The beautiful Mary Panton lost her beloved libertine husband a year ago. Fortunately, her husband died early due to a car accident and left some property for her. With some precious jewelry on hand, she was able to live a leisurely life. After burying her husband and cleaning up the family property, Mary came to Florence and rented a beautiful antique villa on a hill in the suburbs to rest her body and mind. Sir Edgar, Mary's admirer for many years and the "builder of the British Empire", has been prospering for many years and is about to be appointed Governor of Bengal. Before being appointed, he came to Florence to propose to her. But late one night, Mary's temporary infatuation led to a nightmarish act of violence. At the critical juncture, she had no choice but to turn to the notorious lothario Lawley Flint for help, and through him, she finally realized that denying love - and all the passion and adventure involved in it, was tantamount to denying life and life itself. Maugham's most mature short novel, the story is fascinating, the characters are vivid and vivid, and the insight into human nature is even more penetrating.
Reader comments
The conversation between Mary and Nina, in particular, reminded me of conversations I had with my friends. Maugham's insight into human nature is really profound, just like what the book says, "Men in love are always fools." This sentence really resonates. I think this book is not only about love, but also a reflection on life and human nature.
It is well written. When I opened the book and saw the protagonist Mary attending a party and meeting Lawley, I thought it was just a boring love story. The development in the subsequent chapters was simply unexpected. The descriptions of the characters are lifelike, the development line of events is concise and appropriate, there is no sloppiness, and the characters' personalities and identities are also very clear.
A very smooth article. I like Mary. She is beautiful, kind and compassionate. She may have done stupid things because of her kindness, but in my eyes she is a very charming woman. And Lawley has a lot of emotional intelligence, and I feel very comfortable watching him talk.
Two different kinds of love, two different attitudes. It is also good to choose someone with a similar personality. At least he loves you for yourself, not the perfect you in fantasy.
Life requires adventure, maybe it's simple lust, maybe it's a worldly perspective, as long as the current choice is arbitrary.
Maybe this is the best destination for everyone
Fei Lengcui's suicide made their love possible, but in this unreasonable world, who knows what is cause and what is effect?
Very interesting. The characters are very charming.
To break the facade of the idol, be able to accept the imperfect side.
The conversation between Mary and Nina, in particular, reminded me of conversations I had with my friends. Maugham's insight into human nature is really profound, just like what the book says, "Men in love are always fools." This sentence really resonates. I think this book is not only about love, but also a reflection on life and human nature.
It is well written. When I opened the book and saw the protagonist Mary attending a party and meeting Lawley, I thought it was just a boring love story. The development in the subsequent chapters was simply unexpected. The descriptions of the characters are lifelike, the development line of events is concise and appropriate, there is no sloppiness, and the characters' personalities and identities are also very clear.
A very smooth article. I like Mary. She is beautiful, kind and compassionate. She may have done stupid things because of her kindness, but in my eyes she is a very charming woman. And Lawley has a lot of emotional intelligence, and I feel very comfortable watching him talk.
Two different kinds of love, two different attitudes. It is also good to choose someone with a similar personality. At least he loves you for yourself, not the perfect you in fantasy.
Life requires adventure, maybe it's simple lust, maybe it's a worldly perspective, as long as the current choice is arbitrary.
Maybe this is the best destination for everyone
Fei Lengcui's suicide made their love possible, but in this unreasonable world, who knows what is cause and what is effect?
Very interesting. The characters are very charming.
To break the facade of the idol, be able to accept the imperfect side.
Somerset Maugham's book, love as always
A book worth reading