Of Human Bondage (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)

Everyone knows this book and most love it. When I read it 40 years ago I was too young to appreciate it. Now I appreciate it, but I also recognize some flaws in the writing and especially in the character development. Yes it's bold to criticize Somerset Maugham, but he's dead and I don't think he'll complain. Let's face it, he's a great writer, but even he had some flaws. The poor character, Phillip, wanders from life stage to life stage without learning anything from his mistakes. He's continually too sensitive, and attracted to all the wrong women. But the book covers almost half-a-century, you'd think he would learn SOMETHING. But he doesn't. See for yourself. It's not a bad read, but you'll need to exercise patience to finally reach that feeling of self-loathing for having read it.

The book was in perfect condition and arrived in a timely manner. I was very satisfied. I also loved the book itself to death... Great story about love/hate and life/Death, and the thin line that seperates these things.

Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham was a favorite book when I was quite a lot younger than I am now. I found it thoughtful and moving. I guess I would sat that it was one of those books that opened my thinking to wider understanding of humanity, and I still enjoy it now that I am on the tail end of life.

Loved it! It's a brilliantly crafted tale of human bondage and the truth of life. It was written in the 30's (I believe) and it is every bit as applicable to people today. A great read especially for young adults and recent college graduates.

This long and gripping story has many moments with which we can personally identify.
It is difficult to put down even though it stretches credibility at times and it has
encouraged me to read more of Somerset Maughan.

This long and gripping story has many moments with which we can personally identify.
It is difficult to put down even though it stretches credibility at times and it has
encouraged me to read more of Somerset Maughan.

In the book " Of Human Bondage" the main character Phillip, is in and out of careers so fast that it's unsettling!
Also he desires a woman who sent him to the poor house and is totally bad news.
No more spoilers

Of Human Bondage (Bondage), released in 1915, was written by Somerset Maugham (SM). 1874-1965, and is widely considered to be Maugham’s masterpiece. It still sells well and has been made in three, major motion pictures (in 1934 with Bette Davis and Leslie Howard, in 1946 with Eleanor Parker and Paul Henreid, and in 1964 with Kim Novak and Laurence Harvey). It is predominantly autobiographical. Its title stems from philosopher-Benedict Spinoza’s Ethics, where Spinoza maintained that people are incapable of controlling their passions and are held captive by them, “in bondage” by them.

Although he had a short, unhappy marriage and other heterosexual relationships and one child, Maugham was a stutterer and widely known to be gay. In his book, he called himself Phillip Carey, and gave himself a club foot as a disability, rather than the stutter, and Phiillip’s life, on balance, is an unhappy one. The plot, to this reader, was only marginally interesting, and it ended with theme or message which the author likely viewed as what readers of that day desired: a conclusion that man’s traditional pattern (work, marriage, children and death) was “the most perfect life”. Considering the title of the book, Spinoza’s sentiments on point, and the way Maugham lived his own life, the moral of Bondage seems disingenuous.

Maugham wrote more like a playwright than a novelist, unveiling his story almost exclusively via dialogue, providing a paucity of the descriptive passages that bring scenes, characters and feelings alive and thus render great novelists memorable. Maugham’s prose thus pales alongside Margaret Mitchel, Theodore Dreiser, Dickens, Hugo, Pasternak, Tolstoy, or even compared to the more current Tom Wolf, Ken Follet, David Gregory Roberts. In Maugham’s defense, in 1915, there many less forms of entertainment, and the reading-public had to be starved for interesting stories, and Bondage was interesting at some levels. Although this reader is in the minority on point, Maugham’s story simply wasn’t sufficiently interesting to warrant reading.
Bookaweekman leeglovett.com

Although written at the beginning of the 20th century I loved the book, the conditions of the hero and life of certain classes in England in that time period are incredibly moving. The artists living in Paris and the description of their bohemian poor existence is so true. The following of the heros lifestory from orphan in a rural vicary to poverty stricken doctor working for the poor is so real. The bullying he is exposed to in childhood is still a big issue for many. The book is applicable to the human bondage in so many countries and societies of today. The best movie version is the 1936 one with Bette Davis.

"Of Human Bondage" is that book I have been waiting for. This is the reason I read all the time. 80% of books are ****. 17% of books are pretty good. That leaves 3% for books like this. It took me a month to read. Not because it was too long or because I didn't like it. It was because I did not want it to end. I read it slowly. I averaged one book per week last year and this book threw me all off. I didn't want to plow through it. Every time I picked it up and read a few pages I was so satisfied I had to stop and consider what it was I had just read. So many passages in this book deserve to be highlighted that I highlighted none of it. If I had, the book would be a mess. I decided to leave it plain. This is my new bible. I finished and immediately began reading it again. Ole W. Somerset said things I had felt my whole life but never put into words. He explained it all. I will read this book over and over and over. We all struggle to be something other than slaves to money and this life. In the end we fail and die. Our plans don't mean a ****ing thing. Amen W. Somerset. Amen.

Maugham's prose flowed throughout the story. The main character was so well defined that you felt huge amounts of sympathy for him. Sometimes I scolded him( in my mind) for falling for a conniving homeless woman or when he wouldn't stand for himself when colleagues snubbed him or mocked him. But you can see him getting stronger through success in medicine and when he realized he no longer cared for the woman who took advantage of him and led him on. I felt I had to keep reading to learn of his progress in making a place for himself in his environment.
The story had it's ;draggy moments when the main character and his friends and colleagues got in to philosophical discussions. This was the style of writing of the time, but nevertheless, I have to admit I skipped a few paragraphs and even a page.

I know, I know, everyone speaks of what a classic this book is. And I must admit, when my book club decided to read this book I was initially pleased, as I really liked Razor's Edge. But of all ten of us in the club, only one finished the book!
I got as far as page 394, so I really did try. But I kept wanting to give Philip a shake, tell him to "get over it" and get on with his life already. Mildred was a perfect pill, and I was quite annoyed with how she abused his faith and love. The other characters were, for the most part, either one-dimensional, or unlikeable.
I know I'll most likely get slammed for daring to say this, but I just didn't like this book, and I was not the only one. It was just too depressing and full of despair. Avoid this unless you like a hard slog through the muck of sadness.