Brandon J. (bran-flakes14) reviewed The Painted Veil (Vintage International) on + 72 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 9
Kitty Fane is a spoiled young woman who, despite being honorable in her intentions to marry only someone she actually loves, ends up marrying a man she doesn't. His love for her, however, is unwavering, until the day he discovers Kitty's adultery and sends her, along with himself, to the middle of a cholera epidemic in China, where he works as a bacteriologist. This is a classic, well-written novel about the human experience, and the themes of forgiveness and quasi-redemption are universal. Maugham's writing style seems nearly contemporary, so the book needn't scare off those who fear older writing. The exotic setting lends itself to beautiful passages and comparisons, and the characters are identifiable and relatable the entire way. This was a very satisfying read with ideas any reader can connect with.
Helpful Score: 3
This is one of the few cases where I enjoyed the film better than the book. The book was excellently written, but the main character, Kitty, doesn't learn and grow as much as a person in the book as she does in the movie. Right up until the very final pages she continues to make the same mistakes and behave in the same immature, shallow way that she always did, just as though she learned nothing from the traumas and hardships of living in a plague-devastated village.
But the prose is beautiful and eloquent, and the portrayal of the secondary characters and the world they inhabit is utterly captivating.
But the prose is beautiful and eloquent, and the portrayal of the secondary characters and the world they inhabit is utterly captivating.
Helpful Score: 2
Kitty is a spoiled, self-centered woman living in Hong Kong with her husband, Walter (whom she married in a panic only after finding her younger sister engaged before herself). Walter is a bacteriologist, and is as boring as he sounds; but desperately in love with Kitty. Desperately in love, that is until the day he discovers that she is having an affair. Kitty's life is soon turned upside down as she is forced to move with Walter to the heart of a cholera epidemic, with the almost certain risk of death. As if moving away from the city to a village of death isn't enough; Kitty finally understands that Walter is purposefully trying to kill her. Once she arrives in the village, however, Kitty finds that there is a lot more to life than parties and dresses and one-sided love affairs.
I really enjoyed this one. The book is very quotable, my favorite being: "She wished to despise him, because so long as she only hated him she knew that she was very near loving him...It is a great misfortune to have a heart." Or, at least quotable to me and my shredded heart (oh, it's way past broken). Anyway, this one spoke to me and I really liked to see Kitty's growth and coming to terms with her actions. Now on to the movie, where I bet Edward Norton won't make Walter so boring..
I really enjoyed this one. The book is very quotable, my favorite being: "She wished to despise him, because so long as she only hated him she knew that she was very near loving him...It is a great misfortune to have a heart." Or, at least quotable to me and my shredded heart (oh, it's way past broken). Anyway, this one spoke to me and I really liked to see Kitty's growth and coming to terms with her actions. Now on to the movie, where I bet Edward Norton won't make Walter so boring..
Helpful Score: 1
From the novel: "The sky was unclouded and the early sun shed a heavenly mildness on the scene; it was difficult to imagine, on that blithe, fresh, and smiling morn, that the city lay gasping, like a man whose life is being throttled out of him by a maniac's hands, in the dark clutch of the pestilence."
One of the few books I've read where the author has woven such beautiful phrases within the raw tragedy and real triumph that is the story of character Kitty Fane. Despair, disease, death, and ultimately faith are all players in Kitty's life lessons.
One of the few books I've read where the author has woven such beautiful phrases within the raw tragedy and real triumph that is the story of character Kitty Fane. Despair, disease, death, and ultimately faith are all players in Kitty's life lessons.
One of the best books I have read so far this year. This book makes the perfect club book. There's plenty to discuss and ponder.
interesting story of a woman who has an affair and then is forced by circumstances to accompany her husband to remote china where there is a cholera epidemic going on. you see how she changes and grows during her experiences in this foreign land.
W. S. Maugham's tale of misplaced values, deceit, arrogance, and loyalty set in the China of the mid twentieth century when colonial rule meant exploitation is well worth the time . Maugham's masterful depiction of characters and his transformation of his major protagonist is a study in character development. There are no winners or losers in this story of fragile and vulnerable characters just a tale of misplaced dedication and ordinary human beings pretending to be more than they really are.
Very different from the movie, but interesting in a different way.
This is from the Amazon review: Shallow, poorly educated Kitty marries the passionate and intellectual Walter Fane and has an affair with a career politician, Charles Townsend, assistant colonial secretary of Hong Kong. When Walter discovers the relationship, he compels Kitty to accompany him to a cholera-infested region of mainland China, where she finds limited happiness working with children at a convent.
This is from the Amazon review: Shallow, poorly educated Kitty marries the passionate and intellectual Walter Fane and has an affair with a career politician, Charles Townsend, assistant colonial secretary of Hong Kong. When Walter discovers the relationship, he compels Kitty to accompany him to a cholera-infested region of mainland China, where she finds limited happiness working with children at a convent.
Fabulous! A master craftsman tells a story of great human growth and foolishness.
Quite enjoyed this book. If you've seen the movie but have not read the book you will be in for a surprise. I read the book before I saw the movie. Was disappointed the way they portrayed the relationship in the movie - liked the book much better.
