Rating: 
Summary: Like looking into a mirror...This book examines us all.
Review: I was completely shocked to find out that how much Philip Carey, a handicapped and introspective orphan, who longs for true love and the meaning of life was a portrait of myself. Maugham has written a book that is far deeper than any other great authors have ventured to go. One might fancy himself more aware of his existence if he reads a great deal, thinks of the human condition, longs for passion, rejects materialism, seeks pleasure in art and finds daily routine and common desires boring. But Maugham shows how one might just find that the true meaning of life does not come from great authors, philosophers and absolute idealism. In fact, Maugham (through Philip's eyes) sees beauty and a sense of power from meaninglessness of our lives (We are born, we live, and we die.) Maugham lays out peneratrating examination of poets, artists, philosophers, and religious figures blinded by their ideals as well as people we choose to be family, friends and lovers. Despite his violent urges to love and his insensentivity toward women who love him, Philip remains a very sympathetic figure who we try to understand because of his lonely life. Ultimately, he triumphs. By freeing himself from his 'ideas' of love and the meaning of life painted by great artists, writers and philosopher. He finally does something that is good for HIM. If you have to read one book in your entire life, let this be the one.
Rating:
Summary: Inside the head of Philip Carey
Review: Probably the most intimate and in depth coming of age story I've ever read, our protagonist is a sensitive and intelligent man brought up in tightly controlled circumstances, with Christian values and years of English boarding school, this is the story of his life struggle to find his own path and also a study of human obsession. "Of Human Bondage" covers 30 years or so in the life of Philip Carey from the time he was orphaned upon the death of his mother and sent to live with his paternal uncle, a country clergyman and his wife until he reaches his thirties.Through Philip's eyes, the reader get a detailed view of a number of European settings at the turn at the turn of the century - The English countryside, boarding school, a boarding house in Heidelberg Germany, accountant apprentice in a dreary London financial institution, the Paris art world, a London hospital, a village by the sea, the shops - Maugham really has the ability to take you there. This is also an excellent look at the English social order, especially the working class poor. I found the book difficult to put down at first it is an almost too painful and intimate view into the emotions of a lonely, sensitive and crippled orphan. Real and right up front, you will feel some of Phillip's pain. At some point though, which seems to vary depending on the reader's taste or focus the book really takes off and becomes a page turner, for me it was when he started to pursue medicine and went to the hospital, it seemed to me that was when Philip had found the path and his life took off, although there was still some backsliding when he encountered Mildred one more time. Relevant to anyone who has been caught in an masochistic obsessive relationship, timeless in that sense, although the setting describes a way of life gone forever
Rating:
Summary: In the speed of Maugham
Review: W. Somerset Maugham's "Of Human Bondage" follows a very well known tradition in the western literature. The same one that Charles Dickens's "Oliver Twist", among others, belong to. These kinds of novels are known as Bildunsroman, i.e. a novel that tells the story of the education of a young man. In "Bondage" we can follow Philip Carey's personal journey through life in order to achieve full development as a man. In this novel, known as Maugham's masterpiece, the narrative only focus on Carey's life, and although it is not told in first person --Carey's POV-- it feels like, because all we learn is through his personal experience and conclusions. Moreover, he is virtually in every scene in the book. And because it is the story of one's life, not every incident that happens has an importance in the narrative course. Many things only happen because they do, like in real life, there is no much sense or connection with the events that happen everyday. In this sense, this can be a hard reading for some. Many may complain that --mostly the childhood and adolescence's facts --have not much to do with the end of the novel. But of course they do, after all, every thing counted to make of Carey a man. And while the first half is quite slow, once Philip is a young man and meets a waitress name Mildred, who has 'green skin', not only does the narrative speed up, but it also heats up. The youngster develops such an obsession for this girl that it will consume his existence. Once dealing with this issue, Mangham made his novel very ahead of its time. The sexual obsession, however never explicit, was a very modern theme for his time. And it is funny to think of how contradictory the writer was. He was able to deal with such modern themes, but opted for using a very old formula to write his book. Moreover, "Of Human Bondage" has more to do with Maugham's real life, than one might think. Although he wrote two autobiographies, it turns out that his fiction with biographical touches is famous nowadays, and not those books. And, while he touches upon controversial issues, like religion, politics, arts, public health, he does not take sides. The Ban Tan edition features an Introduction written by novelist Jane Smiley, and while it is very insightful, with many information, I suggest reading it once finishing the novel. She gives away many important points of the plot and it may spoil the experience of reading this book. "Of Human Bondage" is an excellent book, but it may be a little difficult for readers used to contemporary, fast and easy narratives. This novel takes time and needs concentration, but it is a great experience once one is able to adapt him/herself to Maugham's velocity, and that's what makes this book so unique.
Rating: 
Summary: Great if you can hold out till the middle
Review: Don't ask me why I read OF HUMAN BONDAGE. I guess it looked lonely on the shelf and I wanted to see what it was all about, and to my surprise this was actually an entertaining, yet semi-tough book to endure till around page 350.
Early on W.S.M sets up Philip's life: where he started, and the underlying motivations and convictions that caused him to make the tragic decisions he ultimately does. In a nutshell, Philip is this orphan who is raised by his uncle and aunt a Vicar 60 miles from London. Philip is very unhappy, yet very impressionable at the same time. As Philips grows older we see how he will react to Religion, Management, Friends, the arts and his loves. It is not till Philip meets Mildred and begins to date her, that Maugham gives Philip free reign of the novel. It is from this point that Maugham makes Philip a pathetic predicable fool for love. I personally know many people, both male and female who went through exactly what Philip endured during the beginning of his relationship. Maugham's dialogue was so raw that I was cringing when they argued.
It is in my opinion that many people who wrote prior reviews, had a hard time with this book because either they were on the receiving or giving end of this very neurotic love affair themselves and it instilled in them the same feelings of anguish.
But ultimately what I got from this novel, was that life is not perfect. There are alot of directions we could take life, and sometimes we have to do what we want to do, even if our piers are dead set against it. Yet we must throw caution into the wind and see if our decisions are the right choice. We must learn from our mistakes, we must get lost before we can find ourselves.
Rating:
Summary: Infactuation, Deception, and the Meaning of Life....
Review: W. Somerset Maugham weaves an intriguing tale of love and betrayal in his critically acclaimed "Of Human Bondage." Maugham uses the tale of Phillip, an innocent, sensitive crippled man in Victorian era Europe as a front for his own autobiography. Maugham's brilliant prose and insights into the human psyche make this book a true classic. Phillip Carey was left an orphan at a young age and was continually taunted for his club-foot and the limp that resulted. His early rejection from society gives him time to seek out his purpose in life, and we follow him as he travels across Europe. Maugham gives beautiful descriptions of England, France, and Germany along the way. Phillip's troubles begin when he meets a cold, stand-offish waitress named Mildred. Phillip is consumned with a burning passion for this girl, and gave everything he had to make her his. Though he was constantly rejected, humilitated and used by Mildred, he continued to return to her. This book is truly great for the indepth examination of love and the human animal. Any lover of psychology will find this novel to be a facinating read, as would anyone who can appreciate a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Simply great
Review: While I do agree with many critics that Maugham may not have had a very distinct literary voice, in some ways that can help him. His books are not big tasks to be undertaken, but are enjoyable, easy reads (and perfect for the subways.) This isn't to say his reads are light; Maugham deals with the darker aspects of human nature and hypocrisy. Of Human Bondage is a great work. Those who think they know the story from watching the movie may be surprised that it is about a bit more than just the story of therelationship with the slatternly waitress. This is a story of a young man with a club foot facing down troubles as they come, but also having to deal with his fragile self and his blindness to do so much for others who don't care for him. This is definitely one of the best books I've read in the past year and will always remain a true classic.
Rating:
Summary: Long, But Worth It
Review: This book, written in short, absorbing chapters that span thirty years of Philip Carey's life, is truly like life itself. Characters float in and out of the story, and for most of it the orphaned Philip has only his own thoughts and realizations to guide him. It's a novel about gaining perspective on the human bondage of heartbreak, loneliness, abusive or unrewarding relationships and adversity, of navigating yourself to happiness through the thicket of life even with our own emotional and physical handicaps weighing us down. Some people may find Philip's adventures somewhat tedious. For someone with a club foot, he truly covers a lot of ground, and I think that Maugham is commenting on human resilience and yearning in chronicling that journey. There are true gems of wisdom that emerge in Philip's path toward self discovery that may seem cliched, but ring so true when seen as part of any person's personal development and slow realizations about human nature. Maugham never allows you to pity Philip; he only provides a deeper understanding of him. Philip grapples with religious faith, with his true calling, etc, taking his lumps along the way. He looks back and realizes how moments in his life that seemed filled with despair meant very little in the long run as life limps along. He becomes more pragmatic, being sunk into poverty and despair by his own reckless, self-defeating impulses, but surviving and ultimately assuming responsibility for his own happiness. By far the most affecting relationship in the novel is his masochistic infatuation with Mildred, a waitress who receives his love but gives none of her own until his affection for her dies. It's much like "Gone With the Wind" in that respect. It takes Philip heaps of abuse and near ruin to not give a damn, and you will be stunned at what he endures before he gets to that point. If you've ever given love willfully to someone whose actions make it very clear that they don't love you back, been made a doormat and a fool by a bad relationship, or been driven by infatuation and wishful thinking see good where little or none exists, you will feel for Philip. This is a classic.
Rating:
Summary: Grow up in a Judeo-Christian society? You ought to read this
Review: It is refreshing to see so many readers moved by this novel of Maugham's. It is indeed a breathing, pulsating work of art. It is apparent, however, that some readers/reviewers on this site question the quality and timeless merit of the book and tempt themselves into asking such questions as, "Where's the story?" or, "Why was this character involved for so long?". I urge them to re-consider the power and skill of Maugham's craft.
The author painstakingly illustrates the on-going thought processes and fluctuating emotions of one individual during the two most key decades of his life. True, there's little to speak of in the way of a plot, and I too was tired of certain characters and patterns of behavior by our central player, Phillip. More than once did I slap the book down and yell, "Dammit, Phil! What the hell are you doing?" Well, take the time to embrace the notion that such frustrations and tiresome patterns as these mirror those that persist in many of our own lives. Most fellow veterans of the human condition can relate to having to grudgingly lie in the bed one makes, having to reap what one has sown. And sometimes, some of us like Phillip, have had to accept the dreary fact that life doesn't really have a "plot." Like most of us readers, Phillip is not an automaton capable of turning valves and knobs to properly regulate the flow of his emotions. His reason and passion wrestle throughout the novel and his imperfect psyche grows in varying degrees with each call for reflection. And, because he is human, Phillip often regresses and exhibits a personality that has major difficulty learning from his own mistakes. Such is life, and such is the persistent path of many a person. This is what makes Maugham's work a bold, artistic success: it vividly reflects the tedium of life as well as that of the painful and the joyous, and it subtly maintains a theme in the sublime (just as The Razor's Edge was so successful at achieving). And what impressed me further was Maugham's ability to write from the POV of 3rd person omniscient and still achieve a natural flow to Phillip's thoughts and feelings as they are conveyed to the reader.
If the often unforgiving fabric of the human condition interests you in the slightest, the time spent reading Of Human Bondage will hardly be wasted.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece
Review: This put Maugham right up there in my favorite author list with Garcia Marquez, Hemmingway, and Rushdie. There were points in this novel where I was so angry at the characters that I wanted to tear the book in half and throw it across the room. What a remarkable ability Maugham has to evoke feeling in his readers. A definite re-read.
Rating:
Summary: Great to read in small doses
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book; I'd never read Maugham before. It's brilliance is in its subtlety. There were aspects of Phillip's life that I saw in my own, particularly with respect to his feelings toward women. Anyone who wants to better understand how a person can become attached to someone who's not good for them should read this book.
|
