Customer Reviews

The Summing Up

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

By his account, W. Somerset Maugham was a first-rate writer of the second rank. In a career that saw him become a highly respected dramatist, short story writer, and novellist (Of Human Bondage and The Razor's Edge are two novels made into successful movies) Maugham learned a thing or two about writing. The Summing Up is a literary memoir of the first rank. While his plays, short stories and novels earned him worldwide fame, his essays stand up best, and this book shows his talents at their finest. My favourite passage is his essay on the anatomy of good writing, but others stand out as well. Anyone interested in a writer's life, or life in general, should enjoy this book.

This is much more a rambling collection of random thought that occassionally organizes around a subject such as theatre or philosophy and then moves on. Reading it is like sharing a conversation over a brandy with a congenial and intellegient old friend. For fans of Maugham this is an enjoyable read which provides insight into how much of his personal experience is reflected in his works such as Of Human Bondage and Moon and Sixpence. While not necessarily agreeing with him on every point that he makes ,I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and would deem him a person well worth knowing. Like all his works ,this is extraordinarily well written and lucid. If you are unfamiliar with his novels or short stories or are looking to try reading him for the first time I would recommend starting elsewhere. This requires some experience with his work to be fully appreciated.

I first read this book on a transcontinental flight and got hooked on Maugham rightaway.Since then I have devoured every word by the master and have scarcely found a dull paragraph____well, the only boring one being the novel "Then and Now"....not a bad batting average for such a prolific writer!In this book Maugham offers us a broad panorama of his artistic development without a trace of frippery or humbug(typical Maugham!) These pages are leavened with mordant observations on the art of writing,life,death,the paintings of El Greco,philosophy,love(unrequited),money and CONCUPISCENCE !The scope of this short book is sweeping____the distillation of a half a century of civilised thinking .Highly recommended & happy reading!

Somerset Maugham sums up his vision on mankind, the English, morals and art (theatre, the novel). It is a penetrating and very modern view. The best book I have read from him.
It shows that he had a very profound scientific and philosophical background.

His stance on determinism, chance and free will was based on his philosophical and scientific readings (Hume and Heisenberg's Principle of Indeterminacy).
The same can be said of his view on mankind, which was highly influenced by Darwin and Schopenhauer: 'The essence of man is his egoism that we all inherit from that remote energy which in the unplumbed past first set the ball rolling'; or 'So long as some are strong and some are weak, the weak will be driven to the wall'.

Having read a lot of philosophy, he was upset by the low standard of the philosophy of his days, which dodged for him fundamental problems, like evil (war).

The author has sometimes been characterized as cynical (e.g. for his best novel 'Of human bondage'). He shows his cynicism again in this book: on the English, 'They are not an amorous race. They are of course sufficiently sexual for the purpose of reproducing their species, but they cannot control the instinctive feeling that the sexual act is disgusting.'
Or his virulent atheism: 'God is not so reasonable. He promises rewards to those who believe in him and threatens with horrible punishment those who do not. For my part I cannot believe in a God who is angry with me because I do not believe in him'.

His analysis of the writer (not one but many men), the novel and theatre is highly modern. It could easily be applied on TV plays today.

This is a sincere, still topical and highly recommendable book.

This audio presentation of 'The Summing Up' was masterfully presented by Charlton Griffin. I have read several of Maugham's works and consequently found the content of this book very enlightening. I thoroughly enjoyed Griffin's calming voice, with a subtle touch of Maugham's native British accent. At times, I felt as though I was sitting in an English pub with Maugham himself, listening while he talked of his life, philosophy and writings. I would highly recommend this recorded piece of literature, especially to other W. S. Maugham enthusiasts like myself.

I do not mean to discourge pepole from reading this book if they are not Maugham's fans. I have read the book twice or three times. In the book he summarizes his life and he has something to say just about everything. I found his philosophical discussions intersting. He is also a master of literary criticism and you learn a lot about the art of fiction as well as many artists, writers and famous people of his time. This is not a book for people interested in his biography, but a philosophical book about how he lived his life and how you should live if you go by his opinions. I highly recommend it to Maugham's fans and people studying literature and arts.

I first read this book 12 years ago on a transcontinental flight and got hooked on Maugham rightaway.Since then I have devoured every printed word by the great man and haven't come across a dull paragraph____well, the only exception would be the novel "Then and Now" .This book is a veritable treat! It offers a broad panorama of his artistic evolution (without a trace of humbug___a typical Maugham trait) and is leavened with mordant observations on art,life,death,philosophy,free will,determinism,money,love and CONCUPISCENCE! ____the whole ball of wax !If this book turns you into a Maugham fan, as I hope it will, you might want to read the eminently readable biography of Maugham by Ted Morgan. Happy reading!

If you want to know anything about Somerset Maugham, skip all bios and read this. All things written about the man spring from "The Summing Up" and it is a wealth of information for not only the would-be writer, but for anyone in general. Not only are topics of writing covered, but philisophy and religion get a work out as well.

This looks like a small insignificant book on the surface, but delve into it and you'll quickly get sucked in. What is so amazing is how fresh this book reads. It has some ideas that seem totally new in many ways.

One "essay" in the book is about reviewers and how many of the young ones only want to trash an author, to show off and say "look how clever I am," giving no real honest critique of a work. Maugham, having been a reviewer himself, points out that if you do choose to review books for a living, you will be indundated with sub-standard literature and find yourself skimming the things you're asked to read, hence a proclivity toward throwing anything out without regard to the truth or how it might hurt the author. He also points out many flaws in the publishing industry, many of which have not changed.

The sections on religion and philisophy are the most interesting, simply because they seem so ahead of their time. In particular, Maugham's take on God is interesting: he states basically that if God is all powerful, then he must not be very nice, and if he's not all powerful, we have a lot to be worried about. This same premise was the basis for a book titled "Why Bad Things Happen to Good People."

Maugham covers a great deal of territory on philosophers, most notable Spinoza whom he admires. But he does point out that, while interesting, there is a sort of "All road lead to Rome" aspect to having read them all. That is, that the result is like a dog chasing its tail---you end up right back where you started, not knowing what to believe.

Summing up: A book that is excellent for writers, but also great for anyone. Not too long and a great introduction to Mr. Maugham

This book was this author's last: because of that, it makes a lot more sense to read it after you are familiar with a smattering of his other works. I love Maugham and have since I first read 'Of Human Bondage' in high school. This book is a wonderful end-of-life explanation of what he thought of his work. How many authors would acclaim themselves among the 'first rank of the second best' or slander avant-guarde theater in praise of production of plays that people wanted to see for storyline (outside of smug cleverness...)

This is a definate must-read for anyone who falls in love with this author BUT I'd not make this the first book you read by him in any way. I kind of feel as if without having read a ton of his other books, I would have not looked at this one with such reverence.....

Sheer pleasure. Maugham's razor-sharp precision and his tell-it-like-it-is style of writing have always impressed and entertained me. I often sought his opionions on human condition and his insight into our nature through reading his books. In The Summing Up, Maugham delivered his bservations on writing and writers in his eloquent and unpretentious style. I was totally entertained, as he had always made me feel.