Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham

Oh, poor Phillip.  Orphaned as a young child, he is sent to live with conservative Christian relations who raise him as their own, instilling in him their morally uptight religious views.  Born physically deformed with a clubfoot, Phillip spends a week as a teenager fervently praying for his foot to be healed.  When this doesn't happen, he begins to doubt an omnipotent God.  Eventually he desires to become an artist in Paris.  After spending two years there, he accepts the realization that though talented, he will never become more than a mediocre artist.  Moving back to England, he decides to follow in his father's footsteps and attend medical school. During med school, he meets Mildred, an ugly, self-absorbed waitress who Phillip falls passionately in love with.

This book is on my 100 books list.  I was intrigued by the back of the book, which promised things like "sexual obsession", which would at least guarantee an easier read.  W. Somerset Maugham is a skilled writer.  The book, though 700+ pages in length, read quite well.  Phillip does become obsessed with Mildred, although the only reason I can fathom as to why is because he couldn't have her. Mildred could care less about Phillip, although she has no qualms taking his money, lying to him, and letting him help raise another man's baby.  Eventually he grows repulsed by her, although all the love he felt for her never dissipates entirely. Despite his deformity, several women do fall in love with him, none of whom he loves back.

And I guess the morale of the story is: people always want what they can't have.  Phillip loves the only woman who doesn't want him.  Woman love Phillip who he can care less about, although does care about hurting their feelings, which is always nice to hear about men (even fictional men!)  Phillip never quite figures out his religious stance.  He falls somewhere into the agnostic group.

I also read this in Paris, which was awesome, since parts of the book took place in Paris.  I've read Maugham The Painted Veil which I really liked.  Books aren't very similar at all.

perfect spot for reading.

The weather this week has been record-setting warm.  Yesterday after work I took Anna Karenina to the lake and read.

It was an awesome way to spend the afternoon. 

The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

While in Paris, I visited the Musee de Cluny, which houses the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries.  I read this book years ago when it first came out (original publishing date is 2003, so right around there).  When I found out the tapestries were real and in Paris, I immediately wanted to see them.  They are incredibly awesome, worth the admission price to the museum.

Now for the book, Nicholas des Innocents in a Parisian artist known for his portraitures of women.  He is commissioned by a French noblemen to draw designs for tapestries. The tapestries are to be completed by a Brussels family of weavers.  Nicholas gets too close to the daughter of the noblemen, and then too close to the daughter of the weavers. It's a bawdy tale, but those tapestries do get woven. Each chapters is told from the point of view of someone else, a technique which works really well for the story.  

Many of the characters are really interesting, including the blind daughter of the weaver who manages to help her family weave.  She is also an expert gardener and the soul of the family.  The story happens around the same time many Gothic cathedrals, namely Notre Dame, are being erected, which adds a fascinating backstory.  In an age of zealous religiousness, many of the characters are forced by society to conform to be the ideal pious citizen while trying to maintain their individuality as non-believers.  It's an interesting dichotomy. 

 

A Crimson Warning by Tasha Alexander

Wow, where have I been?  A legitimate question, since I've been traipsing around Europe!  I've been reading, not writing, so now its catch up time.

This is the latest installment of Alexander's Lady Emily Hargreaves series (which originally began as the Lady Emily Ashton series, although now Lady Emily has remarried and is no longer Lady Ashton).  This was the least thrilling of the books.  The ending was anticlimactic, and several chapters of the book were rather boring.  Interspersed between some of the chapters are diary entries from Lady Emily's bestie, Ivy, who is stressing about all of London finding out her "secret."  I admit, I was intrigued by this, since Ivy is an incredibly sweet, loving, loyal, somewhat naive sidekick of Lady Emily.  When she finally reveals her secret to Lady Emily at the end, its surprising, but definitely not worth waiting the entire book for discover it.

Onto the story, after the murder of a legitimate, honest businessman, someone begins painting the steps of London's fashionable homes with red paint.  Shortly after, a scandalous secret is revealed leading to the destruction, and in one case a suicide, of those keeping the secret.  Lady Emily and her husband, Colin Hargreaves, embark on a mission to find out who is ousting the liars, cheat, adulterers.  Alexander is a talented writer, but she couldn't quite pull off the storyline.  A lot of the characters were stock characters and poorly developed.

I still love Lady Ashton though.  I hope Alexander hasn't hit her peak with this series and will produce an awesome book in the future.