The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
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Book Reviews of The Painted Veil
Book Review: Beautiful
Summary: 4 Stars
I saw the movie version of The Painted Veil a few months ago and I loved it. I thought that it was a tragically beautiful story and enjoyed learning that it was a novel. After all the book is almost always better than the movie. When I found out that the story was written by W. Somerset Maugham I was a bit wary. I had a bad experience with a work of Maugham's back in high school and I've avoided books by him since.
That said I am glad to have read this novel. I found it to be even more tragic and beautiful than the film. At the start of novel Kitty Fane is a very unsympathetic character. She marries Dr Walter Fane out of urgency to escape being put on the shelf, which was almost a certainty once her younger sister announced her engagement. Shorlty after the marriage the Fanes move to China where Walter works as a bacteriologist. Kitty finds Walter to be distant and she soon finds herself seeking affection in the arms of Charles Townsend, a married man who is part of their circle. When the affair is discovered Kitty has a choice to make: the scandal of being divorced by her husband or to travel with him to a cholera ridden area in a remote area.
Kitty chooses to go with her husband and fully expects to die as a result. What she finds instead is herself. Kitty was raised by a selfish and uncaring mother and as a result never really learned to care about others. Here Kitty learns that there is more to life than herself, parties and amusements. She begins to volunteer at the local convent and discovers just want it means to care for other human beings. During her time in Mei-tan-fu, Kitty experiences a lot of personal growth, a new way of acting and looking at the world that will serve her well when tragedy hits and the life that she had built for herself changes once again.
The Painted Veil is a short novel and the pages pass by quickly as the story is very engrossing. Though Kitty was unsympathetic at first she grows on the reader. As she grows and changes, the affection that the reader has for her also grows. As the novel ends, the reader is left with a sense of hope. Hope that Kitty will find happiness in her life and that the lessons that she learned in China will stay with her.
In Short: A story that is as beautiful as it is tragic. Kitty Fane is both a character to be loved and disliked. This is a slow, quiet story that contains a lot of power in its pages. This is a story worth reading and one that I will recommend to others.
As originally posted on my blog Ticket to Anywhere
Book Review: Read the Referenced Literature to get Maugham's Meaning
Summary: 4 Stars
To better understand Somerset Maugham's "The Painted Veil," it's helpful to know some of the referenced literature that inspired the author. In the preface of "The Painted Veil" Maugham makes note of an interesting Italian legend of adultery and murder that first inspired the novel. Also, the title of the novel is taken from a sonnet by P. B. Shelley that begins "Lift not the painted veil which those who live call Life", which chastises people who choose to live in fear and illusion rather than embrace hope and face the reality of their imperfect relationships. The primary relationship in "The Painted Veil" is that between Kitty and Walter Fane. Kitty, a superficial socialite groomed by her ambitious mother to make a successful match, in desperation marries shy Walter. She escapes society's scorn with him in Hong Kong, where Walter has a government post as a research microbiologist. Bored with Walter's worshipful version of love, Kitty falls for the personable and politically powerful Charlie Townsend, who is married. The balance of power shifts, however, when Walter discovers Kitty's infidelity and forces her to "lift the veil" and also face some hard truths. In an act of revenge, Walter accepts a post to the dangerous city of Mei-tan-fu, beseiged by a severe cholera epidemic. Kitty can do nothing else but accompany him to what she thinks will be her death. Yet in this city of death, Kitty and Walter are changed by the people they meet: Deputy Commisioner Waddignton and his mysterious, devoted Manchu Lady, and noble Mother Superior, who left a privieged life in France to devote her life to Chinese orphans. What will be Kitty and Walter's fate and the fate of their marriage? And if one survives living in the shadow of death, is it possible to easily resume former relationships? Walter's cryptic line "The dog it was that died" holds the answer. Read the English rhyme "An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog" to find out what Walter means.Book Review: It's like chick lit...from the 1900s
Summary: 4 Stars
Kitty is a spoiled, self-centered woman living in Hong Kong with her husband, Walter (whom she married in a panic only after finding her younger sister engaged before herself). Walter is a bacteriologist, and is as boring as he sounds; but desperately in love with Kitty. Desperately in love, that is until the day he discovers that she is having an affair. Kitty's life is soon turned upside down as she is forced to move with Walter to the heart of a cholera epidemic, with the almost certain risk of death. As if moving away from the city to a village of death isn't enough; Kitty finally understands that Walter is purposefully trying to kill her. Once she arrives in the village, however, Kitty finds that there is a lot more to life than parties and dresses and one-sided love affairs.
I really enjoyed this one. The book is very quotable, my favorite being: "She wished to despise him, because so long as she only hated him she knew that she was very near loving him...It is a great misfortune to have a heart." Or, at least quotable to me and my shredded heart (oh, it's way past broken). Anyway, this one spoke to me and I really liked to see Kitty's growth and coming to terms with her actions. Now on to the movie, where I bet Edward Norton won't make Walter so boring..
Book Review: Heartbreaking!
Summary: 4 Stars
The story begins with the very unlikable Kitty Fane. She is selfish, vain, and is bored with her husband. After an adulterous affair, Kitty travels with her husband to an area stricken by cholera.
Kitty begins to work in the nearby convent while the nuns nurse those stricken with the disease. During this time, Kitty attempts to repair her broken marriage. Just when she begins to make amends, tragedy strikes. Kitty is left alone to face her demons.
I enjoyed watching Kitty's character evolve throughout the story. I first noticed the change when she began embracing the orphans in her care instead of being repulsed by them. She begins to understand that, in the face of so much suffering, her problems are very small. Kitty begins to empathize with others and make better choices. In the end, Kitty is stronger than she realizes and her tragedy is really the beginning of a new life.
I was captivated from the first page to the last.
Book Review: Quick-paced story of a woman's transformation
Summary: 4 Stars
After her husband discovers her adulterous affair, Kitty is forced to accompany him to a cholera-infested city of mainland China. Surrounded by death, Kitty recognizes her own poor character and undergoes a personal transformation. As her husband works to eradicate the cholera epidemic from dawn to dusk every day, Kitty is left with plenty of time for self-reflection. Eventually, she learns the benefits of hard work and comes to terms with her marriage. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The story was quick-paced, and I connected with the strong female protagonist, especially after she gained insight into her prior shallowness. I can see why some consider this book to be a feminist work. I also enjoyed the complex relationship between Kitty and her husband. I only wish Maugham had used his exotic settings (Hong Kong and then mainland China) to more effect. Interestingly, this novel has been adapted for the screen three times (in 1934, 1957, and 2006). Read this one.