"Do you choose sixpence on earth or the moon in the sky?" It seems that every few years, Maugham's books set off a new wave of reading.
As one of the world's best storytellers, Maugham has made a name for himself with his talents, his books are easy to read, and most of his works have distinct personalities and plot twists and turns.
Some people say that reading Maugham's short stories is like drinking Coke, which feels very refreshing; reading his long stories is like tasting red wine, which is worth savoring.
Obviously, we have love and hate for each other and have mixed feelings about life, and Maugham is no exception, but he has turned all kinds of insights through the ages into words, making us rethink the longitude and latitude of life.
Today I want to share with you 14 works about Maugham, get close to this "story sage", and peek into human nature and know the world from his books, including the ideal glimmer that he lights up with a colorful life - perhaps it is also an important decision that we have made countless times in our hearts.
The Moon and Sixpence
The Moon and Sixpence is one of Maugham's three most lengthy masterpieces, written in 1919. In this work, Maugham uses a first-person narrative to tell a fascinating story. Originally a securities broker, the protagonist gave up everything in middle age to live with the indigenous people in Tahiti in the South Pacific, gained inspiration and created many artistic masterpieces. This novel shows the contradictions between genius, personality and material civilization, as well as modern marriage and family life, and is rich in a broad perspective on life.
Blade
As the pinnacle of Maugham's later years, "Blade" was created and written from the first perspective, and the character characteristics and story development were enriched in the changing geographical environment and multiple narrative techniques. The book tells the story of Larry, a young American pilot, who gave up his bright future, gave up his marriage contract, and traveled the world like an ascetic for more than ten years to find the meaning of life after witnessing the sacrifice of his teammates.
This book explores the insight into human nature, the world, and the truth of salvation, and around the protagonist Larry's life experience, the grand philosophical proposition that plagues all sentient beings is explained: Is life meaningful, or can it only be at the mercy of fate?
The Shackles of Human Nature
The Shackles of Human Nature is Maugham's famous work and an autobiographical novel written by Maugham based on his own personal experience. The book tells the story of the protagonist Philip from an orphan to an adult, facing the shackles of family, friendship, love, faith, art, ideals, etc., fighting against his own destiny, and struggling to find freedom and the meaning of life.
First published in 1915, the book was critically acclaimed and remains a best-selling classic more than a hundred years later, resonating widely with readers and reflecting on the meaning of life.
The Veil
"The Veil" tells a story about "self-redemption." In the 1920s, the beautiful Katie hastily married walter, an emotionless bacteriologist, for vanity, and followed her husband to China to study, but met and fell madly in love with the mercurial Charlie there. After the affair is revealed, Katie sees the hypocrisy of her lover, follows her husband deep into the cholera-ravaged epidemic area to practice medicine in despair, and awakens in the fear of the plague land, the tolerance and love of the monastery, and the sudden death of her husband, and Katie has achieved real growth. The novel intertwines the two eternal literary themes of "love" and "human nature", prompting readers to think infinitely.
"The Flutter of a Leaf"
The Flutter of a Leaf is a one-shot collection of short stories compiled by Maugham himself during his lifetime, containing six short stories set in the South Pacific Islands, all based on the author's travels through the Pacific.
In these stories, the exotic scenery of the South Pacific islands is beautiful and sinister, comfortable and eerie, giving the works a magical and charming charm, and also vividly presenting Maugham's inquiry and thinking about complex human nature.
"Akin"
Akin is a collection of short stories published by Maugham in September 1933, an exotic short story he claims to have written. The title of the book is the name of a Chinese servant hired by Maugham as he roamed the Malay Peninsula and the surrounding area, and the six novels in the book are based on what Maugham saw and heard during his two trips to the Malay Peninsula and surrounding areas in the early 1920s.
The Complete Maugham Short Stories (all four volumes)
The short story occupies an important place in Maugham's creation, and Burgess once commented that he wrote "the best short story in English literature".
In 1951, Maugham published a complete collection of short stories in four volumes, namely The Fall of Edward Barnard, The Factor of Human Nature, British Agent Ashden, and Portrait of a Gentleman, a collection of 91 stories, and personally determined the title and sequence, writing a preface to each volume.
The above ideal Chinese edition of "The Complete Works of Maugham's Short Stories" (all four volumes) is based on the 2002 Penguin Edition Complete Works, and is translated by young translator and writer Chen Yikan, reproducing the whole picture of Maugham's short stories for the first time in a wonderful translation.
"Reading is a refuge to carry with you"
Reading is a portable refuge for reading, reading masterpieces, and reading aesthetics, and Maugham, as a well-known writer and veteran reader, is naturally handy about these contents.
Use a study room to ward off this imperfect world, and use a book to guide our reading fun. In this book, Maugham presents his most unique reading insights from three different dimensions, and paints realistic portraits of his great writers with a very high level of writing.
The Biography of Maugham
If life were to be compared to a canvas, then Maugham would have an astonishing scale. "Maugham Biography" will be Maugham's life story and creative journey in chronological order, detailed information, reliable citations, known as the only officially authorized biography of Maugham on the market.
With its extensive study of private archives and strong penmanship, this book unveils to the reader all aspects of Maugham's unknown—early ups and downs, middle-aged prominence, betrayal in his twilight years, a secret love history, a legendary career in espionage during the two world wars, and his entanglement with other famous writers. After reading this autobiography, you may have a "so-so- treasure hunting experience."
Maugham's Autobiography
If you only think that Maugham's identity is a writer, it is indeed "narrowing" him, to say that Maugham's own life is too wonderful, as a doctor, as a spy, living in a mansion, traveling around the world, going in and out of high society, countless lovers... In a way, Maugham's works add up to the sum of his life.
This book is a combination of "Purely Private Matters" and "Summary" and is not strictly autobiographical. The first Chinese translation of Maugham's experience as a spy during World War II is Summing Up Maugham's rational reflections on writing style, literature, art, drama, and philosophy as a professional writer.
Summary: Memoirs of Maugham's Creative Career
Published in January 1938 by Heinemann Press in England, and two months later the American edition by Nelson Doburdi Company, The Summary is Maugham's long-simmering memoir of his personally significant writing career, although he clarifies at the beginning that "this book is neither an autobiography nor a memoir."
In the first half of The Summary, Maugham reviews his career as a writer in detail, while the second half consists of his exploration of the issues that affected his thinking at various stages of his life.
In one work after another, Maugham skillfully compares the real material life with the spiritual world, using interesting experiences and ups and downs to illuminate and sublimate the latter, so that we can discover the more fascinating spiritual world above life.