Of Human Bondage

Rating:
Summary: Long and very relevant
Review: While some may not like this book because it seems to wander I found it a very meaningful representation of the strange twist and turns life can give us. A thorough review of the mistakes we all make and how we look back later and wonder "what was I thinking." Very relevant and inspired even in today's society.

Rating:
Summary: Trials and Tribulations of Phillip Carey
Review: This is a classic Bildungsroman -- one of those wonderful books that allows the reader snapshots into the protagonist's life as he grows from a child into a man. Because of the nature of such novels, I found the beginning of the book quite tedious and uninteresting. In fact, it wasn't until about page 300 (when Phillip Carey, the novel's subject, is in Paris) that I felt I was really "hooked" on the story. After that point, however, I found it enjoyable to put the pieces together in the book, and to figure out how Phillip's childhood and strange adolescence made him into the man he became.

The one piece of the puzzle that never quite fit in is Mildred, the rather disgusting object of Phillip's obsession. At first, I kind of liked her for her cheekiness. As Phillip's passion for her grew, however, so did my distaste for her -- I found myself muttering warnings to Phillip under my breath each time he extended himself to her. Mildred is a unique character, however, simply because she's revolting; I didn't expect her to become so prominent in Phillip's life, because I always anticipated he'd be attracted to someone kind and lovely (like a Thomas Hardy female character). She is just one of many interesting twists in this book.

I also really enjoyed the "motherly" theme of the book. Phillip's journey through life begins without a mother, he inherits an inadequate aunt as a mother-figure, he encounters a passionless mother in Mildred, finds admirable and pitiable motherly qualities in Mrs. Athelny, and ends up with a woman who is always described as "maternal." I found it interesting to follow that thread throughout the book.

I was surprised by the ending because it didn't really seem to fit in with the rest of Phillip's life. However, upon re-reading the section of Phillip's "epiphany" about life, it all seems to work out correctly.

Rating:
Summary: Classic of the Genre
Review: Of Human Bondage is the must read of the confession genre. It details Maugham's life loosely in events but his emotionality to a tee. The reader feels that they are living his life right along with him; feeling what he feels and seeing what he sees.

Before reading this book it may be helpful to read a brief bio of Maugham so it's easier to see the parallels and the symbolism that he employs throughout the work which bridge the gaps between the fiction and the reality.

The most interesting and emotionally difficult portions of the book to read are those when Philip is experiencing pain and grief through his relationship with Mildred. The account of this relationship is by far the most powerful writing in the book because it is the most raw and honest. It is not hard to imagine the author, and or yourself, in a similar situation feeling the exact pain and anger that his fictitious character tries to weave his way through.

Maugham is certainly not the best writer I have ever read. His prose is straight forward and not to dynamic but what he lacks in showmanship he more than makes up for in this ability to observe the range of human emotions that all people feel at some point in their life. The themes of lose and hardship are plentiful through this book, and many people get hung up them, but I think that the true point is Maugham's desire to show that it all comes out in the wash. That humans are resilient animals and the pain of yesterday is forgotten with the joy of today.

This is no doubt a classic piece of literature that deserves not only reading but study.

Rating:
Summary: Stupid people get what they deserve...
Review: It is probably a stroke of genius on the part of Maugham that the main character of this novel is crippled. One tends to naturally have a small amount of sympathy for the handicapped. This is genius because beyond natural sympathy for the character's disability, I had a really hard time feeling any compassion whatsoever for this character. Virtually every bad thing that happens to him over the 680 pages of this novel is brought on by his own stupid errors in judgment. This may seem harsh, but it wasn't until page 620 or so that I began to feel any compassion at all.
Don't get me wrong. The book is well-written. Maugham has a mastery of the language that makes it easy to understand why he is one of Britain's renowned greats. But I can only justify recommending this book to people who don't have a problem with hating the protagonist.

Rating:
Summary: A difficult text, but well worth the read
Review: 'Of Human Bondage' is precisely that: a seminal text focused upon the varied enslavements man subjects himself to, be they poverty, or ego, or religion, or pride, or classism, or art, or of the emotional and physical impulse that combine to create that insidious agent, love...'Of Human Bondage' smolders white-hot against the murky abstractions that congest the philosophic heart; it is a lodestone, sear and boiling, in the stagnant fen of mortal affairs.

A semi-autobiography of Somerset, 'Of Human Bondage' depicts the formulative years of one Philip Carrey, who is orphaned at an early age and cursed with a deformed leg. Raised in a classic middle-class English household, Philip goes to school, drops out of school, questions the existence of God, wanders to Germany and France, tries his hand at painting, attends a doctorial college. Though weak-willed and sensitive to the extreme about his leg, Philip nonetheless displays a lucid perspective about the events that occur around him and the people that populate his world; Somerset's subtle, sometimes cynical, often deadpan personality comes forth brilliantly, without ever resorting to preaching or needless melodrama.

For me, the most difficult part of the text concerns Phillip's doomed relationship with the waitress Mildred, whom he falls into a pathetic love/hate affair. The character of Mildred is so obnoxious and the details of their relationship so noxious I barely continued on from her introduction...but persisted, realizing the overall importance to the narrative. Philip has observed the bondage of others to fame, desire etc, and displays contempt for that human failing, yet he too sinks into the quagmire with ease: for though Mildred is repulsive to him in nearly all facets, she is strangely alluring as well: she attracts Philip because she perpetuates the same deplorable traits that he himself (Somerset/Carrey) had not yet dealt with; she is the embodiment of his unresolved childhood psychological trauma (orphaned and deformed) and, in a way, a means of his freedom from it.

'Of Human Bondage' abounds with intriguing ideas and universal themes, some probably more relevant for when the book was written, but most still resonant in this day and age. Of these various philosophical insights, one of the most vital is when Philip comes at last to accept his handicap, realizing that, over the years, the suffering and humiliation he incurred from it gave him a unique character; rather than conforming to the dominant views of class/religion of English society, he continually explored the world with a clear (if sometimes troubled) gaze. While his major handicap has always been obvious to himself, most of the people around him live their lives totally unaware of their own personal handicaps, be they physical, mental, or emotional-and at last coming to terms with that, he achieves an inner calm that makes the turmoil of the previous six hundred pages all the more worthwhile.

Certainly, this is not a book for everyone. Those of strong religious nature and those programmed to the success-consumption paradigm may find the ideas presented unsettling or unsatisfactory. Regardless, 'Of Human Bondage' will remain a classic of the English language for many years to come, and rightly so. Well worth the time and energy spent.

Rating:
Summary: Stick with it
Review: It starts slowly - in fact it only really starts when Philip goes to Paris. This is a world without student grants or state handouts. Philip has to use his money carefully to get qualified for a decent job. The artists have to live by their work or starve in a garret quite literally. What Philip learns from his artistic career is that application and attitude are no substitute for aptitude. What would he have thought of the self-help/motivation industry? The book reminds me a little of Nicholas Nickleby who rushes though several careers so that the author can paint us a picture of a world. Philip even meets two Cheeryble brothers eventually - Athelney and Dr South. Dr S is even a crusty old bloke with a twinkle in his eye straight out of Dickens (no disrespect to Dickens). Philip is self-pitying and longs for his uncle to die, but when it comes to taking action his soft heart leads him to help the destitute Cronshaw and the bloodsucking Mildred. And he tries to make his uncle's last moments less painful. All without any soulsearching or patting himself on the back. He really is 'a gentleman in every sense of the word.' Human nature doesn't change, but society does (a bit). These days people needn't starve and there's less snobbery in English life.
xxxxxx

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant effort, difficult to put down
Review: Maugham proves that one doesn't need to write complex or flowery prose to evoke poignant emotions and admiration for the author's brilliance. Although he's evidently extremely knowledgeable in a host of subjects, Maugham's chief genius as I perceived it is in his ability to acutely describe how an individual (in this case a sensitive young man named Philip Carey) emotes and reacts to the influence of other people in his life. How do I know that Maugham's portrayal of emotion is accurate? Because I've been there as most of you have.

Growing up we've all had our insecurities (or still do): things about us that we were overly sensitive about and wish we could extinguish. For me one of these was my childhood asthma that gave me a tough time in middle school and early high school because it sometimes inconveniently hampered my athletic performance and made me stand out as abnormal. For you it's something else, unless you're one of the tiny minority that sailed through your formative years with *all* associated events and people bolstering your self esteem.

For Philip Carey it's his clubfoot (deformed foot) that is his physical and psychlogical burden. It makes him limp ungracefully and hinders his participation in athletics but doesn't cause him any pain. Carey also becomes acutely conscious of any reference to it by other people. Of Human Bondage is partly a story of how Philip is cursed by his clubfoot to become an overly sensitive young man but eventually matures and largely conquers the impact of this birth defect on his self image. One turning point near the end of Philip's maturation process is when he realizes that everyone has a failing whether they're aware of it or not. He's almost thankful that his was just a relatively minor physical failing and feels sorry for those who remain unaware of deficiencies in their personalities that are glaringly obvious to himself.

Of Human Bondage is a rather sizable fictional account of Philip's life up to about age 30, but I flew through it in next to no time. You probably will too. I'm not sure how absorbed women would get in this book since it's the story of a man's life, but I highly recommend it to everyone! It's simply one of the greatest classics of the 20th century and will undoubtedly be enjoyed for centuries to come.

Rating:
Summary: Of Human Bondage
Review: This book is and was a pleasure to read with many touching, and devastating, moments. Philip's childhood experiences are ever so poignant. His young man arrogance and insecurities so true to life. Philip's has many weaknesses (which I must say I have shared many times). But my one "pet peeve", which prevents me from truly liking him, was his desire at the end of the book to have his(cold and self-centered)uncle die so he could get money to rejuvenate his own life. Nevertheless, the book is in my top five along with "East of Eden"& and "The Fountainhead."

Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: This story is wonderful and timeless. At times I found myself despising Philip for his wretched weakness and his generosity and kindness to those who didn't deserve it. The writing was lush and descriptive. I could see the characters and the places, the hospital, the slums of London, the decadence of Paris. Maugham's portrait of Philip's time harvesting hops on the island with his dear friends near the end of the book is so beautiful, so poignant especially after all of the hardships he suffered.
Near the end, I just couldn't put the book down. I desperately wanted to know what would happen to Philip. I first thought the title referred to our bondage to religion, but after finishing, I realized it was much more. I saw Philip go through many types of bondage. His disibility, religion, love/obsession, poverty. I enjoyed not being able to predict how the story would end. I've read some classics which I thought didn't live up to that classification. This one does.

Rating:
Summary: My All-Time Favorite Book
Review: I once sat down and tried to estimate how many books I've read in my life. This is a VERY rough guess, but I'd say it's close to 2,000. Based on that number, the fact that this book is my all-time favorite is pretty significant. Not only is this particular book my all-time favorite, but Mr. Maugham is also my #1 favorite author. I've read (so far) 12 of his novels, three volumes of short story collections, 22 of his plays, and a memoir, and plan to read every word this GENIUS on human nature ever had published. We're allowed to write up to a 1,000 word review; I wish I could rate this book 1,000 stars! If you read only one book in your life, this should be the one.