Somerset Maugham rocks! I finished THE HOUR BEFORE THE DAWN

[raccoon]

a few weeks ago and am now about halfway through THE PAINTED VEIL.

Never have read OF HUMAN BONDAGE but it's next on my list.

[Goblinmonger]

1. Of Human Bondage

is awesome. I happened to read it after I had prepped Great Expectations to teach to freshmen. Bondage is like Great Ex that doesn't suck. A much better version of the buldingsroman genre. You will not be disappointed.

[Sal Minella]

2. Read "Of Human Bondage" many years ago and it stays with me.

Great book. The movie "Rain" (based on Maugham's Miss Sadie Thompson) was one of the first dramas I saw and it also stays with me.

[terrya]

12. I'm reading it right now.

I got a slew of those Barnes and Noble Classics recently. "Of Human Bondage" is one of them. I'm enjoying it very much.

[SteveM]

3. Don't forget The Moon and Sixpence (nt)

[OffWithTheirHeads]

4. Oh goodie! I have "Bondage" in my library.

I'm about a week out from finishing War and Peace and will start "Bondage next.

I wonder if there is any possibility of getting several of us here to start it at more or less the same time so we could all discuss it. It would make it even more enjoyable to get input from others similar to my post on Hemingway, the discussion of which I found most helpful.
Bud

[raccoon]

6. Works for me. nt

[applegrove]

5. His short stories are really good too. He travels the world, plays wisp and solves

international mysteries.

[codjh9]

7. Yeah - I think that's what he was best known for, although he did have some successful novels.

I've read 3 of his 4 short story collections... need to read that last one, and re-read the others sometime perhaps.

[altogetherooky]

8. Wow, I have never heard of that one! I love him...Have you read "The Razor's Edge?"

Love that, along with "The Moon and Sixpence" (about Gaughin).

[raccoon]

9. Read "The Razor's Edge" decades ago--will have to read it again

because I can't remember much of it.

[altogetherooky]

10. Yeah, me neither...I just remember being very moved and inspired

As for "Of Human Bondage," make sure to get the UNabridged version. I initially got the abridged one (it's quite a large book), and it's crazy to read anything but the writer's complete piece. I also own his collected short stories and a huge biography, which kept me enthralled for quite a time. Sorry, but I cannot recall the author.

[DemoTex]

11. I loved "The Razor's Edge."

And "Of Human Bondage."