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| Of Human Bondage |
Title: Of Human Bondage
Author: W. Somerset Maugham
Publication Date: 1915
Pages: 684
How I Found It: 100 Best Novels
Date Completed: 8/26/16
Summary: The novel follows Philip Carey throughout his life as he searches for satisfaction.
What I Thought: Ultimately, for me, this falls into the increasingly broad category of bland English novel. In many ways, I feel as this genre has been the one to suffer in my esteem because of the 100 Best Novels challenge. It's a type of novel I used to enjoy so much, and I now I am finding them so homogeneous and even a bit insufferable at times.
Of course, Of Human Bondage probably never would have completely fit the mold of the English novels I loved. The main character of Philip is hardly one which endears himself to readers. I found him prone to whining and fickle in his ambitions and feelings. Really, the book is chronicle of how Philip cannot control his own urges - physically or emotionally. While Clyde in An American Tragedy is a perfectly awful person, he really commits to it. His character feels consistent and on a consistent moral slide for the duration of the novel. Philip cannot seem to make up his mind as to what he wants from life and what he's willing to do to achieve it. He's a better person than Dreiser's Clyde, but not a better character.
The story isn't terrible or anything. The whole book just felt bland to me. As with many novels of this style and period, things happen without a lot of emotional explanation for them. The book is more of a progression of plot points rather than an exploration of motive. Each time Mildred left, I crossed my fingers and hoped it would be her last appearance. Even in the end, Philip settles in such an unsatisfying way. I don't mind the choice of his character or even the character development that led him to that place. I did, however, mind that even his grand moment of resignation felt dull.
Maybe I'll read this one again in fifteen years and be captivated in a way I was not this time around. Maybe I do not yet have the perspective or understanding to appreciate it. More likely, though, this is a book best appreciated and understood in another era. I can recognize it's virtues as literature and as cultural commentary of the time, but I found little to connect to myself.
Quote I Loved: "Insensibly he formed the most delightful habit in the world, the habit or reading: he did not know that thus he was providing himself with a refuge from all the distress of life; he did not know either that he was creating for himself an unreal world which would make the real world of every day a source of bitter disappointment."
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Will I Re-Read: Eh. Probably not.
If You Liked This, Try: An American Tragedy / The Adventures of Augie March
A Reduced Review: Reading about Philip Carey searching for satisfaction and meaning left me also searching for satisfaction and meaning.
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