift from a raging sea to the calm surface of a mirror like lake. Only after having delved into the stories, did it occur to me why it had been placed here. It is good as an introduction.
2. "Mackintosh" 3 stars
Set on a small island of Samoa, the story is about the Scott Macintosh and his employer, Walker, for whom Mackintosh has great disdain. Opposites of each other, I failed to like anything about either. The story did pull me in. It upset me a lot. I found it extremely depressing. Both men . Three stars because it played with my emotions as much as it did.
3. "Rain" 3 stars
The setting for this story is Pago Pago, the territorial capital on the main island of American Samoa. The time setting is somewhere around the First World War. A missionary couple, the Davidsons, and a doctor and his wife, the Macphails, are on their way to Apia in the Pacific. The Macphails and the Davidsons must stay on Pago Pago for a fortnight; they are quarantined because one of the ship’s crew may have the measles. They are given lodging at an inn on the island. A “Miss Thompson” is lodged there too. She shows herself to be a prostitute. We observe how all five characters behave. A death occurs, but who is at fault? The story is sure to provoke lively discussion—on religion, on forgiveness, on moral rectitude, on the diametrically opposed views of colonists and indigenous people.
I find the story too open ended. Since we are not told why Miss Thompson . Neither are we given adequate information concerning Davidson. I know I dislike him; I find him to be sanctimonious, judgmental and self-righteous. Let’s just call him what he is—a religious fanatic! He may have . The two wives I also dislike—both are gossipy, condescending and spiteful. Maugham is delivering a message.
A central theme of the story is if one has a moral obligation to aid in the capture of a criminal. Once again, I need more information about the crime before making a decision. The story does give food for thought and there is lots to discuss.
Maugham did make me laugh at the antics of the missionary; first Davidson teaches his parishioners what sin is and then punishes them for it! How? By means of fines.
4. "Envoi" 3 stars
Too short to be even called a story. It takes one minute to read. It could also be called “Bon voyage”. It poignantly captures in a minimum of words “departure”, in this case on a ship.
5."The Casuarina Tree" 2 stars
“Casuarina equisetifolia, or Australian pine tree, is a she-oak species of the genus Casuarina. The native range extends from Thailand, Burma and Vietnam throughout Malaysia east to French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu, and south to Australia and is also found in Brunei.” Source Wikipedia
Maugham sees the trees-- gray, hardy, rugged and sad-- as representative of British expatriates in Borneo. I know too little about the people and the place to form an opinion. Another very short piece; it is read in three minutes in the audio version.
6. "The Letter" 2 stars
Set in Singapore, probably right after the First World War.
A mystery and a murder to be solved, or let’s say . It draws people at their most despicable. I believe Maugham is reflecting on people encountered on his foreign travels.
A statement about the hypocrisy and shallowness of the moneyed, and yes even educated upper-class.
7."Sanatorium" 4 stars
Life as a consumptive in a sanatorium--superbly drawn. Set in Scotland at the turn of the 20th century. Atmospheric, accurate and philosophical in message. A blend of both the macabre and wistful hopes and dreams. Choices laid bare; pretenses discarded. I like this as much as I did due to its portrayal of both despair and happiness.
Campbell and McLeod are long time competitive “enemies” and, as we come to see, also best friends. McLeod has lived in the sanatorium for eighteen long years. He.
In a sanatorium there is no place for pretense and emotions are laid bare. The beauty and wonder of life contrast sharply with and are magnified by the arduous fight for survival
8. "Jane" 4 stars
An unexpected twist at the end, superb dialog, humor and the point made that honesty and plain speaking are refreshing makes this a very good story. Both the story’s message and the way it is told make this a winner.
9. "The Judgement Seat" 2 stars
This may be viewed as a parable. It is set on Judgment Day--God is to judge three individuals’ lives. Is following the rules and doing one’s duty always right? One must be sympathetic to human frailty is the message delivered. I wholeheartedly agree but prefer a story that pushes a reader to think and draw their own conclusion. I am not in favor of messages being spoon-fed to readers. It is kind of a parody because God is in a rush and has too much on his hands.
10. "The Colonel’s Lady" 3 stars
What is described is the marriage of two middle-aged people. Husband and wife have grown apart. Love has been replaced by indifference. Sheffield and London is the setting, Please note that not all the stories are set in the South East Asia! The husband gets an awakening. How well does h know the woman he is married to and will his behavior change? Can he appreciate who she has become?
11. "The Verger" 4 stars
The story is short but packs a punch. Earlier this year I read it online and reviewed it on GR here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A free online link to the short story is provided in my review. The setting is again London, not South East Asia!
************************
I listened to the above stories collected in an audiobook read by Steven Crossley. I have given his performance four stars. Each and every one is easy to follow and read at a good speed. It is much easier listening than reading stories online—particularly if one has poor vision, as I do. I recommend the audiobook despite that it is possible to get the stories free online.
Phew, reviewing all the stories in an anthology takes time and effort. I hope I have provided adequate information to help you decide if the book is for you. One may wish to pick out one or two from the best. Maugham is a talented storyteller. His prose, his humor and his ability to construct a story have made his books into classics.
**************************
My ratings of Maugham’s books :
*Then and Now 5 stars
*Mrs Craddock 4 stars
*Cakes and Ale 4 stars
*The Painted Veil 4 stars
*The Verger 4 stars
*Liza of Lambeth 3 stars
*The Razor's Edge 3 stars
*The Summing Up 3 stars
*The Gentleman in the Parlour: A Record of a Journey from Rangoon to Haiphong 3 stars
*The Magician 3 stars
*Up at the Villa 3 stars
*Christmas Holiday 3 stars
*Catalina 3 stars
*The Narrow Corner 3 stars
*Ashenden 3 stars
*Rain and Other South Sea Stories 3 stars
*Theatre 2 stars
*The Moon and Sixpence 2 stars
*Of Human Bondage 2 stars
*The Merry-Go-Round 1 star
Books and short stories by Maugham still to be read :
*The Constant Wife
*Don Fernando
March 24, 2024
Estos cuentos fueron escritos durante un viaje que hizo Somerset Maugham a los mares del Sur, siguiendo la huella de Gauguin. Pero lejos de encontrar el paraíso, aquí el autor se centra en el infierno que el hombre blanco parece llevar consigo y que altera completamente la vida de los nativos. En la mayoría de estas historias encontramos alcohol, asesinatos, suicidios e infelicidad conyugal. Ciertamente no es lo que yo esperaba, habiendo leído los Cuentos de Robert Louis Stevenson, que dan una visión más amable de las islas.
En cualquier caso, me han parecido una obra maestra, con una gran capacidad narrativa y una mirada crítica sobre el colonialismo y el choque de culturas. Personajes muy vivos - al parecer se inspiró en personas concretas que conoció durante sus viajes - y ambientación excelente. Si se le puede poner un pero es que a veces es muy crudo en sus expresiones para retratar a los nativos y a las mujeres, se detecta un tono paternalista, pero lo cierto es que le atiza a todo el mundo.
Todos los relatos son buenos, pero destacaría: Mackintosh, Lluvia y La caída de Edward Barnard.
En cualquier caso, me han parecido una obra maestra, con una gran capacidad narrativa y una mirada crítica sobre el colonialismo y el choque de culturas. Personajes muy vivos - al parecer se inspiró en personas concretas que conoció durante sus viajes - y ambientación excelente. Si se le puede poner un pero es que a veces es muy crudo en sus expresiones para retratar a los nativos y a las mujeres, se detecta un tono paternalista, pero lo cierto es que le atiza a todo el mundo.
Todos los relatos son buenos, pero destacaría: Mackintosh, Lluvia y La caída de Edward Barnard.
August 23, 2025
There are eight entries in this 1921 short story collection, though two of them are only one paragraph long and would spark hot debate in fiction classes as to whether they qualify as stories or not. But the other six definitely do, and they are excellent examples of what makes Maugham such a crafty writer. His ability to portray the vagaries and excesses of human nature and to generate simmering tension and existential drama makes him one of the finest writers of his generation, and most of his work stands up very well to this day, a century later. As noted by many others, one story here, “The Fall of Edward Barnard,” is similar in theme and style to The Razor’s Edge, my favorite Maugham book. The title story, “Rain,” about a conflict between a zealous missionary and a prostitute, was adapted for stage and filmed three times, with Gloria Swanson, Joan Crawford and Rita Hayworth all taking turns as the prostitute. Talk about bad girls gone bad! The story “Mackintosh” could have passed for a Hemingway story, I thought. (Hemingway said that he’d read Maugham in his youth.) I also liked “The Pool,” though I never entirely bought that the narrator knew so many fine details about a guy he’d only just met. And finally, “Honolulu” closes the collection with a literally spellbinding situation, with an unexpected and satisfying twist at the end. Masterfully done, I thought, but I find that’s my impression with a lot of Maugham’s work. Maugham stories: never had a bad one. (Apologies for bastardizing the slogan of a legendary hamburger place in my neighborhood.)
September 19, 2025
This was a book of eight short stories by W.Somerset Maugham 1874-1965.
"Rain" was written in 1921.
It is an amazingly powerful short story of only 34 pages. It is a very rough story of hypocrisy, cruelty, and judgment without mercy.
I am very fond of stories that take place in the South Pacific, so Rain was my favorite in this book.
The story centers around three groups of travelers.
Reverend Alfred Davidson and his wife. Missionaries.
Dr.Macphail who is still recovering from a two year old wound sustained at the front during WWI and his wife.
And finally, Sadie Thompson. A young plump looking, very seductive prostitute.
Their voyage was headed to Apia in western Samoa. Due to a measles outbreak
the port is closed, and they are delayed in Pago-Pago, the capital in American Samoa.
The travelers find temporary lodgings in a dilapidated house with a corrugated tin roof floor.
In speaking to Mrs. Davidson, Dr.Macphail soon realizes that these two missionaries are very closed-minded and intolerant of the customs of the indigenous islanders.
Sadie Thompson immediately draws the attention of Alfred Davidson to the point of an obsession.
In the midst of this rain-soaked tropical forest, he decides it is his calling to reform her.
He discovers she has fled San Francisco from prosecution that would put her in a penitentiary there for three years.
He hounds her night and day, demanding she turn herself in. This is the only way she can redeem her soul and receive mercy.
Sadie finally agrees but begs Davidson to let her travel to Sidney Austrailia, where she promises to change her life.
Davidson manipulates the governor of the island into ordering Sadie's deportation to San Francisco, where she is still a wanted fugitive.
Dr. Macphail is disgusted with Davidson as Sadie is sick with fear. He asks Davidson to arrange it for her to go to Sidney. Davidson says punishment is her only means of redemption.
Sadie is now dressed in dowdy clothes, and she is drawn and pale with fear.
She asks Davidson if he will come and pray with her that night for courage when she must board the ship to San Francisco the next morning.
He agrees. The next morning, the Islanders find the body of Alfred Davidson. His throat is cut from ear to ear. The razor was still in his right hand.
Dr.Macphail is called to examine the body. It is clearly a suicide.
When he goes back to the lodging house, Sadie's gramophone is loudly playing ragtime.
Her face was painted, and her hair elaborately arranged. She was dressed in all her finery and chatting with a sailor.
Mrs.Davidson stopped to stare at her, and Sadie spit at her and went back into her room.
Dr. Macphail followed her and demanded to know what was wrong with her.
Sadie had a look of contemptuous hatred.
"You men! You filthy dirty pigs! You're all the same,all of you. Pigs! Pigs!
Dr. Macphail gasped. He understood.
Five Stars
"Rain" was written in 1921.
It is an amazingly powerful short story of only 34 pages. It is a very rough story of hypocrisy, cruelty, and judgment without mercy.
I am very fond of stories that take place in the South Pacific, so Rain was my favorite in this book.
The story centers around three groups of travelers.
Reverend Alfred Davidson and his wife. Missionaries.
Dr.Macphail who is still recovering from a two year old wound sustained at the front during WWI and his wife.
And finally, Sadie Thompson. A young plump looking, very seductive prostitute.
Their voyage was headed to Apia in western Samoa. Due to a measles outbreak
the port is closed, and they are delayed in Pago-Pago, the capital in American Samoa.
The travelers find temporary lodgings in a dilapidated house with a corrugated tin roof floor.
In speaking to Mrs. Davidson, Dr.Macphail soon realizes that these two missionaries are very closed-minded and intolerant of the customs of the indigenous islanders.
Sadie Thompson immediately draws the attention of Alfred Davidson to the point of an obsession.
In the midst of this rain-soaked tropical forest, he decides it is his calling to reform her.
He discovers she has fled San Francisco from prosecution that would put her in a penitentiary there for three years.
He hounds her night and day, demanding she turn herself in. This is the only way she can redeem her soul and receive mercy.
Sadie finally agrees but begs Davidson to let her travel to Sidney Austrailia, where she promises to change her life.
Davidson manipulates the governor of the island into ordering Sadie's deportation to San Francisco, where she is still a wanted fugitive.
Dr. Macphail is disgusted with Davidson as Sadie is sick with fear. He asks Davidson to arrange it for her to go to Sidney. Davidson says punishment is her only means of redemption.
Sadie is now dressed in dowdy clothes, and she is drawn and pale with fear.
She asks Davidson if he will come and pray with her that night for courage when she must board the ship to San Francisco the next morning.
He agrees. The next morning, the Islanders find the body of Alfred Davidson. His throat is cut from ear to ear. The razor was still in his right hand.
Dr.Macphail is called to examine the body. It is clearly a suicide.
When he goes back to the lodging house, Sadie's gramophone is loudly playing ragtime.
Her face was painted, and her hair elaborately arranged. She was dressed in all her finery and chatting with a sailor.
Mrs.Davidson stopped to stare at her, and Sadie spit at her and went back into her room.
Dr. Macphail followed her and demanded to know what was wrong with her.
Sadie had a look of contemptuous hatred.
"You men! You filthy dirty pigs! You're all the same,all of you. Pigs! Pigs!
Dr. Macphail gasped. He understood.
Five Stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2023
Sea Captains, Stealth and Seduction
Review of the Namaskar Books Kindle eBook (October 1, 2021) of the George H. Doran Company (US) and Heinemann (UK) hardcover originals (1921).
[33/40 Average = 4.125/5 rounded down for a GR 4]
As with The Casuarina Tree, I wanted to read The Trembling of a Leaf after finishing the 2023 Booker longlisted The House of Doors by Malaysian writer Tan Twan Eng. Both books make cameo appearances in Eng’s historical fiction novel which follows author Maugham when he was in Malaya with his partner/secretary Gerald Haskin in 1921.
I enjoyed all of these stories which often involved surprising revelations of colonial administrators and other ex-pats and their affairs on various south sea islands in the Pacific Ocean.
The cover of the 1921 original Heinemann (UK) edition. Image sourced from Goodreads.
The story synopses below include only set-ups and do not reveal endings, so I have not spoiler blocked them:
1. The Pacific *** A vignette which describes the Pacific Ocean and sets the scene for the stories to follow.
2. MacKintosh ***** MacKintosh is the assistant to Walker, an administrator on one of the Samoan Islands. Walker humiliates one of the local villages and its leaders with dramatic results.
3. The Fall of Edward Barnard ***** Edward Barnard goes off to Tahiti to make his career before a planned return to Chicago USA to marry Isabel Longstaffe. After a while he stops writing to her and their friend Bateman Hunter travels to Tahiti to discover what has happened.
4. Red ***** Neilsen, a Swedish ex-pat, now living on a Pacific Island, is host to an aging schooner captain. He tells him the story of a young man nicknamed Red who once lived on the island with a native girl named Sally before he was shanghaied to sea.
5. The Pool *** The narrator tells the story of Lawson who married Ethel, a native girl, after falling in love with her when seeing her swimming at a forest pool. Lawson moves to Scotland with his bank job but Ethel is unhappy there and longs to return to her island home.
6. Honolulu **** Captain Butler and his first mate Bananas both love the same native girl. Captain Butler sickens and it is suspected that he has fallen under a curse.
7. Rain ***** While quarantined on the island of Pago Pago (where it is raining constantly), a missionary tries to undermine the life of a prostitute named Sadie Thompson in an effort to “save" her, but ends up falling under her spell. Rain (originally titled Miss Thompson) became the best known work of this collection and it was adapted later for film, theatre and opera. You can read about the various adaptations at its Wikipedia entry here.
8. Envoi *** A brief vignette describing a departure from Honolulu in Hawaii.
Trivia and Link
The Trembling of a Leaf is in the Public Domain and can be read in various formats at ProjectGutenberg.org.
Review of the Namaskar Books Kindle eBook (October 1, 2021) of the George H. Doran Company (US) and Heinemann (UK) hardcover originals (1921).
"L'extrême félicité à peine séparée par une feuille tremblante de l'extrême désespoir, n'est-ce pas la vie?" ("Extreme happiness, hardly separated by a trembling leaf from extreme despair: is that not life?") from Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve, used as the epigraph for The Trembling of a Leaf.
[33/40 Average = 4.125/5 rounded down for a GR 4]
As with The Casuarina Tree, I wanted to read The Trembling of a Leaf after finishing the 2023 Booker longlisted The House of Doors by Malaysian writer Tan Twan Eng. Both books make cameo appearances in Eng’s historical fiction novel which follows author Maugham when he was in Malaya with his partner/secretary Gerald Haskin in 1921.
I enjoyed all of these stories which often involved surprising revelations of colonial administrators and other ex-pats and their affairs on various south sea islands in the Pacific Ocean.
The cover of the 1921 original Heinemann (UK) edition. Image sourced from Goodreads.
The story synopses below include only set-ups and do not reveal endings, so I have not spoiler blocked them:
1. The Pacific *** A vignette which describes the Pacific Ocean and sets the scene for the stories to follow.
The Pacific is inconstant and uncertain like the soul of man. Sometimes it is grey like the English Channel off Beachy Head, with a heavy swell, and sometimes it is rough, capped with white crests, and boisterous. It is not so often that it is calm and blue. ... You see never a tramp, with its friendly smoke, no stately bark or trim schooner, not a fishing boat even: it is an empty desert; and presently the emptiness fills you with a vague foreboding.
2. MacKintosh ***** MacKintosh is the assistant to Walker, an administrator on one of the Samoan Islands. Walker humiliates one of the local villages and its leaders with dramatic results.
3. The Fall of Edward Barnard ***** Edward Barnard goes off to Tahiti to make his career before a planned return to Chicago USA to marry Isabel Longstaffe. After a while he stops writing to her and their friend Bateman Hunter travels to Tahiti to discover what has happened.
4. Red ***** Neilsen, a Swedish ex-pat, now living on a Pacific Island, is host to an aging schooner captain. He tells him the story of a young man nicknamed Red who once lived on the island with a native girl named Sally before he was shanghaied to sea.
5. The Pool *** The narrator tells the story of Lawson who married Ethel, a native girl, after falling in love with her when seeing her swimming at a forest pool. Lawson moves to Scotland with his bank job but Ethel is unhappy there and longs to return to her island home.
6. Honolulu **** Captain Butler and his first mate Bananas both love the same native girl. Captain Butler sickens and it is suspected that he has fallen under a curse.
7. Rain ***** While quarantined on the island of Pago Pago (where it is raining constantly), a missionary tries to undermine the life of a prostitute named Sadie Thompson in an effort to “save" her, but ends up falling under her spell. Rain (originally titled Miss Thompson) became the best known work of this collection and it was adapted later for film, theatre and opera. You can read about the various adaptations at its Wikipedia entry here.
8. Envoi *** A brief vignette describing a departure from Honolulu in Hawaii.
Trivia and Link
The Trembling of a Leaf is in the Public Domain and can be read in various formats at ProjectGutenberg.org.
October 20, 2012
Maugham, like my other favourite author, Graham Greene, walked the roads less travelled of the former British Empire, and like Green, was a spy, and a man with dark secrets and skeletons in his closet. What better person to write about flawed and vulnerable characters!
In these tales, occurring around the western islands of Samoa which were occupied by New Zealand and its colonial master, Britain, Maugham brings to life the isolation faced by the westerner; he skillfully depicts how island life strips the foreigner of his dignity, localizes him, and finally destroys him. An about-face of the traditional colonial story, in which the colonizers go in imperiously, and, using a combination of language, laws and religion, civilize the natives. Maugham paints a reverse picture too, of the native transported back to Britain, who finds the climate, customs and culture oppressive enough to destroy.
In “Mackintosh,” the colonial master is the old chief, Walker, who has been on the island for so long that he is good for nothing else. He rules with an iron fist with disregard for directives from the capital of Apia. He treats his islanders as his children, yet browbeats and pushes them over the edge when they disobey him. Mackintosh is the newly arrived aide, caught between his brutal master whom he hates, and the local population aching for a better deal. Mackintosh is unable to challenge Walker’s authority and succumbs to getting rid of the old man in the most diabolic way, thus succumbing to the guilt that accompanies his action.
In “Pool” we see the marriage between the colonial and his native wife. The marriage is doomed from the start because, he can’t live in Samoa and be increasingly localized by the wife’s family, and she can’t live in Scotland where she is seen taking her traditional pool bath in sub-zero temperatures. She runs away back home to the islands and he follows only to be consumed by joblessness, culture, gossip and alcohol. Hints of sado-masochism emerge in this troubled union, for the wife only respects her husband when he beats her, and then disrespects him when he begs forgiveness for his actions – another sign of their incompatibility.
In “Rain” we return to the colonial master using religion as a whip to guilt and subdue his subjects. By classifying every aspect of native behaviour as a “sin,” the missionary, Davidson, converts his flock into “civilized” people. While quarantined on the island of Pago Pago during an outbreak of measles, Davidson sets out to convert a young American prostitute Ms. Thompson. The ever-falling rain on the island during their forced stay acts as a metaphor for entrapment, for both the missionary and his charge are locked in a clash of wills that eventually vanquishes the former. In this case, human nature again shows its weakness, despite the accoutrements of civil conduct and religion.
Maugham is a master for subtly upping the stakes, and what begins as a benign situation soon accelerates to a point where death is the only outlet. Although the writing style is a bit dated (this book was published in 1921 and some of the stories written earlier), Maugham’s insight into human behaviour under the pressures of empire, foreign culture and declining fortune is unparalleled. He was obviously one of those writers who saw the cracks in the empire and was unafraid to expose them, while still enjoying a vast following of readers in his day.
In these tales, occurring around the western islands of Samoa which were occupied by New Zealand and its colonial master, Britain, Maugham brings to life the isolation faced by the westerner; he skillfully depicts how island life strips the foreigner of his dignity, localizes him, and finally destroys him. An about-face of the traditional colonial story, in which the colonizers go in imperiously, and, using a combination of language, laws and religion, civilize the natives. Maugham paints a reverse picture too, of the native transported back to Britain, who finds the climate, customs and culture oppressive enough to destroy.
In “Mackintosh,” the colonial master is the old chief, Walker, who has been on the island for so long that he is good for nothing else. He rules with an iron fist with disregard for directives from the capital of Apia. He treats his islanders as his children, yet browbeats and pushes them over the edge when they disobey him. Mackintosh is the newly arrived aide, caught between his brutal master whom he hates, and the local population aching for a better deal. Mackintosh is unable to challenge Walker’s authority and succumbs to getting rid of the old man in the most diabolic way, thus succumbing to the guilt that accompanies his action.
In “Pool” we see the marriage between the colonial and his native wife. The marriage is doomed from the start because, he can’t live in Samoa and be increasingly localized by the wife’s family, and she can’t live in Scotland where she is seen taking her traditional pool bath in sub-zero temperatures. She runs away back home to the islands and he follows only to be consumed by joblessness, culture, gossip and alcohol. Hints of sado-masochism emerge in this troubled union, for the wife only respects her husband when he beats her, and then disrespects him when he begs forgiveness for his actions – another sign of their incompatibility.
In “Rain” we return to the colonial master using religion as a whip to guilt and subdue his subjects. By classifying every aspect of native behaviour as a “sin,” the missionary, Davidson, converts his flock into “civilized” people. While quarantined on the island of Pago Pago during an outbreak of measles, Davidson sets out to convert a young American prostitute Ms. Thompson. The ever-falling rain on the island during their forced stay acts as a metaphor for entrapment, for both the missionary and his charge are locked in a clash of wills that eventually vanquishes the former. In this case, human nature again shows its weakness, despite the accoutrements of civil conduct and religion.
Maugham is a master for subtly upping the stakes, and what begins as a benign situation soon accelerates to a point where death is the only outlet. Although the writing style is a bit dated (this book was published in 1921 and some of the stories written earlier), Maugham’s insight into human behaviour under the pressures of empire, foreign culture and declining fortune is unparalleled. He was obviously one of those writers who saw the cracks in the empire and was unafraid to expose them, while still enjoying a vast following of readers in his day.
July 12, 2024
Nếu muốn suy nghĩ sâu sắc về cuộc đời thì nên tìm đến Mưa của Sormeset, gần như đọc truyện nào của ông cũng bắt gặp toàn bộ mình hoặc 1 phần của mình trong đó, đào sâu hơn người đọc còn thấy đôi chút ngậm ngùi, cay cay hoặc cực kì cay đắng (tuỳ thuộc vào việc mình thấy bản thân ở trong đấy nhiều hay ít) trước thực tại phũ phàng, mặc dù vậy giọng văn ở tất cả các truyện bên trong luôn giữ thái độ tỉnh, lạnh. Mưa của sormerset là 1 trải nghiệm tuyệt vời.
Mưa là tập hợp những truyện ngắn nói vềnhững con người giàu chất thơ đấy nhưng lại bị thực tế của cuộc sống vùi dập không thương tiếc. Chứng kiến những phận đời như vậy mình thấy những ảo tưởng của mình bấy lâu về cuộc sống tự dưng sụp đổ. Thực tại trở nên rõ ràng, rành mạch hơn trước mắt chỉ nhờ 1 cuốn sách. Chưa bao giờ trải nghiệm quyển sách nào mà khi gấp lại phải suy nghĩ nhiều như thế. Mà ông này chắc có thù với những kẻ đọc sách hay sao ý , truyện nào cũng có nhân vật thích đọc và lưu trữ rất nhiều sách nhưng khi vào thực tế thì hầu như đều trở nên kì quặc, hoặc tàn nhẫn hay thảm hại...
Những truyện mình thích nhất là Giên, Chuyến du lịch mùa đông, Kẻ hưởng lạc, Một người có lương tâm, Bất khuất. Đặc biết thích truyện Kẻ hưởng lạc và Chuyến du lịch mùa đông.
Mưa là tập hợp những truyện ngắn nói vềnhững con người giàu chất thơ đấy nhưng lại bị thực tế của cuộc sống vùi dập không thương tiếc. Chứng kiến những phận đời như vậy mình thấy những ảo tưởng của mình bấy lâu về cuộc sống tự dưng sụp đổ. Thực tại trở nên rõ ràng, rành mạch hơn trước mắt chỉ nhờ 1 cuốn sách. Chưa bao giờ trải nghiệm quyển sách nào mà khi gấp lại phải suy nghĩ nhiều như thế. Mà ông này chắc có thù với những kẻ đọc sách hay sao ý , truyện nào cũng có nhân vật thích đọc và lưu trữ rất nhiều sách nhưng khi vào thực tế thì hầu như đều trở nên kì quặc, hoặc tàn nhẫn hay thảm hại...
Những truyện mình thích nhất là Giên, Chuyến du lịch mùa đông, Kẻ hưởng lạc, Một người có lương tâm, Bất khuất. Đặc biết thích truyện Kẻ hưởng lạc và Chuyến du lịch mùa đông.
August 8, 2022
A masterclass in character…
This is a collection of short stories, many of them with a colonial setting in the South Seas, though a few are set in Britain. It’s billed as having eleven stories, but four of them are extremely short fragments of description or little anecdotes – well written and quite enjoyable, but more like linking passages than stories, and I decided not to rate them. The remaining seven are quite substantial in length, with a couple reaching novella length, and I found every one of them good, and several excellent. I listened to the audiobook version, narrated excellently by Steven Crossley who created perfectly appropriate voices for each of the myriad of characters who cross the pages.
In each case, while the settings and stories are interesting, the real strength is in the depth and variety of the characterisation. Maugham makes each character completely believable, however extreme or banal their actions may be, and in almost every case, with one notable exception, he makes the reader sympathise with even those whose attitudes and actions at first seem obnoxious. He penetrates below the outer shell, showing with a few deft and sometimes shocking revelations the complexity of each individual, and how they are the product of the attitudes of their society to class, gender, colonialism and religion. His narrators often learn this lesson along with his readers, so that they share the sometimes sudden insight that changes our view of a character we thought we understood.
Of the seven stories to which I gave a rating, one earned 3 stars, two 4 stars, and four 5 stars, and a couple of the 5-stars rate among the best short stories I’ve ever read. I found myself completely absorbed, listening for long periods with no loss of concentration, which is unusual for me with audiobooks. Here’s a brief flavour of the ones I enjoyed most:
Mackintosh – Mackintosh is sent to an island in the South Seas to be assistant to the Governor, Walker. Walker is a bullying, boastful old man who rules the island like an absolute monarch. In Mackintosh’s eyes, he behaves as a tyrant towards the natives, ready to humiliate them or worse if they refuse to obey his commands. But he treats Mackintosh as an underling too, rather than as any kind of equal, and though Mackintosh thinks his growing outrage and hatred for Walker is because of how he treats the natives, the reader wonders how much it is really to do with Walker’s treatment of himself. As the story progresses, I found my perceptions of both men changing, and the ending is shocking while still arising naturally and almost inevitably out of what has gone before. Brilliant characterisation and great storytelling – probably my favourite story in the collection.
Rain – A little group of people travelling to various destinations are held up when an outbreak of measles causes them to be quarantined in Pago Pago, and they lodge with a trader. Told in the third person, we see the other characters from the perspective of Dr McPhail. He and his wife are forced into a kind of intimacy with another couple – Davidson, a fanatical missionary who believes it is his mission to save souls, even when they’d much rather not be saved, and his wife, who believes as fanatically in her husband as he believes in God. The other person staying in the lodgings is a young woman called Sadie Thompson, who they soon realise is a whore. Davidson decides to save her soul. Another substantial story in length, and with a lot to say about religious fanaticism and colonialism, but also about the patriarchy in action. Davidson is the one character in the collection who I felt was given no redeeming features. I found the ending a little obvious, but still effective – another great story.
Jane – the story of two women as seen through the eyes of the male narrator. Both are widows – Mrs. Tower, an apparently happy society woman; and Jane, her sister-in-law, whom Mrs Tower sees as her “cross” – a rather annoying bore she tolerates only because of their family connection. But then Jane does something remarkable and quite out of character – she marries a man many years her junior, changes her look and becomes a society sensation. Again this story is mostly character studies of the two women, but this time with lots of humour and a touch of unexpected pathos. A sympathetic portrayal of both women, and very well done.
The Colonel’s Lady – Colonel George Peregrine is a typical bluff ex-soldier, in a seemingly contented but childless and passionless marriage to Evie. One day he learns his wife has had a book of poems published, and although poetry really isn’t his thing he skims a couple and tells her the book is “jolly good”. However, to his astonishment the book becomes a bestseller and soon everyone seems to be talking about it, and he feels his friends and acquaintances are giving him sly or sympathetic glances. Eventually he decides he’d better read it properly, and learns he doesn’t know Evie nearly as well as he thought! Another one with a lot of humour, and a great character study of George. But it also has quite a lot to say about the relative and changing positions of men and women in this society.
The cumulative effect of a lot of these stories left me with the feeling that Maugham was something of a feminist, so I was astonished on googling to find that he has been accused of misogyny! My extremely limited reading so far has turned up no evidence of this – quite the reverse, in fact, with all the women shown sympathetically and due attention given to the unequal expectations of them within a patriarchal system. So I suppose I’ll just have to read the rest of his books to find out what he did to earn this reputation. Given the quality of the little I’ve read so far, that will certainly be no hardship!
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
This is a collection of short stories, many of them with a colonial setting in the South Seas, though a few are set in Britain. It’s billed as having eleven stories, but four of them are extremely short fragments of description or little anecdotes – well written and quite enjoyable, but more like linking passages than stories, and I decided not to rate them. The remaining seven are quite substantial in length, with a couple reaching novella length, and I found every one of them good, and several excellent. I listened to the audiobook version, narrated excellently by Steven Crossley who created perfectly appropriate voices for each of the myriad of characters who cross the pages.
In each case, while the settings and stories are interesting, the real strength is in the depth and variety of the characterisation. Maugham makes each character completely believable, however extreme or banal their actions may be, and in almost every case, with one notable exception, he makes the reader sympathise with even those whose attitudes and actions at first seem obnoxious. He penetrates below the outer shell, showing with a few deft and sometimes shocking revelations the complexity of each individual, and how they are the product of the attitudes of their society to class, gender, colonialism and religion. His narrators often learn this lesson along with his readers, so that they share the sometimes sudden insight that changes our view of a character we thought we understood.
Of the seven stories to which I gave a rating, one earned 3 stars, two 4 stars, and four 5 stars, and a couple of the 5-stars rate among the best short stories I’ve ever read. I found myself completely absorbed, listening for long periods with no loss of concentration, which is unusual for me with audiobooks. Here’s a brief flavour of the ones I enjoyed most:
Mackintosh – Mackintosh is sent to an island in the South Seas to be assistant to the Governor, Walker. Walker is a bullying, boastful old man who rules the island like an absolute monarch. In Mackintosh’s eyes, he behaves as a tyrant towards the natives, ready to humiliate them or worse if they refuse to obey his commands. But he treats Mackintosh as an underling too, rather than as any kind of equal, and though Mackintosh thinks his growing outrage and hatred for Walker is because of how he treats the natives, the reader wonders how much it is really to do with Walker’s treatment of himself. As the story progresses, I found my perceptions of both men changing, and the ending is shocking while still arising naturally and almost inevitably out of what has gone before. Brilliant characterisation and great storytelling – probably my favourite story in the collection.
Rain – A little group of people travelling to various destinations are held up when an outbreak of measles causes them to be quarantined in Pago Pago, and they lodge with a trader. Told in the third person, we see the other characters from the perspective of Dr McPhail. He and his wife are forced into a kind of intimacy with another couple – Davidson, a fanatical missionary who believes it is his mission to save souls, even when they’d much rather not be saved, and his wife, who believes as fanatically in her husband as he believes in God. The other person staying in the lodgings is a young woman called Sadie Thompson, who they soon realise is a whore. Davidson decides to save her soul. Another substantial story in length, and with a lot to say about religious fanaticism and colonialism, but also about the patriarchy in action. Davidson is the one character in the collection who I felt was given no redeeming features. I found the ending a little obvious, but still effective – another great story.
Jane – the story of two women as seen through the eyes of the male narrator. Both are widows – Mrs. Tower, an apparently happy society woman; and Jane, her sister-in-law, whom Mrs Tower sees as her “cross” – a rather annoying bore she tolerates only because of their family connection. But then Jane does something remarkable and quite out of character – she marries a man many years her junior, changes her look and becomes a society sensation. Again this story is mostly character studies of the two women, but this time with lots of humour and a touch of unexpected pathos. A sympathetic portrayal of both women, and very well done.
The Colonel’s Lady – Colonel George Peregrine is a typical bluff ex-soldier, in a seemingly contented but childless and passionless marriage to Evie. One day he learns his wife has had a book of poems published, and although poetry really isn’t his thing he skims a couple and tells her the book is “jolly good”. However, to his astonishment the book becomes a bestseller and soon everyone seems to be talking about it, and he feels his friends and acquaintances are giving him sly or sympathetic glances. Eventually he decides he’d better read it properly, and learns he doesn’t know Evie nearly as well as he thought! Another one with a lot of humour, and a great character study of George. But it also has quite a lot to say about the relative and changing positions of men and women in this society.
The cumulative effect of a lot of these stories left me with the feeling that Maugham was something of a feminist, so I was astonished on googling to find that he has been accused of misogyny! My extremely limited reading so far has turned up no evidence of this – quite the reverse, in fact, with all the women shown sympathetically and due attention given to the unequal expectations of them within a patriarchal system. So I suppose I’ll just have to read the rest of his books to find out what he did to earn this reputation. Given the quality of the little I’ve read so far, that will certainly be no hardship!
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
July 27, 2013
Read Rain, skimmed the Pool... O.K. If you like this sort of stuff... A bit of melodrama based on a moral code that seems rather remote today....
May 1, 2025
4.5 stars. 🌟 Racism, sexism and religious hypocrisy, but Somerset Maugham writes a ripping yarn. Being Australian, I enjoyed this series of stories written in 1921 and set on neighbouring islands of the Pacific. It provides a harsh glimpse of Colonialism in all its ugliness. Tales of the flotsam and jetsam that washed up on the Pacific islands around 1900. Maugham often delivers a twist. “Rain” was particularly satisfying. The flagellator meets his match.
October 20, 2025
This story appears in Maugham’s 1921 collection The Trembling of a Leaf, which features stories set in the South Pacific. The narrator recounts the tale of Captain Butler, a rugged American seaman who settles in Honolulu and marries a beautiful native Hawaiian woman. Their marriage seems idyllic, but tensions arise when Butler becomes involved with another woman, betraying his wife.
The story pivots on the clash between Western rationalism and indigenous beliefs. Butler dismisses native customs and spirituality, but his wife, deeply rooted in Hawaiian traditions, turns to voodoo-like practices to exact revenge. The tale unfolds with eerie inevitability as Butler begins to suffer mysterious ailments and psychological torment, suggesting that the supernatural may be real or that guilt itself can be a destructive force.
The story pivots on the clash between Western rationalism and indigenous beliefs. Butler dismisses native customs and spirituality, but his wife, deeply rooted in Hawaiian traditions, turns to voodoo-like practices to exact revenge. The tale unfolds with eerie inevitability as Butler begins to suffer mysterious ailments and psychological torment, suggesting that the supernatural may be real or that guilt itself can be a destructive force.
March 13, 2019
Maugham was a great writer. He had that going for him.
His subject matter, however? Ugh. I need to say as little about this as possible, because these veins of stories are best left to die slowly, so different, better stories can take their place.
Big Themes are Colonialism and missionary work.
Let's look at the geographic location of Hawaii and Samoa. Now, let's look at it from the viewpoint of "conquerors," colonizers, opportunists, traders, and evangelists. Readers are seeing through the eyes of vastly arrogant and ignorant men, hailing from Europe and the U.S.
It's pretty disgusting.
What we need to see is a resurgence of the beautiful, unique cultures that were living their lives, minding their own business, when out of nowhere here come the white men with their outrageously unpractical clothes and obsession with sin.
Maugham as a writer did not exactly glorify these "conquering" types, but he was totally onboard with believing island natives were "childlike." And he spent way too much time describing how the beautiful brown teenage girls were "flaunting" their bodies beneath the bizarre, shapeless "Mother Hubbard" dresses that they were forced to wear.
With all that said, the story "Rain" is worth reading. A pre-code film was released in 1932 starring Joan Crawford. A real psychological trip. It shows just how dysfunctional a group of off-balance white people can get when thrown together out of their element. Looking at a raving missionary who finds a prostitute in his rental house, all hell breaks loose!
His subject matter, however? Ugh. I need to say as little about this as possible, because these veins of stories are best left to die slowly, so different, better stories can take their place.
Big Themes are Colonialism and missionary work.
Let's look at the geographic location of Hawaii and Samoa. Now, let's look at it from the viewpoint of "conquerors," colonizers, opportunists, traders, and evangelists. Readers are seeing through the eyes of vastly arrogant and ignorant men, hailing from Europe and the U.S.
It's pretty disgusting.
What we need to see is a resurgence of the beautiful, unique cultures that were living their lives, minding their own business, when out of nowhere here come the white men with their outrageously unpractical clothes and obsession with sin.
Maugham as a writer did not exactly glorify these "conquering" types, but he was totally onboard with believing island natives were "childlike." And he spent way too much time describing how the beautiful brown teenage girls were "flaunting" their bodies beneath the bizarre, shapeless "Mother Hubbard" dresses that they were forced to wear.
With all that said, the story "Rain" is worth reading. A pre-code film was released in 1932 starring Joan Crawford. A real psychological trip. It shows just how dysfunctional a group of off-balance white people can get when thrown together out of their element. Looking at a raving missionary who finds a prostitute in his rental house, all hell breaks loose!
January 14, 2020
W. Somerset Maugham is unsurpassed as a chronicler of broken and wasted lives. He only flounders when he tries to redeem someone, such as the unbearable Larry Darrell in The Razor's Edge. Nothing of the sort is at work in this collection of short stories, which includes one of Maugham's most famous and influential works, "Rain," the story of an on the run prostitute, Sadie Thompson, who is vehicle for revealing the base corruption in men's souls. Although set mostly in the Samoan Islands, Hawaii, and Tahiti, the locale is not all that important, here. Yes, Maugham's reputation for depicting exotic places is in play, but as with most of his best work, it's the psychological portraits and the examination of human interplay that dominates. These stories could take place anywhere and still beguile the reader with their intensity. Locale actually has little to do with things, which are mostly viewed in close-up. Aside from "Rain," perhaps the most memorable of the bunch is "Mackintosh," where two rival colonial administrators plot to damage each other, only to find themselves in a mutual death grip. Meanwhile, the stories are full of Maugham's usual skewering of human vanity, pride, sloth, and capacity for self deception.
October 21, 2022
My comfort book. Need to revisit this book again. Only if I knew which box I need to open...
August 12, 2024
4.5/5
ฝีมือขนาดนี้ ก็ไม่แปลกใจที่ครั้งหนึ่งเคยเป็นนักเขียนที่ร่ำรวยที่สุดอะนะ ไว้มาเขียนอีกทีครับ
ฝีมือขนาดนี้ ก็ไม่แปลกใจที่ครั้งหนึ่งเคยเป็นนักเขียนที่ร่ำรวยที่สุดอะนะ ไว้มาเขียนอีกทีครับ
August 11, 2010
A LUXUIOUS PLEASURE.
“…and the mystery of the sunset, the deep silence of the water, the lithe grace of the coconut trees, added to her beauty, giving it a profundity, a magic which stirred the heart to unknown emotions.”—page 114
“His manner was not agreeable. It was sycophantic, and yet behind the cringing air of an old man who had been worsted in his struggle with fate was a shadow of old truculence.”—page 115
W. Somerset Maugham, storyteller par excellence, is a master of the character flaw; crafting hauntingly beautiful and subtle portraits of distressingly, often fatally, flawed characters, all the while holding a mirror up to a horribly, rip-your-heart-out flawed humanity. The collection of short stories in ‘Rain and Other South Sea Stories,’ teeming with characters you’ll both love and hate almost simultaneously, lushly and entertainingly reaffirms Maugham’s superior storytelling talent.
Recommendation: Like O’Henry, Damon Runyon, and Mark Twain; W. Somerset Maugham is one of my favorite go-to guys whenever I want to read something just for the pure pleasure of the reading. If you like a touch of profundity and magic with your beauty, he’s the writer for you. As C. K. Chesterton aptly put it, “Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity.” For me, reading W. Somerset Maugham, from time to time, is a necessary luxury.
[A word about Dover Publications, Thrift Editions: Unless you have incredibly good, un-hobbled eyesight avoid at all cost. It seems that all the ‘Thrift’ comes from substantially reducing the number of pages in a volume by printing it in the teeniest-tiniest type ever invented. For anyone whose eyesight has been spoiled by the luxury of 12-pt or better type, and especially by those of us who have been pampered by the larger type sizes available with an electronic reader, the type of a Dover Thrift Edition is very uncomfortable to read.]
Dover Publications Thrift Editions, Copyright 2005; 159 pages.
“…and the mystery of the sunset, the deep silence of the water, the lithe grace of the coconut trees, added to her beauty, giving it a profundity, a magic which stirred the heart to unknown emotions.”—page 114
“His manner was not agreeable. It was sycophantic, and yet behind the cringing air of an old man who had been worsted in his struggle with fate was a shadow of old truculence.”—page 115
W. Somerset Maugham, storyteller par excellence, is a master of the character flaw; crafting hauntingly beautiful and subtle portraits of distressingly, often fatally, flawed characters, all the while holding a mirror up to a horribly, rip-your-heart-out flawed humanity. The collection of short stories in ‘Rain and Other South Sea Stories,’ teeming with characters you’ll both love and hate almost simultaneously, lushly and entertainingly reaffirms Maugham’s superior storytelling talent.
Recommendation: Like O’Henry, Damon Runyon, and Mark Twain; W. Somerset Maugham is one of my favorite go-to guys whenever I want to read something just for the pure pleasure of the reading. If you like a touch of profundity and magic with your beauty, he’s the writer for you. As C. K. Chesterton aptly put it, “Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity.” For me, reading W. Somerset Maugham, from time to time, is a necessary luxury.
[A word about Dover Publications, Thrift Editions: Unless you have incredibly good, un-hobbled eyesight avoid at all cost. It seems that all the ‘Thrift’ comes from substantially reducing the number of pages in a volume by printing it in the teeniest-tiniest type ever invented. For anyone whose eyesight has been spoiled by the luxury of 12-pt or better type, and especially by those of us who have been pampered by the larger type sizes available with an electronic reader, the type of a Dover Thrift Edition is very uncomfortable to read.]
Dover Publications Thrift Editions, Copyright 2005; 159 pages.
April 2, 2023
เฮ้ย ไปอยู่ไหนมาทำไมเพิ่งเคยอ่านงานของซอเมอร์เซ็ท มอห์ม กันเนี่ย ชอบอ่ะ อ่านจบแล้วประทับใจทุกเรื่องเลย
เล่มนี้เป็นรวมเรื่องสั้น ที่ความยาวมันช่างพอดิบพอดีจังเลย แบบว่าไม่ยาวจนเกินกว่าที่จะรู้สึกว่า เอ๊ะ มันเริ่มจะไม่ใช่เรื่องสั้นแหละนะ และไม่สั้นจนรู้สึกว่าอะไรขาดหายไป เรียกว่าเต็มอิ่มทุกเรื่องไม่ขาดไม่เกิน
ธีมเรื่องวนเวียนแถบหมู่เกาะซามัว จึงได้พบกับบรรยากาศของมหาสมุทรแปซิฟิกตอนใต้ ทั้งแดดอันร้อนแรง ทั้งฝนตกที่ชุ่มช่ำกันถ้วนทั่ว แต่ละเรื่องจะเล่าผ่านมุมมองของคนขาว ไม่แน่ใจว่ายุคไหนกันปีใดแน่ แต่น่าจะเป็นช่วงล่าอาณานิคมล่ะมั้ง ทัศนคติหรือคำพูดคำจาบางคำอาจฟังไม่รื่นหู แต่ก็เป็นไปตามยุคสมัยน่ะนะ
มอห์มใช้วิธีการเล่าแบบง่าย ๆ ถ่ายทอดออกมาตรง ๆ (แต่คำแปลบางคำดูโบราณเหมือนกันแฮะ) เป็นงานเขียนที่มีความเรียบง่ายในเนื้อเล่า แต่อารมณ์หลังจากอ่านจบแต่ละเรื่องนั้น ยังคงวนเวียนในความรู้สึกนึกคิดของผู้อ่าน. 🌴🌺🌊🌞🌏🚢
เล่มนี้เป็นรวมเรื่องสั้น ที่ความยาวมันช่างพอดิบพอดีจังเลย แบบว่าไม่ยาวจนเกินกว่าที่จะรู้สึกว่า เอ๊ะ มันเริ่มจะไม่ใช่เรื่องสั้นแหละนะ และไม่สั้นจนรู้สึกว่าอะไรขาดหายไป เรียกว่าเต็มอิ่มทุกเรื่องไม่ขาดไม่เกิน
ธีมเรื่องวนเวียนแถบหมู่เกาะซามัว จึงได้พบกับบรรยากาศของมหาสมุทรแปซิฟิกตอนใต้ ทั้งแดดอันร้อนแรง ทั้งฝนตกที่ชุ่มช่ำกันถ้วนทั่ว แต่ละเรื่องจะเล่าผ่านมุมมองของคนขาว ไม่แน่ใจว่ายุคไหนกันปีใดแน่ แต่น่าจะเป็นช่วงล่าอาณานิคมล่ะมั้ง ทัศนคติหรือคำพูดคำจาบางคำอาจฟังไม่รื่นหู แต่ก็เป็นไปตามยุคสมัยน่ะนะ
มอห์มใช้วิธีการเล่าแบบง่าย ๆ ถ่ายทอดออกมาตรง ๆ (แต่คำแปลบางคำดูโบราณเหมือนกันแฮะ) เป็นงานเขียนที่มีความเรียบง่ายในเนื้อเล่า แต่อารมณ์หลังจากอ่านจบแต่ละเรื่องนั้น ยังคงวนเวียนในความรู้สึกนึกคิดของผู้อ่าน. 🌴🌺🌊🌞🌏🚢
“มหาสมุทรแปซิฟิกเปรียบแล้วก็ปานดวงจิตมนุษย์ ไม่คงเส้นคงวา เอาแน่เอานอนไม่ได้”
“ฉันว่ามนุษย์เรามัววุ่นวายจำแนกคนประเภทหนึ่งออกจากคนอีกประเภทมากเกินไป คนที่เราว่าดีที่สุดในหมู่เราอาจเป็นคนบาป ส่วนคนที่เราว่าชั่วสุดในหมู่เราอาจเป็นนักบุญก็ได้ ใครจะไปรู้”
“โศกาดูรแห่งรักไม่ใช่การตายหรือพลัดพรากหรอกครับ
คุณว่าจะใช้เวลานานไหม กว่าใครคนหนึ่งจะเลิกเหลียวแลอีกคน
ความขมขื่นที่สุดจะบังเกิดก็ต่อเมื่อ
อยู่มาวันหนึ่งคุณมองหญิงที่เคยรักสุดชีวิต สุดขั้วหัวใจ
ถึงขนาดไม่ยอมให้คลาดสายตา
แล้วคิดได้ว่าคงไม่ยี่หระสักนิดหากจะไม่เห็นหน้าเธออีก
โศกาดูรแห่งรักคือความเฉยชาหรอกครับ”
April 9, 2017
Am hugely enjoying Somerset Maugham’s stories, so much so that after I have finished each one I read it again. They’re very subtle and full of profound and detailed analyses of human character. Each has a twist in the tail which is why I want to go back and read it again. He is a master of prose and of exploring what it means to be human. He also depicts the extraordinary heart rending beauty of South Sea islands like Tahiti and Samoa so powerfully that he has me wanting to buy a plane ticket and go there immediately and never come back.
Rain is the most famous but I particularly liked the Fall of Edward Barnard. He tells the story from the point of view of Bateman Hunter, a rich and no doubt virtuous young man from Chicago. There’s obvious satire at the expense of this young man who can’t see any value in anything beyond wealth. And Maugham’s depiction of life on Tahiti is irresistibly seductive.
Have just read Red which is equally unforgettable.
Maugham may not be the most fashionable but I do highly recommend these stories. They make the works of contemporary writers seem rather shallow.
Rain is the most famous but I particularly liked the Fall of Edward Barnard. He tells the story from the point of view of Bateman Hunter, a rich and no doubt virtuous young man from Chicago. There’s obvious satire at the expense of this young man who can’t see any value in anything beyond wealth. And Maugham’s depiction of life on Tahiti is irresistibly seductive.
Have just read Red which is equally unforgettable.
Maugham may not be the most fashionable but I do highly recommend these stories. They make the works of contemporary writers seem rather shallow.
July 30, 2023
The story that gives the collection its name is the best, but they are all very good. Maugham was a master of the short story. The missionary couple at the centre of Rain are appalling: dour, miserable, patronising racists, hating sex and dancing, and instilling a poisonous sense of sin. Which, of course, makes for a tinglingly exciting come uppance. Maugham is brilliant at evoking the lives of lost misfits. This is partly because he is an excellent literary craftsman, and partly because of his broad human sympathies. But also partly because, for all his skill and success, he was something of a lost misfit himself. It also felt appropriate to read these stories of rain soaked island life on another rain soaked island. (Though despite the BBC claiming the contrary, mine is perpetually cold and grey as well as wet).
September 29, 2024
Kiša 3⭐
Ručak 4⭐
Gospodin Sveznalica 5⭐
Lotograf 2⭐
Sporedna stanica 2⭐
Ukupna ocena: 3⭐
Volim kako Mom piše, samo najžalije od svega što su najslabije priče bile i najduže.
Ručak 4⭐
Gospodin Sveznalica 5⭐
Lotograf 2⭐
Sporedna stanica 2⭐
Ukupna ocena: 3⭐
Volim kako Mom piše, samo najžalije od svega što su najslabije priče bile i najduže.
August 22, 2017
Me encontre con este maravilloso libro gracias a un ocurrente incidente, del mismo modo en que todos los protagonistas de los cuentos que lo componen enfrentan a su destino- de manera fortuita, a veces tan ingenua que parece desdeñosa, pero lo suficientemente pura como para mantenernos en vilo, para sorprendernos cuando menos lo esperábamos.
Fue en la feria del libro. Lo primero que me impacto fue su portada. El perfil recortado de un hombre, yutaxpuesto sobre la figura de una mujer. ¿O acaso el retrato de una mujer, retratado por el troquelado de una silueta, que extendía su dominio por el resto de la portada, por los margenes, sosteniendo incluso al titulo, al nombre del autor, de la editorial? Lo cierto es que poseia un roce profético. En él, en la mirada que se encontraba con primera vez con aquella tapa, había una especie de pasmo. El mismo de quien, cauteloso, aguarda el desenlace de una situación insostenible. El mismo que en todos los relatos de Maughman, que finalmente, cortan el hilaje de una manera tan prolija que nos sacude y nos interpela hasta el punto de peguntarnos no ya si acaso ese final era posible, sino como podriamos haber considerado la posibilidad de otro final, más genuino pero menos legitimo.
MAugham es un escritor fascinante. Un cuentista que posee una capacidad enhebradora solo comparable a la de los grandes narradores, capaces de percibir el entretejido macizo de las relaciones humanas, otorgando colores y policromias tanto consagradas como profanas con una idéntica delicadeza, con un inmenso talento. Sus cuentos poseen una fuerza increible, atrayente, que invoca al lector. Lo transfiere a paisajes insólitos, la cubierta de un barco, el inestable ronroneo de una plegaria en una habitación vecina dentro de una isla desconocida, la poesía escondida dentro de una mujer comparable a Safo, aun en su humildad provinciana, recatada, a los cuartos donde dos hermanos misioneros se escinden de todo prejuicio para recibir a aquel ímprobo que bendice no poseer redención, a las calles de una ciudad oculta y oscura, plagada de secretos y sodomias, a los vaivenes de una relación que traspasa el tiempo como el perfume la piel. El trabajo de la editorial Atalanta, al ofrecérnoslo en tan bella edicion, al recuperar el patrimonio de una palabra usada como estandarte, con una traducción excelente, es impecable. Y es imprescindible, para todo aquel que disfrute de la buena literatura, hacerse con tal joya. Cada relato entrona un argumento que sufre los reverses de una mente inmedible. Cada relato es un pasaje hacia una existencia que se revela compleja, que se rebela a la pluma, pero con la conciencia de depender precisamente de ella.
https://ladisidenciaontologica.wordpr...
Fue en la feria del libro. Lo primero que me impacto fue su portada. El perfil recortado de un hombre, yutaxpuesto sobre la figura de una mujer. ¿O acaso el retrato de una mujer, retratado por el troquelado de una silueta, que extendía su dominio por el resto de la portada, por los margenes, sosteniendo incluso al titulo, al nombre del autor, de la editorial? Lo cierto es que poseia un roce profético. En él, en la mirada que se encontraba con primera vez con aquella tapa, había una especie de pasmo. El mismo de quien, cauteloso, aguarda el desenlace de una situación insostenible. El mismo que en todos los relatos de Maughman, que finalmente, cortan el hilaje de una manera tan prolija que nos sacude y nos interpela hasta el punto de peguntarnos no ya si acaso ese final era posible, sino como podriamos haber considerado la posibilidad de otro final, más genuino pero menos legitimo.
MAugham es un escritor fascinante. Un cuentista que posee una capacidad enhebradora solo comparable a la de los grandes narradores, capaces de percibir el entretejido macizo de las relaciones humanas, otorgando colores y policromias tanto consagradas como profanas con una idéntica delicadeza, con un inmenso talento. Sus cuentos poseen una fuerza increible, atrayente, que invoca al lector. Lo transfiere a paisajes insólitos, la cubierta de un barco, el inestable ronroneo de una plegaria en una habitación vecina dentro de una isla desconocida, la poesía escondida dentro de una mujer comparable a Safo, aun en su humildad provinciana, recatada, a los cuartos donde dos hermanos misioneros se escinden de todo prejuicio para recibir a aquel ímprobo que bendice no poseer redención, a las calles de una ciudad oculta y oscura, plagada de secretos y sodomias, a los vaivenes de una relación que traspasa el tiempo como el perfume la piel. El trabajo de la editorial Atalanta, al ofrecérnoslo en tan bella edicion, al recuperar el patrimonio de una palabra usada como estandarte, con una traducción excelente, es impecable. Y es imprescindible, para todo aquel que disfrute de la buena literatura, hacerse con tal joya. Cada relato entrona un argumento que sufre los reverses de una mente inmedible. Cada relato es un pasaje hacia una existencia que se revela compleja, que se rebela a la pluma, pero con la conciencia de depender precisamente de ella.
https://ladisidenciaontologica.wordpr...
April 30, 2023
I read The house of doors by Tan Twan Eng a couple of weeks ago and that was about Somerset Maugham visiting Penang and trying to apply himself to writing once again. He has just had a collection of stories published at that point named The trembling of a leaf. I decided to read these stories next.
All based in and around Tahiti and the islands of the South Sea, these are a portrait of life there in the period Maugham visited. The prose is excellent as is to be expected but the stories themselves were surprisingly comprehensible! I always think classic stories may be really obscure but these were about every day things that affected the island people and their interactions with the whites who lorded over them. Because of the political situation and the attitude prevalent at the time, several references and statements sound misogynistic, racist and definitely politically incorrect. However, these reflect the truth of that period authentically.
I really liked The pool, The fall of Edward Barnard, Mackintosh and Rain though all the stories were good to read.
All based in and around Tahiti and the islands of the South Sea, these are a portrait of life there in the period Maugham visited. The prose is excellent as is to be expected but the stories themselves were surprisingly comprehensible! I always think classic stories may be really obscure but these were about every day things that affected the island people and their interactions with the whites who lorded over them. Because of the political situation and the attitude prevalent at the time, several references and statements sound misogynistic, racist and definitely politically incorrect. However, these reflect the truth of that period authentically.
I really liked The pool, The fall of Edward Barnard, Mackintosh and Rain though all the stories were good to read.
March 1, 2008
Sometimes stories are better told in 25 pages than in 250 . Maugham is a master and I think his best writing is in the short stories in this compilation. Some of my all-time favorite stories.
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