Customer Reviews

Collected Stories (Everyman's Library)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A well chosen collection of 31 of Maugham's short stories. With over 800 pages, that works out to just short of 30 pages per story. This means that there is ample time for character development and not just brief telling of an interesting incident.

Maugham is a master of developing characters and the stereotypes that he designs are the standard for several genres. Many of the stories concern the South Seas and the differences between the whites and the natives. This collection also has many of his Asian stories about white colonists and their foibles. The last few stories are based on Maugham's spy experiences. (Maugham was a British Spy for years - one of his missions was to prevent the fall of Russia to the Communists)

Most of these stories are full of black humor. And Maugham is one of the world's great curmudgeons. The interplay between men and women is another favorite topic and Maugham's lack of Romanticism is obvious. He is almost (but not quite) misogynistic. "When a man marries, his wife sooner or later estranges him from his old friends." "With two lovers there is always one who loves and one who lets himself be loved." (These are two representative quotes from the book.)

And just a short comment on this edition. It is hardback, with a sewn-in page marker and inexpensive for this quality of book. In general I enjoy the Everyman editions and prices.

All in all excellent, humorous, biting and entertaining.

This physically lovely volume, beautifully bound (it even has a red ribbon bookmark), is a great start for anyone interested in the short fiction of Maugham. These days Maugham is rather underrated, which is all the more unfortunate because his short works, unlike many of his novels, are more consistently well-crafted and engaging. This collection is first rate, although some of Maugham's best stories (e.g. "The Facts of Life" and "Lord Montdrago") are curiously absent (as they are from many incomplete collections). If you're looking for the complete short stories, obviously this isn't the volume for you, but if you want a large compilation of most of this writer's work, this is an excellent start.

I picked up this volume of stories because I'd heard that W Somerset Maugham was the true master of the short story form. I've read a lot of contemporary writers so I wanted to compare. I learned a lot from these stories.

The first thing I learned was subtlety. These stories weren't filled with action sequences or grand plots, but instead they were filled with intent and slow moving determination. He lets the story unfold in the actions of his characters and reveals their mind through words, action and narrative. At first I have to admit that I thought these stories boring and without purpose but then I reread the first stories and realized that every word had purpose and that purpose was the action - the beautiful subtle flowing action of the stories told so well that they seemed effortless and haunting at the same time. Then I was not bored.

The second thing I learned was theme. I don't know if Maugham consciously wrote to a theme or whether it developed organically, but however he did it the theme permeated each story with symbolism in elegance. There was this one story about an island's regent and his assistant. They didn't get along and eventually that tension built into ill intent, but the scenes were decorated with contrasting imagery - chaos interrupting serenity, just like the main characters. It works so well to put the reader in the mood for what's to come. It's kind of magical when you realize that it's working and it's intentional, manipulative even.

The third thing I learned is that a story doesn't have to change the world or reveal great secrets, but that changing a single person in one significant way is enough. It's enough and sometimes more than just enough for a story - sometimes it's perfect.

- CV Rick, May 2008

While I don't have own this particular volume, over the past 20 years I've read every Somerset Maugham story I could lay my hands on. I find it amazing that his short stories were considered somewhat lightweight in their time, too popular to be literature. They can be read over and over again with pleasure. They range from ironic to tragic to a few that are really funny. ("Jane" still makes me chuckle after a dozen readings.) One caveat: a working knowledge of how the British lived during Maugham's era, both at home and abroad, is a help. If you know absolutely zip about baronets' wives in 1910 or Malaysian rubber planters in 1933, you may miss a point or two.

There has been a lot of comment about the fact that this book is NOT the complete stories of Maugham, but only a collection. So, here are the included stories:

In a Strange Land
Rain
The Fall of Edward Bernard
The Pool
Mackintosh
The Happy Couple
The Unconquered
Before the Party
The Yellow Streak
The Vessel of Wrath
The Force of Circumstance
The Alien Corn
Virtue
The Bum
The Treasure
The Colonel's Lady
The Human Element
Footprints in the Jungle
The Book-bag
The Back of Beyond
Mayhew
Mirage
The Letter
The Outstation
Red
Miss King
The Hairless Mexican
Giulia Lazzari
The Traitor
His Excellency
Sanatorium

This includes just one of my favorites, "Red." Other favorites have gone missing, including "Jane," "The Luncheon," "The Three Fat Ladies of Antibes" and a few others.

It is a handsomely produced volume, with an excellent selection of Maugham's stories, but, if you want all of them, you will have to look elsewhere. An excellent standard edition is The Complete Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham (2 Volumes).

W Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), English playwright, novelist, and short story writer, was one of the most famous writers in the first half of the twentieth century. Yet he's not one of the writers people now recognize most from that time. He is well known, for sure, but his stature seems to pale in comparison to other writers of that era, such as Faulkner, Joyce, and Woolf. I think this is because Maugham wrote in such a business-like fashion, without any frills, while his contemporaries were experimenting and creating what would become known as modernist literature. And even those who know him now usually connect him back to his most famous novels- Of Human Bondage, The Painted Veil, The Moon & Sixpence- more so than his short stories. But Maugham was a formidable short story writer, writing more than 120, 31 of which comprise this collection.

Maugham meticulously followed a daily writing schedule, and this consistency shows in his work. I've never read a collection- especially one of this length- that was so consistently entertaining. There is a rhythm that transcends the stories and makes 800+ pages fly by: he seems to churn great story after great story with ease. The stories are autobiographical and reflect the exciting life he led. Many are set in the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, or China, where Maugham traveled extensively in the 20's and 30's chronicling the lives of the Colonialist English. The last 200 pages of this collection contain a selection from The Ashendon Stories, about a writer-turned spy in WWI, which Maugham himself was.

Despite the plain style, there is lots of suspense in these stories. There's love and hate and murders to solve and affairs to uncover. Maugham is a keen observer of human nature. He's writing about real people from his travels, so often it seems as if Maugham's simply narrating what he sees when opposing forces are set in front of him. Not surprisingly, isolation is a big theme (and source of conflict) in the colonial stories. Some of the more poignant moments in his work are when Maugham shows the rituals they performed- like The Resident (term for the governor) in "The Outstation" who dressed formally every night for dinner, even while eating alone- to provide the illusion of their old life. And despite Maugham's seeming anti-Romanticism throughout many of the stories, the collection closes with "The Sanatorium", a story where love conquers even death.

This is a great collection and definitely worth the time.

The short story writer does not have time to mess around. He/she has to grip the reader's interest immediately, tell an engaging tale and finish with a punchy ending. Somerset Maugham had that rare gift and remains my favorite short story writer. In my opinion his only modern day equivalent is T. Coraghessan Boyle.

Although his works are not high literature and can be considered somewhat dated, they are finely crafted and expert at swiftly setting the scene and evoking atmosphere. Maugham obviously used his life experiences for written material; his travels in the (then) exotic orient, Ashenden's spy stories (he worked for the secret service during World war 2) and evocative society pieces.

This Everyman edition of many of his best stories is beautifully published-the print quality is exceptionally clear, the binding is luxurious and the paper quality is well above average. Given the standard of the writing and the product, this book is terrific value.

If you like Somerset Maughm stories, this book is perfect. It is a nice
assortment of his well-known and lesser known stories. You can pick it
up and read it at any time. A very satisfying book.

I have bought Everyman collections before (two Waugh books - travels and short stories). The editions are attractive and seem to be durable.
The title of this book is misleading. Nowhere in the Amazon description or in the book itself is it made clear that this is a selection, not a complete collection, of the short stories. I would estimate that well under half of Maugham's stories are here. A complete set is available in four volumes from Penguin.
The fact that Everyman sells a book that appears to be a complete collection but is not is irritating and makes me wonder about the completeness of the other collections I have bought from this publisher. I returned this book to Amazon and will not buy Everyman books again.

"P&O" is a story from Maugham rarely rewiewed. This an outstanding insight of a woman character.
On board back to England, Mrs Hamlyn meet an Irish farmer, Gallagher, eager to settle in green Meadows of his home country after having passed 20 years in Malaysia. A spell was cast on his head by the native woman with who he lived; she predicted his death before reaching land.
This stout Irish farmer fall sick after two days but Mrs Hamlyn is to preoccupied by the separation with her husband. This later
is in love with a same age woman as herself which is understandable in her mind; she would have accepted a youger mistress but not a older one. She is all at sea, stranded into the unknown. Day after day, the doctor tries to heal the ill man but without results. Mrs Hamlyn's rare visits left her unconcerned until the asistant of Gallagher, in private, suggests to her the use of magic. There is a sorcerer on board..Evebody is very aware that the sick man shouldn't die on the holly Christmas day and exort the doctor to keep the man alive afterwards. The secret ceremony took place with the sacrifice of a rooster but in vain. The strong healthy man who embarked to fulfill his dreams died.
The doctor and the party of first class feel relieved and free to celebrate Chritmas. But Mrs Hamlyn is not enjoying. She fells a great urge of writting to her husband telling him that anytime he feels to come and see, he could. Life is short and there is no raison why a human being should not wished the best to a dear. She fells sorry not to have accepted his husband adultery's relationship more simply. Be happy, be happy, she writes...in sight of the land.