Rating: 
Summary: Classically insightful and tragic
Review: During my reading of this book, I felt as if Maugham was describing everything I'd ever felt when I was growing up and trying to figure out my purpose and the meaning of life. In Philip he creates a character that so many of us can relate to in terms of questioning where our lives are going and why. I found the whole story so intriguing that I was rather disappointed with how it ended and found his resolution a bit trite. After so much profound philosphizing throughout, I expected an equally resounding finale. However, despite that shortcoming, this remains one of the most powerful and moving stories I have ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: One of my favorites...but why?
Review: I like this novel very much, but am always hard pressed to say why. Philip, the protagonist, isn't very sympathetic. The novel goes on at great length to describe several episodes that seem to be transparently taken from Maugham's own life. And I don't agree with Philip's lack of faith, although I understand it. Perhaps it has something to do with Philip's directionless nature, something most every young man can identify with. I read this first on graduating high school, wrote papers on it in grad school, and reread it again recently at the age of 34. Why? Because Philip is a very believable character. He suffers and endures, rather than swallow his pride when it would definitely be to his advantage. It's very easy to identify with someone who is so imperfect, instead of an idealized individual about whom you couldn't care less. Philip draws you in because he's so very human, flawed but purposeful, cynical yet still in possession of his dreams. Two last points: First, the novel is an _excellent_ look at London at the turn of the century. Reading this will teach you volumes about life as it was lived in this city, from its living conditions and social order to its worlds of medicine and bohemia. Second, the character of Mildred is the most callous, unfeeling individual I've ever met in print, although I've since seen many like her, both male and female, in my own life. Most likely, everyone encounters a Mildred sooner or later: better to meet her here first, where you can study her at your leisure. While I haven't found other works by Maugham nearly as interesting, this one has a special place on my bookshelf.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Maugham
Review: Of Human Bondage is Maugham's most note worthy piece of work. It made the top 100 for this century. It is an epic novel about the life of Philip Carey: a boy whose parent's die and is forced to live with his aunt and uncle. The story takes place in England in the late 1800's.Philip is a smart boy and enjoys reading. This is his saving grace being that he was born with a club foot and is unfit for physical labor. He grows up under a harsh religious life, his uncle being a Vicar in a country church. Philip is quick to lose his belief in religion when he goes off to boarding school where he was relentlessly teased for his limp and foot. He is unsure of what he wants out of life, but eventually tires of school and desires to be an artist. In Paris, while studying art, he meets several friends. In addition, he realizes he is a mediocre artist. Giving up art he attempts to take on accounting and then tries to be a doctor. The story becomes a little more traumatic when Philip meets a waitress named Mildred. Much of the book is dedicated to her and his unrequited love for her. She is plain and not very winsome, however Philip falls for her hard. Mildred takes him for several rides: borrowing money and eventually moving in with him (platonically). However, Mildred continues to see other men while seeing Philip and takes advantage of Philip horrendously. This book is not for those who are shy at large page counts. It is long and often times fairly dry. Maugham has several key pages though that he uses to describe the meaning of life, which is the point of this book. Maugham seems to feel that there is no point in life except misery, which is a curse of being human. Also there are strong atheist view points expressed. However, Maugham does seem to hold some redeeming value in the human aspect of love. Despite Philip being handicapped, I didn't find feeling much sympathy for him. Many times I felt he whined a bit much. However, the times in England were tough and the descriptions of the poor rival Jack London's "The People of the Abyss." Overall, though, this book failed to meet my expectations. It was good reading, but "A Christmas Holiday" by Maugham was much better.
Rating: 
Summary: Review
Review: "A gorgeous read, as interesting and valuable at the beginning as at the end...compact with the experiences, the dreams, the hopes, the fears, the disillusionment, the ruptures, and the philosophizing of a strangely starved soul, it is a beacon light by which the wanderer may be guided." -- The New Republic.
Rating:
Summary: Annotation
Review: A young man struggling for self-realization is caught up in a destructive love affair.
Rating:
Summary: close ,but no cigar
Review: This semi-autobiographical novel spoke to the heart of me when I read it as a teenager.At the time I identified with Phillip's feeling down-and-out,used,and a victim of circumstance.I would recommend this book for young adults who are searching for the answers to this riddle we call life.I'm not saying you will find a concrete solution,but you will not go unaffected by this book.It is not a 5-star book for two reasons;a weak ending and Phillip's excessive self pity.He could have saved himself a lot of agony if he would have lost those blatantly parasitical people he clung to out of loneliness.
Rating: 
Summary: Careys Clubfoot
Review: I am under the understanding that Philip's clubfoot and his issues with it are merely an allegory for homosexuality. Somerset was homosexual and the emotions that Philip expresses throughout the novel are autobiographical. Taken in that context, the novel is an interesting "self-discovery" piece. The non-sexual Mildred and his utter disinterest in the voluptuous young girl at the end further this theory.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous; the quintessential bildungsroman
Review: I find Maugham to be the finest of storytellers. I have read all of his short stories and many of his novels and I never cease to be amazed at his prowess at being unabashedly entertaining in all his works. This novel is life contained between two book covers. As Maugham traces the early childhoood, teenage years, and young adulthoood of an English everyman at the end of the 19th century, we are privy to the entire range of human emotions -- jealousy, anger, greed, unrequited love and longing, fear, self-pity, passion, desire, hope .... the petty emotions as well as those that overwhelm us and, ultimately, make us slaves to the smallness of our own lives (hence the book's title). As Maugham writes of his protagonist's stint in medical school in turn-of-the-century London, he unwittingly could be describing his own novel: "It was manifold and carious; there were tears and laughter, happiness and woe, it was tedious and interesting and indifferent; it was as you saw it; it was tumultuous and passionate; it was grave; it was sad and comic; it was trivial; it was simple and complex; joy was there and despair; the love of mothers for their children and of men for women...There was neither good nor bad there. There were just facts. It was life." Indeed.
Rating:
Summary: Just finished and I loved this novel!
Review: Boy did I end up really enjoying this novel! Half the time I was stressed out about how Phillip was being treated by the people he chose to have around him. His fascination with Mildred was as close to talk show trash as anything could get in the early 1900's! What I enjoyed the most was how relevant this story seemed to me even as a woman. I see Phillip Carey as Everyman. Basicly a good and decent guy but riddled with self doubt and loathing over his deformity and sensitive nature. Certainly human in his more wicked thoughts and desires. It was slow going for the first half of this long novel but I fairly sailed through the last 200 pages! I would definitely recommend this book to serious literature fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Just finished reading it.
Review: Although the novel IS well written, I did not like the characters of Philip and Mildred. The only likable characters in the book are Athelny and his family. I found it generally very odd. The novel's theme seems to be that the universe has no meaning and, once that's learned, because the individual has no obligation to anything or anybody, he can appreciate the beauty of life. I'm afraid I missed something.
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