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The Summing Up (Vintage Classics)
 
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The Summing Up (Vintage Classics) (Paperback)

by W. Somerset Maugham (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (5 April 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099286890
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099286899
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 86,106 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #15 in  Books > Fiction > 20th Century Classics > Maugham, Somerset

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Product Description

Product Description

Written when he was 64, this autobiography from Somerset Maugham provides an insight into the author's craft, and his thoughts and feelings about style, literature, art, drama and philosophy.

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Customer Reviews

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The artist is the only free man, 11 Sep 2005
By Luc REYNAERT (Beernem, Belgium) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
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.

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

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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars The correct title, 9 Jul 2003
By fields21 "fields21" (Hoogerheide, Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
The summing up is not, alas, an autobiography filled with witty remarks and hilarious anecdotes or Gossip on Great Names. On the contrary, the author looks back on his life with a critical eye, but without any regrets. It is far more a critcial essay on his life and works than a great life story.

It is remarkable for its honesty, which includes critical (foot)notes on his previous work and mild criticisme on the current (= late 1930's) ideas on drama and literature. No grand schemes or ideas, just a somewhat modest review on the how's and the why's of his work.

It is, in short, the summing up. The author's works, life, ideas are put in a perspective. Above all, an honest account. What I did miss was the ironic undertones and the great characters which made his novels so great reading. Nothing exciting or suprising, but an interesting read.

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