- Mass Market Paperback: 208 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc USA; Open Market Ed edition (1 April 1992)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 014018600X
- ISBN-13: 978-0140186000
- Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 13 x 1.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,543,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Summing Up (Vintage Classics)
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Somerset Maugham sums up his vision on mankind, the English, morals and art (theatre, the novel). It is a penetrating and very modern view. The best book I have read from him.
It shows that he had a very profound scientific and philosophical background.
It shows that he had a very profound scientific and philosophical background.
His stance on determinism, chance and free will was based on his philosophical and scientific readings (Hume and Heisenberg's Principle of Indeterminacy).
The same can be said of his view on mankind, which was highly influenced by Darwin and Schopenhauer: 'The essence of man is his egoism that we all inherit from that remote energy which in the unplumbed past first set the ball rolling'; or 'So long as some are strong and some are weak, the weak will be driven to the wall'.
Having read a lot of philosophy, he was upset by the low standard of the philosophy of his days, which dodged for him fundamental problems, like evil (war).
The author has sometimes been characterized as cynical (e.g. for his best novel 'Of human bondage'). He shows his cynicism again in this book: on the English, 'They are not an amorous race. They are of course sufficiently sexual for the purpose of reproducing their species, but they cannot control the instinctive feeling that the sexual act is disgusting.'
Or his virulent atheism: 'God is not so reasonable. He promises rewards to those who believe in him and threatens with horrible punishment those who do not. For my part I cannot believe in a God who is angry with me because I do not believe in him'.
His analysis of the writer (not one but many men), the novel and theatre is highly modern. It could easily be applied on TV plays today.
This is a sincere, still topical and highly recommendable book
Format:Paperback
Ever since I read "Of Human Bondage" a few years ago I've always felt the urge to revisit this writer every so often, picking up a couple of his books and devouring them. Some have been excellent, some not so. In "The Summing Up", a non-fiction book detailing Maugham's own personal philosophy, I thought I'd enjoy it far more than I did. I assumed because the blurb says that he looks back at his work that this would entail detailed views on the background of each book, the circumstances in which it was written, what the aim was, the reception, and now looking back X years later what the author thinks about them. In part his is true, a couple of books are singled out, but their sections are few and far between and much too short for my liking.
Instead there are lengthy and quite tedious sections on subjects such as the theatre world and the role of the theatre director, or philosophy as a subject and the practitioners of it. He writes at length on God and religion which, despite concluding in favour of atheism to which view I subscribe, I found quite dull as it contained many arguments I've heard and read from various sources over the years. His views on philosophy are also quite tedious and amateurish. And the lengthy treatise on the theatre world held no interest for me whatsoever. It's a world that's quite petty and dull behind the scenes, his views being out-dated today.
For a book just over 300 pages, it's quite unsubstantial in it's contents. The tone of the book is very chatty and Maugham writes clearly and eloquently about whatever's on his mind, but the book has no structure and no clear path to the topics. Maugham rambles and goes wherever his mind is on the day he's writing. This approach, to me, felt very lazy and haphazard as quite often Maugham isn't saying anything particularly interesting and for a man who lived as interesting a life as he did, it's a shame he forgoes a lot of it to tell you what he thought about the work of Matthew Arnold or Hazlitt.
This could have been a great book if it had been more focused and, for a fan like me, centred around the work he produced, thus being a real summing up of his massive body of literature. Instead it felt like a missed opportunity and, despite the occasional gem found here and there, was overall a very boring book that I was glad to set down once I'd finished it. Maugham is an excellent writer but a biography written by someone else is the best way to go if you're looking for views on his life and work. "The Summing Up" is unfortunately quite sparse in both departments and ends up being a very dry read.
Instead there are lengthy and quite tedious sections on subjects such as the theatre world and the role of the theatre director, or philosophy as a subject and the practitioners of it. He writes at length on God and religion which, despite concluding in favour of atheism to which view I subscribe, I found quite dull as it contained many arguments I've heard and read from various sources over the years. His views on philosophy are also quite tedious and amateurish. And the lengthy treatise on the theatre world held no interest for me whatsoever. It's a world that's quite petty and dull behind the scenes, his views being out-dated today.
For a book just over 300 pages, it's quite unsubstantial in it's contents. The tone of the book is very chatty and Maugham writes clearly and eloquently about whatever's on his mind, but the book has no structure and no clear path to the topics. Maugham rambles and goes wherever his mind is on the day he's writing. This approach, to me, felt very lazy and haphazard as quite often Maugham isn't saying anything particularly interesting and for a man who lived as interesting a life as he did, it's a shame he forgoes a lot of it to tell you what he thought about the work of Matthew Arnold or Hazlitt.
This could have been a great book if it had been more focused and, for a fan like me, centred around the work he produced, thus being a real summing up of his massive body of literature. Instead it felt like a missed opportunity and, despite the occasional gem found here and there, was overall a very boring book that I was glad to set down once I'd finished it. Maugham is an excellent writer but a biography written by someone else is the best way to go if you're looking for views on his life and work. "The Summing Up" is unfortunately quite sparse in both departments and ends up being a very dry read.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've been reading and rereading this book for over 30 years and would recommend highly it to Somerset Maugham fans but not to anyone else.
I imagine many readers nowadays would be turned off by Maugham's old-fashioned ideas and snobbishness and baffled by his references to writers, painters and actors who went out of fashion almost a century ago.
Maugham is also less than open about his own personal life (to put it mildly) and is obviously quite dishonest at times.
Since many of Maugham's books are autobiographical - he even features as a character himself in several works, including The Razor's Edge - we know a lot about his life.
This is fortunate since there is little (if anything) new in this book which was first published in 1938.
I would not recommend anyone to try and read it from start to finish but to pick up from time to time, read a dozen pages, nod in agreement or shake your head ruefully at Maugham's rather acerbic view of the world, and lay it aside.
The aphorisms and bitter wit are amusing but become tiresome after a while - like a collection of quotes - which is why the reader should take it in small doses and come back for more a few weeks or months or even years later.
A warning - the latter part in which he makes comments on religion and claims to have read the main philosophers is dull and uninteresting and barely worth the effort.
I imagine many readers nowadays would be turned off by Maugham's old-fashioned ideas and snobbishness and baffled by his references to writers, painters and actors who went out of fashion almost a century ago.
Maugham is also less than open about his own personal life (to put it mildly) and is obviously quite dishonest at times.
Since many of Maugham's books are autobiographical - he even features as a character himself in several works, including The Razor's Edge - we know a lot about his life.
This is fortunate since there is little (if anything) new in this book which was first published in 1938.
I would not recommend anyone to try and read it from start to finish but to pick up from time to time, read a dozen pages, nod in agreement or shake your head ruefully at Maugham's rather acerbic view of the world, and lay it aside.
The aphorisms and bitter wit are amusing but become tiresome after a while - like a collection of quotes - which is why the reader should take it in small doses and come back for more a few weeks or months or even years later.
A warning - the latter part in which he makes comments on religion and claims to have read the main philosophers is dull and uninteresting and barely worth the effort.
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