In Maugham's case, the celebrated story is the opening one in this collection - Rain - and like everything else which has its expectations built, it is satisfying but lacking. By delving into an author's short stories I feel that you get to know him more deeply than by reading the same number of pages in one novel.
Scott Fitzgerald short stories the line I was fed was that Babylon Revisited was his most celebrated one, as if if you read only that you'd get the full flavor of the author. I knew little of Somerset Maugham besides his cool sounding name when I started reading.
Do I really need to hear this 65 times in a row?. England doesn't like brown people or sex, gotcha. But too many of them follow one of two basic formulas: White guy loses his shit among the island natives or, Pretty lady has like soooo many lovers y'all omg. A few are quite good the stories of the spy are enjoyable. I've kind of given up on it for now, because I'm tired of feeling like I'm just reading the same two or three stories over and over again. Do Okay, so I haven't actually read all the way through this yet (still).
Okay, so I haven't actually read all the way through this yet (still). I particularly enjoyed 'Rain', 'The Creative Impulse' and the Ashenden stories (which inspired Ian Fleming and his creation James Bond). But then it is rare to find a story that is not very good. has a very engaging style of writing that keeps you engrossed even when the 'story' isn't very good. I have enjoyed most of the stories I read. 65 Short Stories has been in my possesion (I happened to find a copy while rummaging my grandfather's cupboard for books)for 3-4 years now and I haven't read more than half of them. I generally cannot read more than 5-7 successive stories at a time. But then I am not a prolific reader of short stories. Somerset Maugham comprise this anthology film where the celebrated author introduces each segment of the film in front of the camera.I am not a prolific reader of short stories. Know-All”, and “The Sanatorium” are introduced by the author.Īdaptations of three short stories by W. In the final chapter “The Colonel’s Lady”, a middle-aged man is shocked to learn that his somewhat dowdy wife has written a collection of racy poems and is now a best-selling author. He’s soon back home, much to his mother’s delight, but re-considers when his wife takes up a new hobby. In “The Kite”, a young man, who lives at home and loves kite flying, goes against his overbearing mother’s wishes and marries the girl he’s been dating. In “The Alien Corn”, an aspiring pianist devotes himself to perfecting his artistic skills, but finds he likely hasn’t the talents to reach the heights he so desperately craves. In the first story, “The Facts of Life”, a young man with great potential on the tennis courts goes to Monte Carlo and soon finds himself doing the exact opposite of what his father recommended. Somerset Maugham’s short stories are brought to the screen with each introduced by the author.