Shaw Book

This book is not a book about travel. It is a book about people, or rather how Maugham viewed people, the people he saw and met as he traveled along the Yangtze River in 1919, right after the First World War. The people he met are predominantly expats, European diplomats and missionaries. This can scarcely be classified as a book about the Chinese or China. Neither is it about the effects of the war.

Maugham had a knack for really looking at people, observing what people say, what they mean by the words they say, and how they behave. He had also a talent for putting what he observed into words. The two together is what makes him a good writer. He was also extremely well read, and he learned from the authors he read.

The book reads as a collection of mini-mini-stories, observations of and comments about people, as explained above, expats residing in China in 1919. His opinions are not openly stated; his views are implied. Ironical humor is a common ingredient.

The second chapter entitled The Lady's Parlour forewarns what will follow. A woman, an expat residing in China, is redecorating her parlor. In doing so, she attempts to avoid all things Chinese; she is attempting to replicate an English parlor. We are told "she had to buy a Chinese screen", there was absolutely nothing else available that would have fit the spot, but this was not the end of the world because even in England they were frequently used. You must appreciate the humor here! This common theme, the expats' disdain for all things Chinese, is exemplified over and over again in the stories. We are told that it is nonsensical to learn Chinese since "you could hire an interpreter for twenty-five dollars a month". We intuit Maugham's distaste of the expats and their life style. He is critical of the expats' inability to appreciate what China offers--in beauty, history, knowledge and wisdom. He doesn't shove his views down your throat though; he speaks through humor; you can take or leave his views as you wish.

Occasionally Maugham peppers with descriptions of landscapes and places. In just a few words he captures the atmosphere of a marketplace, an alley, mist over paddy fields, the stiff and ridged resplendence of a diplomat's reception or an opium den for example.

I do wish he had told of his route and given us the names of the places he visited.

The names of the people are not given either. The lack of names and places transform the observations into mini-stories.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Richard Mitchley. His performance I have given four stars. He reads clearly and at a perfect speed.

I liked this book. It was interesting, but the diverse, very short "stories" could have held together better. We are given a bunch of well depicted observations that reflect Maugham's personal views.


My ratings of Maugham's books :
*Then and Now 5 stars
*Mrs Craddock 4 stars
*Cakes and Ale 4 stars
*The Painted Veil 4 stars
*The Verger 4 stars
*Liza of Lambeth 3 stars
*The Razor's Edge 3 stars
*The Summing Up 3 stars
*The Gentleman in the Parlour: A Record of a Journey from Rangoon to Haiphong 3 stars
*The Magician 3 stars
*Up at the Villa 3 stars
*Christmas Holiday 3 stars
*Catalina 3 stars
*On A Chinese Screen 3 stars
*Theatre 2 stars
*The Moon and Sixpence 2 stars
*Of Human Bondage 2 stars
*The Merry-Go-Round 1 star