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Publication
Ulverscroft Large Print (1974), 424 pages
Description
Set in England and Hong Kong in the 1920s, The Painted Veil is the story of the beautiful but love-starved Kitty Fane. When her husband discovers her adulterous affair, he forces her to accompany him to the heart of a cholera epidemic. Stripped of the British society of her youth and the small but effective society she fought so hard to attain in Hong Kong, she is compelled by her awakening conscience to reassess her life and learn how to love.The Painted Veil is a beautifully written affirmation of the human capacity to grow, to change, and to forgive.
User reviews
LibraryThing member bookworm12
Kitty is a young woman who got married for all the wrong reasons and doesn’t love her husband, Walter. She rushed to marry after realizing her younger sister might beat her down the aisle. Walter is a nice but boring man who takes his wife to Hong Kong in the 1920s where he works for his work as
That whirlwind of events happens in the very beginning of the book. The vapid Kitty reminds me so much of Daisy Buchanan. She shares her selfishness and disenchantment with life. But while Daisy never really changes, Kitty’s transformation throughout the novel provides a poignant picture. Spending time with the nuns leads her to re-evaluate her life, but it doesn’t change who she is as a person. The story is realistic in that sense. She becomes more aware of who she is and what wrong with the choices she has made, but that doesn’t make her a better person overnight.
While living in the mainland Kitty and Walter meet Waddington, a British officer who has been living there for quite a while. His objective point of view and direct personality give the audience a unique view of the estranged couple. Waddington talks to Kitty about both Walter and Charles, opening her eyes to the real nature of both men.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is the exploration of love. It refuses to follow logic, which is both its beauty and its tragedy. We so often fall in love with the person who is the worst for us and we can’t make ourselves love someone if we feel nothing for them. We see this over and over again through Kitty, Walter and even Waddington. Love defies common sense, which often has tragic results.
**SPOILERS**
At first I was disappointed when Kitty returns to Hong Kong and seems to fall into her old patterns, but by the end I thought that whole section was beautifully handled. We needed to see Kitty back in that environment to see whether or not Walter’s death and her work with the French nuns changed her permanently or not. Her conversation at the very end of the novel with her father makes it clear that she realized how spoiled she was and she not over wants to change, she also wants something better for her own child. She’s no longer content to live a sheltered existence in a big city being treated as someone’s property.
**SPOILERS OVER**
BOTTOM LINE: This story was just gorgeous. Kitty’s transformation and her slowly changing view of the world were beautifully conveyed. I know I’ll return to this one.
“I have an idea that the only thing which makes it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust is the beauty which now and then men create out of the chaos. The pictures they paint, the music they compose, the books they write, and the lives they lead. Of all these the richest in beauty is the beautiful life. That is the perfect work of art.”
“One cannot find peace in work or in pleasure, in the world or in a convent, but only in one's soul.”
“She could not admit but that he had remarkable qualities, sometimes she thought that there was even in him a strange and unattractive greatness; it was curious then that she could not love him, but loved still a man whose worthlessness was now so clear to her.”
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a bacteriologist. She quickly falls in love with a dashing married man named Charlie and they embark on an affair. When her husband discovers the relationship he gives Kitty two options: she can get divorced and married Charlie or she can travel with him into the midst of cholera outbreak in mainland China.That whirlwind of events happens in the very beginning of the book. The vapid Kitty reminds me so much of Daisy Buchanan. She shares her selfishness and disenchantment with life. But while Daisy never really changes, Kitty’s transformation throughout the novel provides a poignant picture. Spending time with the nuns leads her to re-evaluate her life, but it doesn’t change who she is as a person. The story is realistic in that sense. She becomes more aware of who she is and what wrong with the choices she has made, but that doesn’t make her a better person overnight.
While living in the mainland Kitty and Walter meet Waddington, a British officer who has been living there for quite a while. His objective point of view and direct personality give the audience a unique view of the estranged couple. Waddington talks to Kitty about both Walter and Charles, opening her eyes to the real nature of both men.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is the exploration of love. It refuses to follow logic, which is both its beauty and its tragedy. We so often fall in love with the person who is the worst for us and we can’t make ourselves love someone if we feel nothing for them. We see this over and over again through Kitty, Walter and even Waddington. Love defies common sense, which often has tragic results.
**SPOILERS**
At first I was disappointed when Kitty returns to Hong Kong and seems to fall into her old patterns, but by the end I thought that whole section was beautifully handled. We needed to see Kitty back in that environment to see whether or not Walter’s death and her work with the French nuns changed her permanently or not. Her conversation at the very end of the novel with her father makes it clear that she realized how spoiled she was and she not over wants to change, she also wants something better for her own child. She’s no longer content to live a sheltered existence in a big city being treated as someone’s property.
**SPOILERS OVER**
BOTTOM LINE: This story was just gorgeous. Kitty’s transformation and her slowly changing view of the world were beautifully conveyed. I know I’ll return to this one.
“I have an idea that the only thing which makes it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust is the beauty which now and then men create out of the chaos. The pictures they paint, the music they compose, the books they write, and the lives they lead. Of all these the richest in beauty is the beautiful life. That is the perfect work of art.”
“One cannot find peace in work or in pleasure, in the world or in a convent, but only in one's soul.”
“She could not admit but that he had remarkable qualities, sometimes she thought that there was even in him a strange and unattractive greatness; it was curious then that she could not love him, but loved still a man whose worthlessness was now so clear to her.”
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LibraryThing member BeyondEdenRock
I must confess that, though I loved the film adaptation of The Painted Veil, I have circled my copy of the book for a long, long time. Because for years Maugham lived in my box marked ‘A Great Author But Not For Me.’ Wrong, wrong, wrong!
In the end I picked it up because it was small enough to
Kitty was one of two sisters, daughters of a good family, living in London in the 1920s. She had been expected to make a good marriage, and yet after several seasons she was no nearer to her wedding, and her chances were lessening. She knew that, and when her younger sister became engaged to a most eligible man she found that she could not bear the idea of being the bridesmaid.
Though Kitty was undoubtedly spoiled and selfish, her situation was so clearly drawn that I found I understood. I wanted her to esacape, and I wanted her to learn.
Walter Fane, a young doctor home on leave from Hong Kong, saw that situation, and he proposed to Kitty. He was a quiet, serious, bookish man; not Kitty’s type at all; but she saw a chance of escape and she took it.
I understood completely why he had proposed, why she had accepted, but I feared for their future.
Hong Kong had a busy social scene but Kitty, as the wife of low-ranking government employee, had no place there. Her husband was attentive, but she didn’t love him, it wasnt;t enough. And so Kitty drifted into and affair with a handsome, charming government official. She was besotted, and willing to give up everything to run away with him, but he was ambitious and comfortable with his wealthy, forgiving wife.
I could see that, but of course Kitty couldn’t.
Inevitably Walter discovers the affair. He speaks honestly, about her, about him, and about their marriage.
“I had no illusions about you,” he said. “I knew you were silly and frivolous and empty-headed. But I loved you. I knew that your aims and ideals were vulgar and commonplace. But I loved you. It’s comic when I think how hard I tried to be amused by the things that amused you and how anxious I was to hide from you that I wasn’t ignorant and vulgar and scandal-mongering and stupid. I knew how frightened you were of intelligence and I did everything I could to make you think me as big a fool as the rest of the men you knew. I knew that you’d only married me for convenience. I loved you so much, I didn’t care. Most people, as far as I can see, when they’re in love with someone and the love isn’t returned feel that they have a grievance. they grow angry and bitter. I wasn’t like that. I never expected you to love me, I didn’t see any reason that you should, I never thought myself very lovable. I was thankful to be allowed to love you and I was enraptured when now and then I thought you were pleased with me or when I noticed in your eyes a gleam of good-humoured affection. I tried not to bore you with my love; I knew I couldn’t afford to do that and I was always on the lookout for the first sign that you were impatient with my affection. What most husbands expect as a right I was prepared to take as a favour.”
And he offers his wife an ultimatum: she can have her lover take immediate steps to divorce his wife and marry her, or she can travel with him to the Chinese interior where he has offered his services to treat the victims of a cholera epidemic.
Kitty tells Walter that she never loved him, that her lover will marry her, but she discovers that he won’t. And so she has no choice but to travel with her husband to a ravaged, isolated community.
It is there that Kitty comes of age, finds a purpose in life, and realises the true worth of her husband. But Walter cannot forget what his wife has done, or what he had done: marrying her when he knew that he could not give her the life she wanted, be the husband she wanted, and punishing her with that terrible ultimatum.
The Painted Veil is a clear-sighted, understanding study of a difficult marriage. Neither Kitty nor Walter is entirely sympathetic, but I found it easy to understand that their natures, their emotions, and their circumstances had made them what they were. I cared, I wanted the best for them, though I had no idea what that might be.
Maugham offered no easy answers. But he did offer a wonderful story told in simple, clear, elegant prose. He did paint vivid pictures of the world Kitty and Walter lived in, a world that he knew well. And, best of all, he offered moments of such clarity, such understanding that I had to catch my breath.
I have moved Maugham to a different box, marked ‘A Great Author And I Must Read More of His Books,’ now.
In the end I picked it up because it was small enough to
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fit in my handbag to read at lunchtime and short enough that it wouldn’t take forever to read. And I fell in love. With lovely, elegant prose; with the clear understanding of the human condition; and with the characters and their stories.Kitty was one of two sisters, daughters of a good family, living in London in the 1920s. She had been expected to make a good marriage, and yet after several seasons she was no nearer to her wedding, and her chances were lessening. She knew that, and when her younger sister became engaged to a most eligible man she found that she could not bear the idea of being the bridesmaid.
Though Kitty was undoubtedly spoiled and selfish, her situation was so clearly drawn that I found I understood. I wanted her to esacape, and I wanted her to learn.
Walter Fane, a young doctor home on leave from Hong Kong, saw that situation, and he proposed to Kitty. He was a quiet, serious, bookish man; not Kitty’s type at all; but she saw a chance of escape and she took it.
I understood completely why he had proposed, why she had accepted, but I feared for their future.
Hong Kong had a busy social scene but Kitty, as the wife of low-ranking government employee, had no place there. Her husband was attentive, but she didn’t love him, it wasnt;t enough. And so Kitty drifted into and affair with a handsome, charming government official. She was besotted, and willing to give up everything to run away with him, but he was ambitious and comfortable with his wealthy, forgiving wife.
I could see that, but of course Kitty couldn’t.
Inevitably Walter discovers the affair. He speaks honestly, about her, about him, and about their marriage.
“I had no illusions about you,” he said. “I knew you were silly and frivolous and empty-headed. But I loved you. I knew that your aims and ideals were vulgar and commonplace. But I loved you. It’s comic when I think how hard I tried to be amused by the things that amused you and how anxious I was to hide from you that I wasn’t ignorant and vulgar and scandal-mongering and stupid. I knew how frightened you were of intelligence and I did everything I could to make you think me as big a fool as the rest of the men you knew. I knew that you’d only married me for convenience. I loved you so much, I didn’t care. Most people, as far as I can see, when they’re in love with someone and the love isn’t returned feel that they have a grievance. they grow angry and bitter. I wasn’t like that. I never expected you to love me, I didn’t see any reason that you should, I never thought myself very lovable. I was thankful to be allowed to love you and I was enraptured when now and then I thought you were pleased with me or when I noticed in your eyes a gleam of good-humoured affection. I tried not to bore you with my love; I knew I couldn’t afford to do that and I was always on the lookout for the first sign that you were impatient with my affection. What most husbands expect as a right I was prepared to take as a favour.”
And he offers his wife an ultimatum: she can have her lover take immediate steps to divorce his wife and marry her, or she can travel with him to the Chinese interior where he has offered his services to treat the victims of a cholera epidemic.
Kitty tells Walter that she never loved him, that her lover will marry her, but she discovers that he won’t. And so she has no choice but to travel with her husband to a ravaged, isolated community.
It is there that Kitty comes of age, finds a purpose in life, and realises the true worth of her husband. But Walter cannot forget what his wife has done, or what he had done: marrying her when he knew that he could not give her the life she wanted, be the husband she wanted, and punishing her with that terrible ultimatum.
The Painted Veil is a clear-sighted, understanding study of a difficult marriage. Neither Kitty nor Walter is entirely sympathetic, but I found it easy to understand that their natures, their emotions, and their circumstances had made them what they were. I cared, I wanted the best for them, though I had no idea what that might be.
Maugham offered no easy answers. But he did offer a wonderful story told in simple, clear, elegant prose. He did paint vivid pictures of the world Kitty and Walter lived in, a world that he knew well. And, best of all, he offered moments of such clarity, such understanding that I had to catch my breath.
I have moved Maugham to a different box, marked ‘A Great Author And I Must Read More of His Books,’ now.
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LibraryThing member ctpress
We follow the downfall of the flighty and frivolous Kitty as she marries a dull bacteriologist whom she doesn’t love - just to get away from home. The couple move to the Crown Colony Hong Kong, where Kitty very soon falls in love with Charlie Townsend, a british government official.
She misread
Here she’s indeed lost. Until she befriends some nuns in a monestary and begin to have a new outlook on her life and her former ways.
In a way it reminded me of [Remains of the Day] that is also about a very lonely, trapped person - not that the plot is the same at all - but in the way the story is told - by a single character - and as I followed her thoughts, her observations, her arguments I went from disliking her a lot, to disbelief in her folly, to sympathy and hope for her renewal, to liking her again and rooting for her.
Kitty is indeed a flawed character - but a real character who radically alters her outlook on life - and we come to sympathise with her in her “coming-of-age” journey to self-understanding, to spiritual awakening, to her final attemps of carving out a new life for herself - it’s a suspenseful, chilling and profound novel.
I saw the movie-adaptation several years ago but as I remember it it was much more romantic and sentimental than Somerset Maughams novel. Hmm..have to see it again, I guess :)
She misread
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her situation totally - Townsend is not willing to divorce his wife - and Kitty have no other choice than to follow her husband (whom she hates) as he travels to a remote village to help with a colera epidemic. A deathly mission.Here she’s indeed lost. Until she befriends some nuns in a monestary and begin to have a new outlook on her life and her former ways.
In a way it reminded me of [Remains of the Day] that is also about a very lonely, trapped person - not that the plot is the same at all - but in the way the story is told - by a single character - and as I followed her thoughts, her observations, her arguments I went from disliking her a lot, to disbelief in her folly, to sympathy and hope for her renewal, to liking her again and rooting for her.
Kitty is indeed a flawed character - but a real character who radically alters her outlook on life - and we come to sympathise with her in her “coming-of-age” journey to self-understanding, to spiritual awakening, to her final attemps of carving out a new life for herself - it’s a suspenseful, chilling and profound novel.
I saw the movie-adaptation several years ago but as I remember it it was much more romantic and sentimental than Somerset Maughams novel. Hmm..have to see it again, I guess :)
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LibraryThing member mrstreme
The Painted Veil is a beautifully written story about a girl who completes a great journey of love and learning. Kitty married Dr. Walter Fane out of pressure from her mother - even though she was not even fond of him. Together, they move to Hong Kong where Walter works as a bacteriologist. There,
However, instead of her death, Kitty finds her own life. She finds purpose in helping at the local convent and teaching young Chinese girls how to sew and embroider. Despite this joy, her marriage is cold and heartless, not even to be revived by an impending pregnancy. Kitty is left in the world without a person who cares for her. From this, she grows stronger and stronger - and learns that true love first comes from within.
I loved Kitty Fain's character. She is completely fallable. She starts on a journey of self-discovery, far from home, and learns that she can find peace in her life if she stops relying on others to love her. "It's better to love than to be loved," reminds the Mother Superior at the convent where Kitty volunteers. It's a lesson that Kitty learns the hard way - but perhaps it was the only way she could fully learn.
This is short read and highly recommended. I saw the movie first, which I am glad to have done, because I saw the actors portray the words in my head. I hope to read Maugham again in the future.
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Kitty begins an affair with Charles Townsend, a British dignitary, and eventually is caught by Walter. Walter demands a choice: go with him to the Chinese countryside where there is an outbreak of cholera, or suffer the humiliation of a divorce. Kitty seeks advice and encouragement from her lover, and Charles refuses to leave his wife and jeopardize his position for Kitty. Betrayed, Kitty agrees to join her husband - sure that she is flinging to her death in the disease-infected Chinese country.However, instead of her death, Kitty finds her own life. She finds purpose in helping at the local convent and teaching young Chinese girls how to sew and embroider. Despite this joy, her marriage is cold and heartless, not even to be revived by an impending pregnancy. Kitty is left in the world without a person who cares for her. From this, she grows stronger and stronger - and learns that true love first comes from within.
I loved Kitty Fain's character. She is completely fallable. She starts on a journey of self-discovery, far from home, and learns that she can find peace in her life if she stops relying on others to love her. "It's better to love than to be loved," reminds the Mother Superior at the convent where Kitty volunteers. It's a lesson that Kitty learns the hard way - but perhaps it was the only way she could fully learn.
This is short read and highly recommended. I saw the movie first, which I am glad to have done, because I saw the actors portray the words in my head. I hope to read Maugham again in the future.
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LibraryThing member mickmckeown
A breathtaking story from beginning to end. The author, W. Somerset Maugham is a wonderful storyteller and does not disappoint the reader once during the novel. This is not a love story but a tale of one woman's journey on the road to redemption. The protagonist, Kitty Fane reminds me of a British
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version of Scarlett O'Hara. Kitty's journey is not a light hearted one. The reader's heart is constantly in a state of flux as the indecisive Kitty always leans towards the wrong choice. This is a timeless work that I believe will be in my top ten of beloved novels for the rest of my life. I highly suggest picking up a copy and enjoying the vivid world left behind by Maugham. Show Less
LibraryThing member FicusFan
An older book made prominent again due to the film of the same name. I read it for a RL book group.
It is very hard for me to give an objective review of the book, because I have seen the movie first. I loved the movie, it was soothing for both the eye and the ear. As I was reading I kept seeing the
I found the writing to flow, except for some horrid problems with sentence structure that seemed to come and go. The book delved more into the depths of the psychology of the characters. The film only hints at it, but has more story depth. There are scenes and parts of the story that don't exist in the book.
It was a short quick read. The characters didn't grab me from the book, but interested me from the movie. They seem nastier in the book.
The locations, whether in London, Hong Kong, or mainland China are very minor to the book. The story revolves around the characters, their relationships, their expectations, and social responsibilities. Even the cholera epidemic is just a backdrop.
Kitty marries Walter because she has not been able to make a good marriage, and her expiration date is approaching. He is in her set, so she expects that he knows the rules and how to behave.
Walter has the misfortune to love her, even though he sees her for the desperate, loveless, spoiled, shallow light weight she is. Walter doesn't play the game the way it is expected of him. He builds an illusion of her, and is devastated when she acts true to form, and not according to his plan.
Kitty is unfaithful with Charlie, a prominent official in Hong Kong, who is a known playboy, even though he has a well-bred wife. Eventually Walter finds out and they are all on a collision course.
Kitty and Walter are locked together, and both try to get the best of the other, while keeping up appearances, so as not to wreck their future, and current social standing.
Walter's plan is to take her into a cholera infested area on mainland China, so the she will catch the disease and die, freeing him without a messy, public scandal.
Kitty has no choice but to comply with his plans, unless she wishes to become a homeless, penniless outcast with no place and no future. In her time, and her place in society, she would have been an outcast if he divorced her.
Fate intervenes and Kitty is the survivor, but not until she has undergone a rather cliched redemption. She sees herself clearly, and how shallow and mean she was.
Of course Walter is punished for his evil intent (Kitty's death). Even his heroic work in the epidemic can't save him. Its the logic of the moral story that can't be denied.
Charlie continues his way of life, made possible because he knows the rules and how to play the game. He doesn't expect real feeling, only his own pleasure with the least amount of bother. His wife supports him in this because there is no appealing alternative.
The unborn child, of uncertain sex and parentage, carries the hope of future, since neither the parents nor grandparents are able to change.
It is very hard for me to give an objective review of the book, because I have seen the movie first. I loved the movie, it was soothing for both the eye and the ear. As I was reading I kept seeing the
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actors as the characters, I couldn't experience the book except through the prism of the film.I found the writing to flow, except for some horrid problems with sentence structure that seemed to come and go. The book delved more into the depths of the psychology of the characters. The film only hints at it, but has more story depth. There are scenes and parts of the story that don't exist in the book.
It was a short quick read. The characters didn't grab me from the book, but interested me from the movie. They seem nastier in the book.
The locations, whether in London, Hong Kong, or mainland China are very minor to the book. The story revolves around the characters, their relationships, their expectations, and social responsibilities. Even the cholera epidemic is just a backdrop.
Kitty marries Walter because she has not been able to make a good marriage, and her expiration date is approaching. He is in her set, so she expects that he knows the rules and how to behave.
Walter has the misfortune to love her, even though he sees her for the desperate, loveless, spoiled, shallow light weight she is. Walter doesn't play the game the way it is expected of him. He builds an illusion of her, and is devastated when she acts true to form, and not according to his plan.
Kitty is unfaithful with Charlie, a prominent official in Hong Kong, who is a known playboy, even though he has a well-bred wife. Eventually Walter finds out and they are all on a collision course.
Kitty and Walter are locked together, and both try to get the best of the other, while keeping up appearances, so as not to wreck their future, and current social standing.
Walter's plan is to take her into a cholera infested area on mainland China, so the she will catch the disease and die, freeing him without a messy, public scandal.
Kitty has no choice but to comply with his plans, unless she wishes to become a homeless, penniless outcast with no place and no future. In her time, and her place in society, she would have been an outcast if he divorced her.
Fate intervenes and Kitty is the survivor, but not until she has undergone a rather cliched redemption. She sees herself clearly, and how shallow and mean she was.
Of course Walter is punished for his evil intent (Kitty's death). Even his heroic work in the epidemic can't save him. Its the logic of the moral story that can't be denied.
Charlie continues his way of life, made possible because he knows the rules and how to play the game. He doesn't expect real feeling, only his own pleasure with the least amount of bother. His wife supports him in this because there is no appealing alternative.
The unborn child, of uncertain sex and parentage, carries the hope of future, since neither the parents nor grandparents are able to change.
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LibraryThing member EBT1002
Regarding the Mother Superior: "Her character was like a country which on first acquaintance seems grand, but inhospitable; but in which presently you discover smiling little villages among fruit trees in the folds of the majestic mountains, and pleasant ambling rivers that flow kindly through lush
And, regarding the lives of the nuns (these words spoken by Waddington, who has befriended Kitty in the cholera-infested town of Mei-tan-fu): "I wonder if it matters that what they have aimed at is illusion. Their lives are in themselves beautiful. I have an idea that the only thing which makes it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust is the beauty which now and then men create out of chaos. The pictures they paint, the music they compose, the books they write, and the lives they lead. Of all these the richest in beauty is the beautiful life. That is the perfect work of art."
This is a deceptively simple tale. Kitty, a beautiful and shallow English woman, impulsively marries bacteriologist Walter and cuckolds him only a couple of years into their dismally boring marriage. He discovers her infidelity and punishes her by forcing her to accompany him to a town caught in the deadly grip of a cholera epidemic. There, he works tirelessly to help the suffering populace while Kitty watches from the sidelines, gradually learning that there are multiple viewpoints on any man's character, most notably those of her husband and lover. Disguised as a tragic romance, this novel is an existential contemplation of love, fidelity, duty, and the search for meaning in life.
Why 4.5 stars? I cringed at the racism of Maugham's descriptions of the Chinese people and tried to remind myself that this novel was written in the 1920s and that Maugham was representing accurately how Kitty and her peers would feel about the Chinese people among whom they lived. Still, it took some effort to overlook the degrading choice of words and I can't give 5 stars to any novel, regardless of when written, that requires me to dig that deeply to suspend my judgment.
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meadows." And, regarding the lives of the nuns (these words spoken by Waddington, who has befriended Kitty in the cholera-infested town of Mei-tan-fu): "I wonder if it matters that what they have aimed at is illusion. Their lives are in themselves beautiful. I have an idea that the only thing which makes it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust is the beauty which now and then men create out of chaos. The pictures they paint, the music they compose, the books they write, and the lives they lead. Of all these the richest in beauty is the beautiful life. That is the perfect work of art."
This is a deceptively simple tale. Kitty, a beautiful and shallow English woman, impulsively marries bacteriologist Walter and cuckolds him only a couple of years into their dismally boring marriage. He discovers her infidelity and punishes her by forcing her to accompany him to a town caught in the deadly grip of a cholera epidemic. There, he works tirelessly to help the suffering populace while Kitty watches from the sidelines, gradually learning that there are multiple viewpoints on any man's character, most notably those of her husband and lover. Disguised as a tragic romance, this novel is an existential contemplation of love, fidelity, duty, and the search for meaning in life.
Why 4.5 stars? I cringed at the racism of Maugham's descriptions of the Chinese people and tried to remind myself that this novel was written in the 1920s and that Maugham was representing accurately how Kitty and her peers would feel about the Chinese people among whom they lived. Still, it took some effort to overlook the degrading choice of words and I can't give 5 stars to any novel, regardless of when written, that requires me to dig that deeply to suspend my judgment.
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LibraryThing member Matke
Kitty Fane, a lovely but shallow and slightly vulguar young Englishwoman, marries a doctor who adores her. They wisk off to China, where the marriage turns unsatisfactory; Kitty finds herself in a shabby but physically compelling affair with an equally shallow man, while her husband pursues his
When Walter Fane discovers the affair, he cruelly forces his wife to accompany him to a town in the midst of a cholera epidemic. The bulk of the story follows Kitty's emotional and spiritual growth as she copes with the consequences of her actions.
Maugham employs an amazing insight into the mind and heart of a young woman. This is a sophisticated story, beautifully told. Highly recommended.
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medical research.When Walter Fane discovers the affair, he cruelly forces his wife to accompany him to a town in the midst of a cholera epidemic. The bulk of the story follows Kitty's emotional and spiritual growth as she copes with the consequences of her actions.
Maugham employs an amazing insight into the mind and heart of a young woman. This is a sophisticated story, beautifully told. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member mumoftheanimals
At times brilliant, other times slow, often dated, the Painted Vale, is well worth reading.This is a tale set at the height of the British Empire. The beautiful heroine is having an affair with a charming assistant colonial secretary of Hong Kong. Her husband, a bacteriologist, discovers it and as
To me, the real delight of the book is as a period piece told by a born story-teller. There is a contrast between the strangeness of the places and the vintage Englishness of the personalites. The characters travel in sampans (a Chinese river boat with a roof of mats) and are carried in chairs by 'coolies'. Lunch is tiffin, The cleverest speak fluent Chinese. On the other hand, men talk of each other as 'thundering good chaps', pour whisky and sodas, play tennis and polo and wear black-tie for dinner even when dining at home.
An authentic but less admirable aspect to the book which, somehow makes it more interesting, is the unashamed racism. Some Chinese orphans were trying to give Kitty, the heroine, a hug. 'She shuddered a little. In their uniform dress, sallow skinned, stunted with their flat noses, they looked scarcely human. They were repulsive.' Maughan intends no irony here.
He is trying to make a point about 'white man's burden' - that in spite of the, to his mind, obvious inferiority of other races, the English are put on earth to rule them kindly and responsibly. It is not often I get an insight to an imperialist's mind set that is a mainstream expression of 'right-thinking' people of the time. Nowadays, they tend to be, at best joke characters. So Maughan's view fascinates me to read while he does not draw me in.
Equally interesting is the portrayal of family values in the 1920s, in the colonies - and back in Blighty. Marriage was the only way for a man to acceptably sleep with a woman. Divorce was a crime and could break a promising career. Younger generation may struggle with understanding the impact of adultery and divorce without explanatory notes.
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penance makes her accompany him to the heart of a cholera epidemic in China. It transforms her in lots of ways.To me, the real delight of the book is as a period piece told by a born story-teller. There is a contrast between the strangeness of the places and the vintage Englishness of the personalites. The characters travel in sampans (a Chinese river boat with a roof of mats) and are carried in chairs by 'coolies'. Lunch is tiffin, The cleverest speak fluent Chinese. On the other hand, men talk of each other as 'thundering good chaps', pour whisky and sodas, play tennis and polo and wear black-tie for dinner even when dining at home.
An authentic but less admirable aspect to the book which, somehow makes it more interesting, is the unashamed racism. Some Chinese orphans were trying to give Kitty, the heroine, a hug. 'She shuddered a little. In their uniform dress, sallow skinned, stunted with their flat noses, they looked scarcely human. They were repulsive.' Maughan intends no irony here.
He is trying to make a point about 'white man's burden' - that in spite of the, to his mind, obvious inferiority of other races, the English are put on earth to rule them kindly and responsibly. It is not often I get an insight to an imperialist's mind set that is a mainstream expression of 'right-thinking' people of the time. Nowadays, they tend to be, at best joke characters. So Maughan's view fascinates me to read while he does not draw me in.
Equally interesting is the portrayal of family values in the 1920s, in the colonies - and back in Blighty. Marriage was the only way for a man to acceptably sleep with a woman. Divorce was a crime and could break a promising career. Younger generation may struggle with understanding the impact of adultery and divorce without explanatory notes.
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LibraryThing member writestuff
Kitty Garstin, a spoiled young debutante living in 1920′s England, makes the choice to marry Walter Fane so that she is not left without a husband. Walter is smitten with Kitty, in fact, loves her fiercely. But Walter’s work as a bacteriologist and his quiet demeanor leave Kitty indifferent.
British author W. Somerset Maugham published this novel in 1925, but it was first serialized in Cosmopolitan beginning in November 1924. The novel was adapted for the screen in 1937, 1954 and 2006.
Maugham attempted to demonstrate personal growth in the character of Kitty – from a frivolous and shallow young woman to someone with an awakened conscience and a more open heart. I’m not quite sure that was accomplished. Kitty is not a terribly likeable character and I turned the final page wondering how much she had truly changed. Although life in Mei-tan-fu forces her to grow up, she remained a character who was rather self-centered.
I read this book for a book club, and the group was split as to whether or not Kitty ends up being a changed person. You will have to read the book yourself to decide!
Maugham captures the flavor of Hong Kong in the mid-1920s. As with many classic works, the women in the book are not presented in a very positive way. Kitty is flighty and looks to men to solve all her problems and Doris Townsend seems to be just fine with her husband cavorting with younger women as long as he never leaves her. The only female character in the book who I felt portrayed inner strength, was the Mother Superior at the convent.
The Painted Veil gives readers a look at the prejudices of the time – Kitty sees the Chinese children as “hardly human” and is shocked when she learns that one of the gentleman in the settlement lives with a Manchu woman.
Somerset Maugham achieved great popular success, ultimately penning numerous plays and novels, along with several short stories. He is perhaps best known for his novel Of Human Bondage (first published in 1915).
Despite my criticisms of the characters in The Painted Veil, I did appreciate this novel as a piece of classic literature. It is a short work (less than 250 pages) which I read in just a few days. Readers who enjoy classic books will want to give this one a try.
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The couple move to Hong Kong where within weeks, Kitty meets the much older and charming Charlie Townsend. The fact that both Kitty and Charlie are married, does not dampen their attraction to each other…and very quickly they begin a passionate affair. When Walter discovers the affair, he confronts Kitty and threatens to divorce her (something which would leave Kitty disgraced) unless she agrees to travel with him to the cholera-ridden town of Mei-tan-fu.British author W. Somerset Maugham published this novel in 1925, but it was first serialized in Cosmopolitan beginning in November 1924. The novel was adapted for the screen in 1937, 1954 and 2006.
Maugham attempted to demonstrate personal growth in the character of Kitty – from a frivolous and shallow young woman to someone with an awakened conscience and a more open heart. I’m not quite sure that was accomplished. Kitty is not a terribly likeable character and I turned the final page wondering how much she had truly changed. Although life in Mei-tan-fu forces her to grow up, she remained a character who was rather self-centered.
I read this book for a book club, and the group was split as to whether or not Kitty ends up being a changed person. You will have to read the book yourself to decide!
Maugham captures the flavor of Hong Kong in the mid-1920s. As with many classic works, the women in the book are not presented in a very positive way. Kitty is flighty and looks to men to solve all her problems and Doris Townsend seems to be just fine with her husband cavorting with younger women as long as he never leaves her. The only female character in the book who I felt portrayed inner strength, was the Mother Superior at the convent.
The Painted Veil gives readers a look at the prejudices of the time – Kitty sees the Chinese children as “hardly human” and is shocked when she learns that one of the gentleman in the settlement lives with a Manchu woman.
Somerset Maugham achieved great popular success, ultimately penning numerous plays and novels, along with several short stories. He is perhaps best known for his novel Of Human Bondage (first published in 1915).
Despite my criticisms of the characters in The Painted Veil, I did appreciate this novel as a piece of classic literature. It is a short work (less than 250 pages) which I read in just a few days. Readers who enjoy classic books will want to give this one a try.
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LibraryThing member Carmenere
What a fantastic story! Maugham's writing is fabulous, his prose, quote worthy and his timing, impeccable. How strange that the reader is plunged into a puzzling turmoil from the start which ultimately defines the entire book. Yet, in today's world of books being 900 + pages long or need to be told
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in trilogies, it is a welcome surprise. It is a story of duty. Duty to love others who do not love you and the duty to care for others who love you but you are unable to love in return. Just an amazing and memorable book. Show Less
LibraryThing member cbl_tn
Having been spoiled by her mother because of her beauty, Kitty is in no hurry to marry one of her many suitors. She makes the mistake of waiting too long to accept one of them. Faced with the prospect of her younger sister's marriage, Kitty reluctantly accepts the proposal of Dr. Walter Fane, a
Maugham writes from Kitty's perspective. Although Kitty is vain and shallow, her unconscious naivety makes her sympathetic, as does her growing self-awareness and gradual transformation in the isolation of the cholera epidemic. With her mother's encouragement, Kitty cultivated her physical appearance while neglecting her character and intellect. Crisis forced her to take stock of her weaknesses and reevaluate her priorities. The novel doesn't feel dated since it is character-driven. Readers who enjoy character-driven fiction, either historical or contemporary, should give this a try.
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quiet fortyish man she doesn't love. After their marriage, Kitty accompanies Walter to Hong Kong, where he works as a bacteriologist. Kitty soon begins an affair with Charles Townsend, a colonial official. When Walter discovers the affair, he offers Kitty a choice: either go with him to mainland China, where he will manage a cholera outbreak, or he will file for divorce, ruining both Kitty and Charles's reputations. Kitty resigns herself to accompany her husband, where she expects to die from cholera.Maugham writes from Kitty's perspective. Although Kitty is vain and shallow, her unconscious naivety makes her sympathetic, as does her growing self-awareness and gradual transformation in the isolation of the cholera epidemic. With her mother's encouragement, Kitty cultivated her physical appearance while neglecting her character and intellect. Crisis forced her to take stock of her weaknesses and reevaluate her priorities. The novel doesn't feel dated since it is character-driven. Readers who enjoy character-driven fiction, either historical or contemporary, should give this a try.
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LibraryThing member CBJames
This is the meanest book I've read in a long time.
The Painted Veil opens with a husband arriving home early to find his wife, Kitty, the main character, in bed with his boss. He does not confront the two lovers, but he later forces Kitty to either leave Hong Kong with him for the remote, Cholera
The section in Mei-tan-fu reminded me of Thomas Mann's Death in Venice. The whole novel has a static atmosphere. Everyone seems to be removed from time and the world around them. In the early chapters, set among the British nationals who live and work in 1920's Hong Kong, there's a constant feeling that the season is long over and everyone should be going back home. This feeling is much stronger in Mei-tan-fu. That Mei-tan-fu is suffering a Cholera outbreak adds an additional echo to Death in Venice. I imagine Mr. Maugham must have at lease heard of Death in Venice if not read it. The two novels share a tonal atmosphere, though their stories are quite different.
I had many problems with The Painted Veil. First, some of the dialogue is just not to be believed. I can accept that the characters are the way they are and treat each other the way they do, but, oh, do they say "oh" a lot. There are several scenes that would be difficult to read out loud without laughing and a few points when characters openly preach. Waddington, the white man with a Manchu wife who lives in Mei-tan-fu, gives the main character a little lecture on Tao and the Mother Superior who runs the orphanage in Mei-tan-fu gives Kitty several homilies about duty and faith.
The nuns Kitty works with in Mei-tan-fu are presented as truly devote with no sense of irony on the narrator's part what-so-ever. I've the feeling that Mr. Maugham was a devout Catholic because there is no reason for Kitty or for the reader to ever doubt the sincere intentions of the nuns, nor of the rightness of their actions. Of the seven original nuns who went to Mei-tan-fu from France, only three survive by the time Kitty arrives. One of these is the mother superior who left a very wealthy family back in France, one with several chateaux.
Lastly, Kitty experiences the most profound character growth I've ever witnessed in a novel. She begins as an empty headed party girl who played around with men's hearts until she was too old to make a good marriage. She marries Walter, whom she knows she will never love, because her younger sister is about to marry a Baron. She cheats on Walter frivolously the first chance she gets and falls in love with a man as emotionally bankrupt as she is. But once she is in Mei-tan-fu where she is the only white woman who is not a nun, she has a series of epiphanies. She sees herself and Walter for what they both are, understands how meaningless her own life has become, recognizes that there is not a single person in the world who really cares if she lives or dies, and falls under the spell of the nuns and their Catholic sense of duty and Mr. Waddington's Taoist acceptance of whatever comes along. All of this leaves her much more ready to accept the traditional role of wife/mother than she ever was.
Much of this would be hard to take, much of it should be hard to take, but The Painted Veil is a clear case of whole being greater than the sum of its parts. I recognize all of the novel's flaws, and I'll argue they are actual flaws, but in spite of them, the book is a powerful one. Kitty Fane is a character who'll stay with me for a while. While this book is a B+ book, I expect it will end up on my best reads of 2010 list.
The Painted Veil opens with a husband arriving home early to find his wife, Kitty, the main character, in bed with his boss. He does not confront the two lovers, but he later forces Kitty to either leave Hong Kong with him for the remote, Cholera
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ridden town of Mei-tan-fu or convince her lover to marry him otherwise he will file for divorce causing a great scandal.. She's completely wrong about her lover who won't leave his wife, won't risk his position, and is happy to send her off with her husband to Mei-tan-fu though everyone knows she could easily die of Cholera if she goes along. In fact, that's why her husband wants her to go with him in the first place, a sort of murder suicide. The section in Mei-tan-fu reminded me of Thomas Mann's Death in Venice. The whole novel has a static atmosphere. Everyone seems to be removed from time and the world around them. In the early chapters, set among the British nationals who live and work in 1920's Hong Kong, there's a constant feeling that the season is long over and everyone should be going back home. This feeling is much stronger in Mei-tan-fu. That Mei-tan-fu is suffering a Cholera outbreak adds an additional echo to Death in Venice. I imagine Mr. Maugham must have at lease heard of Death in Venice if not read it. The two novels share a tonal atmosphere, though their stories are quite different.
I had many problems with The Painted Veil. First, some of the dialogue is just not to be believed. I can accept that the characters are the way they are and treat each other the way they do, but, oh, do they say "oh" a lot. There are several scenes that would be difficult to read out loud without laughing and a few points when characters openly preach. Waddington, the white man with a Manchu wife who lives in Mei-tan-fu, gives the main character a little lecture on Tao and the Mother Superior who runs the orphanage in Mei-tan-fu gives Kitty several homilies about duty and faith.
The nuns Kitty works with in Mei-tan-fu are presented as truly devote with no sense of irony on the narrator's part what-so-ever. I've the feeling that Mr. Maugham was a devout Catholic because there is no reason for Kitty or for the reader to ever doubt the sincere intentions of the nuns, nor of the rightness of their actions. Of the seven original nuns who went to Mei-tan-fu from France, only three survive by the time Kitty arrives. One of these is the mother superior who left a very wealthy family back in France, one with several chateaux.
Lastly, Kitty experiences the most profound character growth I've ever witnessed in a novel. She begins as an empty headed party girl who played around with men's hearts until she was too old to make a good marriage. She marries Walter, whom she knows she will never love, because her younger sister is about to marry a Baron. She cheats on Walter frivolously the first chance she gets and falls in love with a man as emotionally bankrupt as she is. But once she is in Mei-tan-fu where she is the only white woman who is not a nun, she has a series of epiphanies. She sees herself and Walter for what they both are, understands how meaningless her own life has become, recognizes that there is not a single person in the world who really cares if she lives or dies, and falls under the spell of the nuns and their Catholic sense of duty and Mr. Waddington's Taoist acceptance of whatever comes along. All of this leaves her much more ready to accept the traditional role of wife/mother than she ever was.
Much of this would be hard to take, much of it should be hard to take, but The Painted Veil is a clear case of whole being greater than the sum of its parts. I recognize all of the novel's flaws, and I'll argue they are actual flaws, but in spite of them, the book is a powerful one. Kitty Fane is a character who'll stay with me for a while. While this book is a B+ book, I expect it will end up on my best reads of 2010 list.
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LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Audio book performed by Kate Reading
Kitty Fane has come with her husband, bacteriologist Walter Fane, to Hong Kong circa 1920, where he runs a laboratory for the British government. Bored and feeling she married too hastily, she falls into a passionate affair with Charlie Townsend, an up-and-coming
Oh, my … What can I say? Maugham gives us a “heroine” who is so flawed, so unlikeable, so self-centered, shallow and obtuse … and yet … Kitty does grow throughout the novel. Raised by a socially ambitious mother to make “an advantageous marriage,” in an era when women were mostly defined by the men they married, Kitty chooses Walter in a last-minute desperate attempt to beat her younger sister to the altar. She remains intoxicated by her own beauty and the power it wields over the men in her circle, and so falls “madly in love” with Charlie. But she’s so immature that she fails to recognize how he is using her, how disinterested he is in her or what she needs/wants. When she is forced to accompany Walter to the interior, she begins finally to recognize what a mess she has made of her life, and what a different path she might have chosen.
Does this mean that suddenly all is forgiven and she and Walter will live happily ever after? Of course not. There is tragedy ahead, but despite some setbacks and reverting to past behavior, Kitty does gain insight into her own (and other’s) behavior. She learns about compassion and selflessness. While she is far from fully realized at the end, she proves herself much more than the vapid, selfish young woman we see at the beginning of the novel.
I do wish that Maugham had spent a little more time developing the men in this novel. Don’t misunderstand me. I was happy to explore Kitty’s character (just as I was to explore Wharton’s Lily Bart), but I would have liked to have more insight into Walter’s thoughts and feelings. To me, he really came across as a cardboard cutout – I sympathized with his plight, but had a hard time empathizing.
Kate Reading did a superb job of the narration on the audio version. Her pacing was good and she voiced the characters with sufficiently unique voices to make it easy to follow. When I came to the end I wanted to immediately start over, and that makes it a 5-star read for me.
Kitty Fane has come with her husband, bacteriologist Walter Fane, to Hong Kong circa 1920, where he runs a laboratory for the British government. Bored and feeling she married too hastily, she falls into a passionate affair with Charlie Townsend, an up-and-coming
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official who is certain he’ll one day be Colonial Governor. When Walter discovers the affair, he gives Kitty a choice – accompany him to the interior of China where she’ll likely contract cholera, or suffer the scandal of a public divorce naming the married Townsend as her lover. Oh, my … What can I say? Maugham gives us a “heroine” who is so flawed, so unlikeable, so self-centered, shallow and obtuse … and yet … Kitty does grow throughout the novel. Raised by a socially ambitious mother to make “an advantageous marriage,” in an era when women were mostly defined by the men they married, Kitty chooses Walter in a last-minute desperate attempt to beat her younger sister to the altar. She remains intoxicated by her own beauty and the power it wields over the men in her circle, and so falls “madly in love” with Charlie. But she’s so immature that she fails to recognize how he is using her, how disinterested he is in her or what she needs/wants. When she is forced to accompany Walter to the interior, she begins finally to recognize what a mess she has made of her life, and what a different path she might have chosen.
Does this mean that suddenly all is forgiven and she and Walter will live happily ever after? Of course not. There is tragedy ahead, but despite some setbacks and reverting to past behavior, Kitty does gain insight into her own (and other’s) behavior. She learns about compassion and selflessness. While she is far from fully realized at the end, she proves herself much more than the vapid, selfish young woman we see at the beginning of the novel.
I do wish that Maugham had spent a little more time developing the men in this novel. Don’t misunderstand me. I was happy to explore Kitty’s character (just as I was to explore Wharton’s Lily Bart), but I would have liked to have more insight into Walter’s thoughts and feelings. To me, he really came across as a cardboard cutout – I sympathized with his plight, but had a hard time empathizing.
Kate Reading did a superb job of the narration on the audio version. Her pacing was good and she voiced the characters with sufficiently unique voices to make it easy to follow. When I came to the end I wanted to immediately start over, and that makes it a 5-star read for me.
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LibraryThing member bcquinnsmom
As a young man, the author took a trip to Italy, where he studied Italian with a tutor. Maugham began reading Dante's Il Purgatorio and came upon the story of one Pia de Tolomei of Siena. It seems that Pia's husband believed that Pia was involved with another man, so rather than risk her family's
Set in the 1920s, the main character of this novel is Kitty Fane, whose socially-ambitious mother wanted her to marry into a prominent family. Kitty is not interested in marriage until her younger sister becomes engaged to a member of the baronetcy. It is at this point that Walter Fane, a physician and bacteriologist appears and professes his deep love for Kitty and asks for her hand. Kitty finds it expedient that Walter has to leave immediately for China where he is doing research, because if she marries him she will not have to take part in her sister's wedding and have everyone talking about her. Kitty does not love Walter, but she marries him anyway. Off to Hong Kong they go, and as the story opens, Kitty is having an affair with a married British diplomat, having become quickly bored with her husband. Walter discovers her infidelity and presents her with a choice that ends up with Kitty following him to Mei-tan-fu, a rural Chinese region where a cholera epidemic rages through the population. Walter has taken the place of the local physician and also spends much of time researching the disease, while Kitty is left alone to ponder why he has really brought her there.
While the story belongs mostly to Kitty and how she is able to dig deep and discover certain truths about herself and life in general, the more interesting character, imho, is Walter, who exemplifies that old adage that still waters run deep. Underneath his mild and taciturn appearance, a great deal of passion flows through this gentle man's veins, staying largely unrecognized until it leads him to force Kitty into following him into the heart of a cholera epidemic. But here lies the heart of the story: human beings are often misguided when their actions stem from their emotional natures, sometimes causing them to make serious mistakes. In that sense, both Walter and Kitty are two sides of the same coin.
This was a very good read, certainly recommendable to readers across different genres. Romance readers will find something here, as will chick-lit connoisseurs, and it's a good book of literary fiction. I do want to say something about the 2006 film adaptation: it veers from the book quite a bit, especially at the end, so if you are considering watching it my advice would be to read the novel first to see where Maugham was really going with this story.
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displeasure by murdering her, he decided to take her to his castle in Maremma. According to Maugham in the preface to Painted Veil, the husband figured that the "noxious vapors" of the place would do her in. He realized that it would make a great story, and later, when in China, he realized that it would be the perfect setting, voilá -- The Painted Veil comes into being. Yet, the finished product actually turns out to be much more character rather than story driven. Set in the 1920s, the main character of this novel is Kitty Fane, whose socially-ambitious mother wanted her to marry into a prominent family. Kitty is not interested in marriage until her younger sister becomes engaged to a member of the baronetcy. It is at this point that Walter Fane, a physician and bacteriologist appears and professes his deep love for Kitty and asks for her hand. Kitty finds it expedient that Walter has to leave immediately for China where he is doing research, because if she marries him she will not have to take part in her sister's wedding and have everyone talking about her. Kitty does not love Walter, but she marries him anyway. Off to Hong Kong they go, and as the story opens, Kitty is having an affair with a married British diplomat, having become quickly bored with her husband. Walter discovers her infidelity and presents her with a choice that ends up with Kitty following him to Mei-tan-fu, a rural Chinese region where a cholera epidemic rages through the population. Walter has taken the place of the local physician and also spends much of time researching the disease, while Kitty is left alone to ponder why he has really brought her there.
While the story belongs mostly to Kitty and how she is able to dig deep and discover certain truths about herself and life in general, the more interesting character, imho, is Walter, who exemplifies that old adage that still waters run deep. Underneath his mild and taciturn appearance, a great deal of passion flows through this gentle man's veins, staying largely unrecognized until it leads him to force Kitty into following him into the heart of a cholera epidemic. But here lies the heart of the story: human beings are often misguided when their actions stem from their emotional natures, sometimes causing them to make serious mistakes. In that sense, both Walter and Kitty are two sides of the same coin.
This was a very good read, certainly recommendable to readers across different genres. Romance readers will find something here, as will chick-lit connoisseurs, and it's a good book of literary fiction. I do want to say something about the 2006 film adaptation: it veers from the book quite a bit, especially at the end, so if you are considering watching it my advice would be to read the novel first to see where Maugham was really going with this story.
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LibraryThing member macart3
Kitty Garstin, a beautiful, vapid but aging spinster in early 20th century Britain, hastily marries the shy bacteriologist Walter Fane, who is on leave from the East, in order to beat her younger sister's marriage to a baron. While in Singapore, Kitty has an affair with Charlie Townsend that Walter
Poignant, sweet, and sad, 'The Painted Veil' is a story about forgiveness and what it does to us when we don't forgive.
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finds out about. Willing to divorce her quietly if Charlie agrees to divorce his wife, Kitty goes to Charlie believing that he loves her and will separate from his wife. She is crushed when he betrays her by not willing to seek a divorce. Kitty then returns back to Walter, who forces her to go into the middle of a cholera epidemic in China with the possible intention of killing her. While spending long hours by herself and volunteering at a nunnery she begins to understand herself and her errors. She eventually learns that she is pregnant, but not know whether or not Charlie or Walter is the father. Nonetheless, after Walter dies from cholera, she swears that if the child is a girl, then she will bring her up so as to not make the mistakes her mother made.Poignant, sweet, and sad, 'The Painted Veil' is a story about forgiveness and what it does to us when we don't forgive.
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LibraryThing member Castlelass
“Everything passed, and what trace of its passage remained? It seemed to Kitty that they were all, the human race, like the drops of water in that river and they flowed on, each so close to the other and yet so far apart, a nameless flood, to the sea. When all things lasted so short a time and
Published in 1925 and set in Hong Kong and Mei-tan-fu, China, this book is a marvelous example of a “woman goes on a journey of transformation.” At first, protagonist Kitty Garstin comes across as a vain, shallow socialite. Due to misconceptions and bad choices, she ends up accompanying her husband, Walter Fane, a bacteriologist, to a remote village in China where a cholera epidemic is raging. She begins to understand what is important in life and grows into a much more compassionate and reflective person. Themes include revenge, regret, freedom, forgiveness, and redemption.
I enjoyed this book tremendously. It is a character study about love, passion, duty, identity, and coming to terms with one’s desires and failings in life. It spurred me to look up poems by Oliver Goldsmith and Percy Bysshe Shelley that shed light on its meaning. I found it poignant, thought-provoking, profound, heart-breaking, and beautifully written – a wonderfully crafted story.
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nothing mattered very much, it seemed pitiful that men, attaching an absurd importance to trivial objects, should make themselves and one another so unhappy.” – W. Somerset Maugham, The Painted VeilPublished in 1925 and set in Hong Kong and Mei-tan-fu, China, this book is a marvelous example of a “woman goes on a journey of transformation.” At first, protagonist Kitty Garstin comes across as a vain, shallow socialite. Due to misconceptions and bad choices, she ends up accompanying her husband, Walter Fane, a bacteriologist, to a remote village in China where a cholera epidemic is raging. She begins to understand what is important in life and grows into a much more compassionate and reflective person. Themes include revenge, regret, freedom, forgiveness, and redemption.
I enjoyed this book tremendously. It is a character study about love, passion, duty, identity, and coming to terms with one’s desires and failings in life. It spurred me to look up poems by Oliver Goldsmith and Percy Bysshe Shelley that shed light on its meaning. I found it poignant, thought-provoking, profound, heart-breaking, and beautifully written – a wonderfully crafted story.
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LibraryThing member JulieCarter
This book is wonderfully written. Superbly flawed characters, with very little to like in any of them. As Kitty is taken to a small Chinese village riddled with Cholera, she finds herself while trying to find redemption for a sin against her husband. He has decided to "make her pay" by putting her
As I said, extremely well written and very engaging. Descriptions of the people and the Chinese landscape are fascinating. Maugham takes you to places in China you likely know little about. Wonderful book.
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in the path of certain death. His character, his innermost thoughts remain a mystery while we live inside of Kitty's head and see her grow up and into a better person. She is never perfect, and continues to make mistakes, but watching her try is fulfilling.As I said, extremely well written and very engaging. Descriptions of the people and the Chinese landscape are fascinating. Maugham takes you to places in China you likely know little about. Wonderful book.
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LibraryThing member MissBHaven
A wonderful book with characters you really care about in an unforgettable story. Unfortunately i saw the movie first and then read the book but i would have rather it the other way around [though the movie was great]. It is a tragic love story told in an unbelievably beautiful way.
LibraryThing member TrudyT
Good for book groups-discussion of nature of obsession.
LibraryThing member sherriey
Set in the 1920's, the story details the affair between Kitty and Charlie Townsend and what happens when her husband, Walter finds out about the adultery. It's so interesting to read about the morals and thoughts of a time period not so far back in history, and to realize how much things have
It was somewhat horrifying to me, though, the descriptions and treatment of other races and especially of the orphan referred to as "it". I guess just another way that things have changed so much. It also struck me that not that long ago everyone still had servants and people to do everything for them.
All in all, it was enjoyable read for me.
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changed in such a short time. I enjoyed Kitty's story and her transformation from her selfish, spoiled self into a self-aware individual. It was somewhat horrifying to me, though, the descriptions and treatment of other races and especially of the orphan referred to as "it". I guess just another way that things have changed so much. It also struck me that not that long ago everyone still had servants and people to do everything for them.
All in all, it was enjoyable read for me.
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LibraryThing member mrtall
Kitty, a hot but aging English spinster, marries in haste and comes to regret it as her medical scientist husband ships her out to Hong Kong, where she, ah, gets involved in colonial society, only to be shanghaied by hubby once more, this time on a mission of mercy to a cholera-stricken city deep
In spite of Maugham's occasionally clumsy prose, this is a book worth reading. It's typical of a Maugham novel in that its central character's spiritual quest provides its depth and driving energy. Although there are long sequences here comprising nothing but internal monologue, they're rarely boring or trite, and they sometimes rise to the level of real insight. Maugham infuses his characters' decisions, and the often-sordid messes they get themselves into, with emotional, psychological and spiritual significance. There's also some good historical and cultural texture here. Finally, The Painted Veil serves as a good introduction to Maugham's work in that you get a representative taste of his style and approach, but it's not too long (under 250 pages), unlike his massive signature works.
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in the mainland.In spite of Maugham's occasionally clumsy prose, this is a book worth reading. It's typical of a Maugham novel in that its central character's spiritual quest provides its depth and driving energy. Although there are long sequences here comprising nothing but internal monologue, they're rarely boring or trite, and they sometimes rise to the level of real insight. Maugham infuses his characters' decisions, and the often-sordid messes they get themselves into, with emotional, psychological and spiritual significance. There's also some good historical and cultural texture here. Finally, The Painted Veil serves as a good introduction to Maugham's work in that you get a representative taste of his style and approach, but it's not too long (under 250 pages), unlike his massive signature works.
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LibraryThing member Othemts
I parcipate in a book club with the Boston Chapter of the William & Mary Alumni Association and this book was our January selection.
Published in 1925, the novel tells the story of Kitty Fane. A high-society English woman, she rebuffs her mother’s attempts to marry her off until her younger sister
Walter, who is deeply passionate underneath his taciturn demeanor, gives Kitty two options: file for divorce or accompany him on a mission to a cholera-plagued community in the Chinese interior. Walter also correctly surmises that the rakish Townsend has no interest in risking his career to divorcing his wife to marry Kitty. Disillusioned by Townsend, Kitty agrees to travel with Walter. With a saintly devotion, Walter commits himself to caring for the sick and dying while Kitty becomes intrigued with a convent of missionary sisters from France. She begins volunteering with the nuns and her experiences there change her profoundly.
For a conversion story, it is good at avoiding cliches. Kitty grows to respect and admire Walter but never falls in love with him. And Walter, even on his deathbed, cannot forgive Kitty. Despite the lessons learned, Kitty also backslides. Upon returning to Hong Kong she is graciously welcomed and hosted by Townsend’s wife Dorothy. Despite her loathing of Townsend and now personal relationship with his wife, she sleeps with him again before finally rebuking him once and for all.The book concludes with Kitty returning to England and a somewhat rushed and clumsy reconciliation with her father.
Overall, I’d say this is an okay book, worth reading but not highly reccomended. It’s a very familiar story but I don’t think Maugham’s telling illuminates it other than avoiding cliches, nor does he have a particularly appealing writing style. For a three-hundred page book, this a quick read written in almost a journalistic prose. The Chinese in the story are treated in a disturbingly indifferent manner which I guess is appropriate to the time but still unsettling to read.
A film adaptation of The Painted Veil starring Naomi Watts and Edward Norton is playing in theaters now and received mixed reviews
Published in 1925, the novel tells the story of Kitty Fane. A high-society English woman, she rebuffs her mother’s attempts to marry her off until her younger sister
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is engaged. She decides to marry Walter Fane, a shy baceteriologist who offers her the opportunity to live in China. For Kitty this is a loveless marriage and once in Hong Kong she is quickly embroiled with an affair with the handsome vice-consul Charlie Townsend. The novel begins with Walter discovering Kitty and Charlie in the midst of their fling (a distinctly anonymous passage since the first several pages consist of “he said” and “she said” before Kitty and Charlie are finally identified by name).Walter, who is deeply passionate underneath his taciturn demeanor, gives Kitty two options: file for divorce or accompany him on a mission to a cholera-plagued community in the Chinese interior. Walter also correctly surmises that the rakish Townsend has no interest in risking his career to divorcing his wife to marry Kitty. Disillusioned by Townsend, Kitty agrees to travel with Walter. With a saintly devotion, Walter commits himself to caring for the sick and dying while Kitty becomes intrigued with a convent of missionary sisters from France. She begins volunteering with the nuns and her experiences there change her profoundly.
For a conversion story, it is good at avoiding cliches. Kitty grows to respect and admire Walter but never falls in love with him. And Walter, even on his deathbed, cannot forgive Kitty. Despite the lessons learned, Kitty also backslides. Upon returning to Hong Kong she is graciously welcomed and hosted by Townsend’s wife Dorothy. Despite her loathing of Townsend and now personal relationship with his wife, she sleeps with him again before finally rebuking him once and for all.The book concludes with Kitty returning to England and a somewhat rushed and clumsy reconciliation with her father.
Overall, I’d say this is an okay book, worth reading but not highly reccomended. It’s a very familiar story but I don’t think Maugham’s telling illuminates it other than avoiding cliches, nor does he have a particularly appealing writing style. For a three-hundred page book, this a quick read written in almost a journalistic prose. The Chinese in the story are treated in a disturbingly indifferent manner which I guess is appropriate to the time but still unsettling to read.
A film adaptation of The Painted Veil starring Naomi Watts and Edward Norton is playing in theaters now and received mixed reviews
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LibraryThing member sharlene_w
Kitty hastily marries Walter, not because she loves him, but because her younger and less attractive sister has imminent prospects of getting married. Walter's work as a bacteriologist takes them to Hong Kong where Kitty feels Walter's work doesn't give them the social standing she thinks she
The story was intriguing and characters believable for the most part. Despite the fact that Kitty is undeserving of any sympathy as she got herself into the mire she was in, I was hopeful of a happy outcome for her. As cold and ruthless as her husband was in his choice to force her hand in having her confront her lover, it was poetic justice. Heartless as it was for Walter to drag her to the cholera stricken village in China, I found myself cheering him on. The ending left me cold, however. The book should have ended with Kitty's encounter with her ex-lover--Kitty edified by lessons learned; but instead the author for some reason felt it necessary to add the appendage of reuniting with her father. He never seemed to care a bit for her in the beginnings of the book--and the kiss on the lips as if he was a lover? What was that all about? The author chose to leave her weak and dependent on her father yet again. Why not leave her valiant, strong, and wiser from her experiences?
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deserves. Her disappointments with Walter lead to an affair and all the problems that brings to a marriage. Ultimately, Kitty matures as she is faced with issues more urgent than her social standing. The story was intriguing and characters believable for the most part. Despite the fact that Kitty is undeserving of any sympathy as she got herself into the mire she was in, I was hopeful of a happy outcome for her. As cold and ruthless as her husband was in his choice to force her hand in having her confront her lover, it was poetic justice. Heartless as it was for Walter to drag her to the cholera stricken village in China, I found myself cheering him on. The ending left me cold, however. The book should have ended with Kitty's encounter with her ex-lover--Kitty edified by lessons learned; but instead the author for some reason felt it necessary to add the appendage of reuniting with her father. He never seemed to care a bit for her in the beginnings of the book--and the kiss on the lips as if he was a lover? What was that all about? The author chose to leave her weak and dependent on her father yet again. Why not leave her valiant, strong, and wiser from her experiences?
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LibraryThing member kambrogi
I was deeply moved by this story of a frivolous young British woman who betrays her husband, a British colonial servant in China. His shocking response to her infidelity, and the changes it effects in her soul make for stimulating and thought-provoking reading. Maugham crawls into a young woman’s
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mind, revealing her viewpoints and emotions, and tracing her evolution into a woman who, if not noble, is at least changed. The tale is sometimes cynical and occasionally humorous, certainly heartbreaking, but never sentimental and always honest. It’s a sharp commentary on a search for humanity in a society that fails to encourages self-examination or the development of a conscience. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — Classics — 2007)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1925
Physical description
424 p.; 8.85 inches
ISBN
0854562559 / 9780854562558
Local notes
Located in Large Print