• A curlicue of hair on his clothes • Willie orbited around the table • The waters of sleep closed over me. Come on. It reads like he kept using a thesaurus. Not necessary.
I didn't just love this book, I adored it. I've read some Somerset Maugham since and the writing in this novel is in keeping with his writing. It also has Easter eggs on his writing so it's stories within stories revealed after opening another door..... A House of Doors... I gave it 5/5. I also read Demon, last year (which I predicted would win all the prizes, 2 out of three isn't too bad). I loved Birnam Wood too. 5/5 for those. This one is right up there with them IMHO.
I am curious: have you read anything by Maugham? I read many of his novels and short stories as a teenager and in my twenties and I really liked The House of Doors, whereas my daughter who has not read anything by Maugham didn’t enjoy it. I wonder how much that adds to the reading experience ? Btw the British in the colonies is a theme of many of his stories:)
i loved this book but i find it quite hard to explain why. the writing was gorgeous and i loved all the threads but i agree that it's quite understated in lots of parts.
a box ticker Booker book! I have this on reserve at the library but I’m quite far away in the queue. doesn’t seem like my wheelhouse anyway! I’m about halfway through The Bee Sting at the moment and completely consumed 🐝
I've just finished this book and I totally agree with your review. I thought it was perfectly good. I was interested in the world which I didn't know much about but I found the history lessons unnecessary and even the trial felt a bit superfluous because it didn't drive the central plot or characters forward. In general the characters didn't change and nothing was really resolved which meant it felt a little bit pointless. It was enjoyable but unremarkable.
Haven’t read that one yet. It’s not out in the US until October. I’ll decide if want to buy a copy from Blackwell’s once I get through what’s easily available here. So far, I’ve read The Spell of Good Things and Western Lane, neither made it even to 4 stars. Listening to In Ascension now.
Out of the three books I’ve read from the list so far nothing has hit four stars…and if you’re saying western lane and the spell of good things are also middle of the road…we may be in trouble!
@@rororeadsI’ve seen plenty of people give positive reviews toThe Spell of Good Things, so don’t give up hope on that one. Surprisingly, it just didn’t work for me.
Thank you for your honest and perceptive review. I also felt underwhelmed by the book and disappointed, especially since I really liked his first two novels. Here, I found it hard to identify with the characters and their conflicts. Although very detailed, the writing felt superficial. The style felt at times pretentious, and the introduction of Malay terms throughout (without explanation) did not help. The description of the British colonialists felt cartoonish and bizarre. Do a bit of practice shooting after tea, dear girl? On the verandah, of course. I might have appreciated the book more, if I knew Somerset Maugham's writing.
I dnfd this one at the point where Leslie starts to relay the past to Willie. I couldn't stand how overwritten it was. It was like every tiny comment or moment had to be epic. There's only so many times I can hear something being compared to the ocean or the sky in some way 😂 plus I felt no connection to the characters. I agree about the tick boxes. Even though I didnt like this I thought it would make the booker longlist. Birnham Wood should definitely of had this slot!
A great novel!🎉❤😊
• A curlicue of hair on his clothes
• Willie orbited around the table
• The waters of sleep closed over me.
Come on. It reads like he kept using a thesaurus. Not necessary.
I didn't just love this book, I adored it. I've read some Somerset Maugham since and the writing in this novel is in keeping with his writing. It also has Easter eggs on his writing so it's stories within stories revealed after opening another door..... A House of Doors... I gave it 5/5. I also read Demon, last year (which I predicted would win all the prizes, 2 out of three isn't too bad). I loved Birnam Wood too. 5/5 for those. This one is right up there with them IMHO.
I am curious: have you read anything by Maugham? I read many of his novels and short stories as a teenager and in my twenties and I really liked The House of Doors, whereas my daughter who has not read anything by Maugham didn’t enjoy it. I wonder how much that adds to the reading experience ? Btw the British in the colonies is a theme of many of his stories:)
Thank you! I haven’t read anything from Maugham so that’s good to know! :)
i loved this book but i find it quite hard to explain why. the writing was gorgeous and i loved all the threads but i agree that it's quite understated in lots of parts.
I loved it - everything about it - the writing, the characters, the imagery, the cover, the endpapers - yes, everything!
a box ticker Booker book!
I have this on reserve at the library but I’m quite far away in the queue. doesn’t seem like my wheelhouse anyway!
I’m about halfway through The Bee Sting at the moment and completely consumed 🐝
I don’t know why but I get the feeling the Bee sting is going to be the one! I listened to the first chapter and loved it.
wonderful review again!
I've just finished this book and I totally agree with your review. I thought it was perfectly good. I was interested in the world which I didn't know much about but I found the history lessons unnecessary and even the trial felt a bit superfluous because it didn't drive the central plot or characters forward. In general the characters didn't change and nothing was really resolved which meant it felt a little bit pointless. It was enjoyable but unremarkable.
The house of doors: 5 stars!
Haven’t read that one yet. It’s not out in the US until October. I’ll decide if want to buy a copy from Blackwell’s once I get through what’s easily available here. So far, I’ve read The Spell of Good Things and Western Lane, neither made it even to 4 stars. Listening to In Ascension now.
Out of the three books I’ve read from the list so far nothing has hit four stars…and if you’re saying western lane and the spell of good things are also middle of the road…we may be in trouble!
@@rororeadsI’ve seen plenty of people give positive reviews toThe Spell of Good Things, so don’t give up hope on that one. Surprisingly, it just didn’t work for me.
Thank you for your honest and perceptive review. I also felt underwhelmed by the book and disappointed, especially since I really liked his first two novels. Here, I found it hard to identify with the characters and their conflicts. Although very detailed, the writing felt superficial. The style felt at times pretentious, and the introduction of Malay terms throughout (without explanation) did not help. The description of the British colonialists felt cartoonish and bizarre. Do a bit of practice shooting after tea, dear girl? On the verandah, of course. I might have appreciated the book more, if I knew Somerset Maugham's writing.
his writing not a patch on Maugham's
Roro ripping through these
It’s that BKR SZN hype baby!! However, after your review Pearl is not happening any time soon.
@@rororeads it will be happening! I need to hear you say BKR SZN BBY 13 times….
@@KDbooks 😂
@@rororeads I loved Pearl FYI - thought it was absolutely brilliant.
'Promo SM' 💘
I dnfd this one at the point where Leslie starts to relay the past to Willie. I couldn't stand how overwritten it was. It was like every tiny comment or moment had to be epic. There's only so many times I can hear something being compared to the ocean or the sky in some way 😂 plus I felt no connection to the characters.
I agree about the tick boxes. Even though I didnt like this I thought it would make the booker longlist. Birnham Wood should definitely of had this slot!
Yes! Yes to this…that’s exactly how I felt. As I said in the review, it did work for me at times, but so many moments where it wasn’t needed.
Willie 😂
BKR SZN BBY
📖 🪱 💚