After the death of the great writer Driffield, his wife asked someone to write a biography of him. Ashenden, the narrator of the novel, was invited by the biographer to recall his interactions with the writer, and the story unfolds from there. Deep in Ashenden's memory we discover the writer's ex-wife, the charming Rosie. She is romantic by nature, always merciful, yet still kind, frank, elegant and lively. In this book, Maugham changed the prejudice against women in his previous works and recalled the life of a beautiful woman as an admirer, embellished with many anecdotes from the literary and artistic circles. The layout of the entire novel is well-proportioned, reality and memories are interspersed with each other, and the writing is clean, sharp and profound, creating the most vivid, vivid and radiant female image in all Maugham's novels.
Reader comments
I think this book is very interesting! Maugham really brought the character of Rosie to life. She is romantic by nature but kind and honest. This character makes her particularly charming in the book. Moreover, she has a lot of experience and has interacted with all kinds of people, which made me see a real and complex image of a woman. I particularly like this narrative method in which reality and memories are intertwined. It feels like chatting with the author, which is very cordial. Overall, this book is well worth reading!
I think this book is very interesting! Maugham really brought the character of Rosie to life. She is romantic by nature but kind and honest. This character makes her particularly charming in the book. Moreover, she has a lot of experience and has interacted with all kinds of people, which made me see a real and complex image of a woman. I particularly like this narrative method in which reality and memories are intertwined. It feels like chatting with the author, which is very cordial. Overall, this book is well worth reading!