Customer Reviews

Of Human Bondage (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

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"Of Human Bondage" is something of an epic tale. Or an extremely detailed account of one man's life. Enter Philip Carey's life, that essentially begins with the death of his mother. The "cripple" (he has a club-foot) moves rather piteously through childhood, growing up with his childless aunt and uncle.

Philip's story takes us through his time in Germany, studying, to his failed stint as an accountant in London, to his attempted art career in France, to his ultimate decision to become a doctor like his father. In London, he falls in love (or obsession), falls out of love, helps, is helped, and finally finds happiness.

Philip is an intriguing character. He has a tendency to think stupidly and often confuses exaggeration with emotion, but nonetheless is an interesting person to follow. His story is long and thick, but really interesting; we see his friends, his virtues, his flaws, and his overall good, whether in trying to help those he cannot stand, or trying to help those he loves.

Somerset Maugham is an excellent writer. Most would fail miserably at writing a thick life-account such as this, but he succeeds marvelously. Philip's life will remind many of their own (through bis and pieces) and will certainly provide most with much enjoyment. Thick and long, perhaps, but 100% readable, enjoyable, and wonderful. And okay. An edit probably would have helped, but once you get in the story, it's difficult to get out. A shorter read would have been much better, but it's excellent nonetheless.

One of those excellent classics you just have to read. Even if it takes a while. Highly recommended.

I LOVED this book. I couldn't put it down. It's my first time to read anything of Maugham's, and has instantly gone down as one of my top ten favorites. As it tells the story of one man's life from beginning to about a midway point, it seemed to me a cross between Dickens' David Copperfield and Lawrence's Sons and Lovers - darker than DC but not quite as pessimistic as S&L. Reviewers categorize it as a story of unrequited love, but that's a significant understatement.

Philip Carey, like David Copperfield, loses both of his parents young and is removed to unfamiliar territory with less-than-loving relatives (although here Philip definitely fares better than poor David). Besides the loss of his parents, Philip's primary grievance in life is the physical defect he was born with - a club foot, for which there was no treatment at the time. His deformity and the noticeable limp it forces him to walk with makes him the butt of the cruelest of taunts and tricks, and long into adulthood - even after undergoing a new surgery to partially correct it - it's a source of humiliation and despair for him, coloring a little bit of everything he touches and lives through.

I think everyone can relate to Philip's childhood, teen and young adult years, though, when he struggles mightily with the same questions many of us do, especially in regards to philosophy, morality and religion. His family expects him to enter the clergy, and don't know what to do with Philip's sudden need to question and challenge the church, and in fact alter his entire foundation of belief.

After leaving school and starting life as a young man out in the world, I swear I was right there with him as he yearned desperately to find his path in life, to nurture a passion for something and be good at it. He tries a desk job and hates it. He discovers a love of art and tries to turn that into a career, before finally admitting to himself that although he has some aptitude, he's not an artist at heart. Medical school is the next stop, and it's during this time that he meets Mildred, a waitress who becomes the bane of his existence and nearly destroys his life emotionally, financially, and spiritually. His relationship with her is complicated and destructive, because although in every way he's consciously aware of he actually despises her, yet deep inside he loves her desperately and has no idea why. She's coarse, not particularly attractive, and treats him with contempt and disdain except when she needs money or something else from him. A user and manipulator, she finds just about every other man acceptable except Philip. One's first instinct is to think, "Ah, he's just one of those losers who likes being treated like dirt," but it's really not quite that simple. Philip's feelings for Mildred are something he can never explain to himself or anyone else, and as readers we never fully understand it either, but we do clearly feel and lament what this dark, toxic attachment does to him. She comes in and out of his life when he least expects or wants it, but each time she returns, no matter what betrayal and abuse she heaps on him, he can't let her go.

Even as he's dealing with his emotional conflict over Mildred and the dire financial situation that forces him to temporarily drop out of medical school and sleep, literally, on the streets, he's still growing and evolving as a person, trying, as we all do, to uncover that elusive philosophical holy grail: the meaning of life. The passages in the book - too lengthy to reproduce here, although I wish I could - exploring his thought processes over the randomness of life's events, the sources of happiness and despair, and the sudden insights into consciousness both sordid and joyful, are perceptive and powerful.

Above all, Philip is very human - so much so that it's almost uncomfortable, as Maugham brings out and painfully examines every fault and foible in Philip's soul, and it's uncomfortable because those flaws lie in all of us, deeply hidden. There are times when Philip seems very cold and almost cruel, yet at other times his heart is full and his kindness genuine and bottomless. He's a real person, in other words, not a two-dimensional character. Maugham's use of language is simple and straightforward, much like Lawrence but maintaining the early Edwardian flavor of the day.

I just loved this fascinating portrait of a man trying so hard to find out who he is, what he believes, whom he loves, and what he needs. I recognized myself in it, and I imagine most others would, too, because in many ways it's the story of all of us. It's truly a masterpiece about the often excruciating process of soul-searching and finding oneself. I loved it and will enjoy reading it again to catch any details I may have missed the first time around.

So, Holden Caulfield, before being shipped to the rubber room, kept asking what happened to the ducks in Central Park in the winter. No one knew or cared. But, one thing for sure, Holden had an affinity for "Of Human Bondage," which made me wonder how a literary character who could not stay on track could actually read, comprehend, and appreciate this classic. Indeed, was Holden or, perhaps, Salinger himself a spin off of Philip Carey?
The proverbial loose cannon, Philip, after having a hard time knocking around with a few women with results ranging from indifferent to catastrophic, resolves his wanderlust to marry the daughter, whom he had taken advantage of, of his best friend, and don't forget the clubfoot business.
And, that, my gentle reader, is what a classic is all about. "Of Human Bondage" is on all the should read lists. The author was wildly popular and rich in his own time. You know you should read the "should read" books. So, do it and consider the relationship of this title to "Catcher in the Rye."
The Wildside Press edition is well constructed and easy to hold. A nice classic package...

W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage is one of the best novels I have ever read. The language is simple. The narration is subtle. The characters are real and display emotions and feelings everyone can identify with. The power of novel becomes apparent when you are reading it. You choke up every once a while, you smile for hours after you have finished reading certain passages, and you comprehend your own self, your woes and possibilities, better through perspectives that novel provides.

Philip Carey is born with a clubfoot, and as he grows up, orphaned, he struggles with his own deformity. The initial quarter of the novel is about his growing up, and details incidents and relationships that shape our hero. He then develops a fancy of becoming a painter and travels to Paris, only to quit few years later to return to London, where he studies to become a doctor. The most engrossing part of novel starts here with the entry of Mildred, the waitress.

The rest of the novel thrives on the passion of Philip, his love that carries him to the edge of self-destruction, and his coming of age. Unrequited love has never been portrayed better. Philip allows himself to become an instrument in the hands of cold-hearted Mildred, who repeatedly ruins herself through absurd choices, and ruins him for in spite of his love and care, he finds himself snubbed, ridiculed, bereft. Even though his reason tells him otherwise, Philip is unable to release himself from his passion for a considerable time. As is said in the novel, "But when all was said the important thing was to love rather than to be loved; and he yearned for Mildred with his whole soul."

The novel is lot more than just story of Philip and Mildred, and there are other unforgettable characters. Each person Philip encounters and each friend he makes, leaves an indelible impression on him and the reader. Be it his idealist friend Hayward, with too much promise & too little to offer, the poet Cronshaw who lives and dies in poverty, Fenny Price whose hard work desire alone cannot make her draw even reasonably well, his uncle and aunt whose love is both tacit and beautifully portrayed and the writer Norah who shows Philip of a caring and loving other.

The most charming people in the novel are Athlneys. Athlney brings life and humor into the novel, and I think saves Philip from a total destruction. The novel really highlights the virtue that lies in a simple, happy married life and Anthlneys win over both Philip and readers with their goodness and simplicity. Thorpe Anthlney with his nine children is a jolly character, and be it his conversations or actions, he wins over our hearts outright.

Philip finds love in most unexpected quarters and is surprised by how help crops up from strangers. His every experience makes him as richer as the reader becomes in reading about it. The thoughts about the meaning of life, or about love or religion or about virtue or vice, and about each aspect of life that Philip encounters are spelt out with a subtlety and mastery. These thoughts find easy resonance with the reader, and make Of Human Bondage an unforgettable affair. The honesty of this piece is stunning. This novel, written without any flourishes and intricate wordplay or mystery, is I think a celebration of the deep insight and understanding of the author.

I have read his other works. The Razor's Edge, The Moon and Six Pence, The Painted Veil as well as his short stories are a proof of Maugham's ability to tell simple tales with great mastery. These, on their own, make Maugham a great novelist. But it is after reading Of Human Bondage that I realized why most novelists and readers have considered this piece as one the greatest pieces in World Literature. Maugham's aim was perhaps of catharsis and he put his own emotions into the characters, and therefore, he's created a work that is timeless and unforgettable. A must read for everyone who can read.