Customer Reviews

The Gentleman in the Parlour

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I've read this book a number of times, and I think that as with THE BRIDE OF SAN LUIS REY and a couple of other books, it is likely to be one of those books I read yearly, perhaps, or at least regularly, from here on in.

THE GENTLEMAN is good company, and every page has something of interest on it. Yes, the Introduction is flashy, and a Master's Class in and of itself, for aspiring writers, but the entirety of the book, chapter by chapter, incident by incident, is a demonstration of what English prose can do well: it entertains as it informs. If one's taste has been corrupted by the Gee Whiz, Buzz-Word and media-clever sound bite slangadellic scribbling that passes for, well, writing nowadays, this simple book may come as a surprise and a heathy cure for bad reading habits (or addictions to trashy faddistic stuff) and may prepare the reader for a new direction in book-buying. And, rarest of all, and quite unexpected, this oyster bears within its unassuming flesh, a pearl of superlative price.

On the face of it, it seems like a fine concept - one of the best writers in the world writing a travelogue of his journey across South East Asia in the early 20th century. But once I got into it, I was a bit disappointed with what was actually written inside.

Somerset Maugham is one of the finest writers I've ever read, "Of Human Bondage" is honestly one of the best novels I've ever read, more of the most memorable and soul wrenching stories ever set down on paper. His other works have been no less spectacular - "The Moon and Sixpence" and "The Painted Veil" are masterpieces both. That said, I've read a few books by Maugham that have been less than satisfying - I couldn't finish "The Razor's Edge" or "The Magician" while "Up at the Villa" and "Cakes and Ale" were both quite dull reads. Every so often though I see his name and remember how "Of Human Bondage" kept me going through an enormously long journey in Japan a few years ago and decide to try him again.

"The Gentleman in the Parlour" is very descriptive, going into detail on the buildings and surroundings, the clothes the people wear, the food they eat, the weather - if this is your thing then you'll enjoy the heck of out this book. For me, description is probably the thing I least enjoy about reading. I simply don't care what people wear or how someone describes a sunset, and frankly it reads like a dull travel program minus the visuals.

Strangely, the parts where Maugham digresses and talks about the books he's reading are the most interesting and reminded me of the essays that form his book "The Vagrant Mood". There are a couple of personal stories from the people Maugham met on the road which I'm sure were once scandalous and racy but sadly in the light of the 21st century merely pale into dreariness.

That said, I did finish the book instead of setting it aside with a sigh. It's immensely readable and Maugham's style in this book is very chatty and amiable. It feels like you're being told a story by a human version of Carroll's Cheshire Cat. But overall I would rate it quite low in this writer's list of great works and would instead implore the curious reader to pick up his more accomplished and beautiful books "Of Human Bondage" and "The Painted Veil", the latter of which is set in South East Asia and is a far more entertaining book.