The Painted Veil

"If a man hasn't what's necessary to make a woman love him, it's his fault, not hers." "One cannot find peace in work or in pleasure, in the world or in a convent, but only in one's soul." "If nobody spoke unless he had something to say, the human race would very soon lose the use of speech"

This is a book you have to ponder a bit after reading. It is well written and captivating. The main character Kitty is one that your love/hate. She is a self centered girl raised by a mom who wants her married for the prestige and money. When Kitty “settles” because she is getting too old to marry at 24, she is in a loveless marriage on her part. She has an affair with a man who loves her and when she is found out, her husband ships her off to a cholera colony in China. Through her work with the nuns and orphans, she realizes some truths about herself and the man she married. Unfortunately, it is way too late and tragedy strikes.

I was so ready to fall head over heels for this book. I’ve always liked the 2006 movie and I just had no doubt in my mind this Maugham book sitting there in my shelf, beckoning, was just a thousand times better. I knew it in my bones this would be amazing. Now that I’m finished I suppose I would be a gigantic liar if I said I’m not at least a little disappointed. And it’s definitely the movie’s fault. If I had never watched it, I’m sure I would have liked this book a million times better. But Norton and Watts planted all these tiny little romantic hopes in my brain, and when I started reading this novel, in the back of my mind, I was expecting this brilliant, clever, amazing love story. So many strangely disappointed hopes, as this book turns out to be a shrewd, emotional and terribly depressing account of a woman’s awakening. I’m all for that, which makes me really sad I went into this with such deluded expectations. Love is lost, (view spoiler)[but there is little love regained (hide spoiler)], which makes up for such a gut-wrenching read – especially when you were anticipating so much romance. I have to admit Maugham’s prose was not especially brilliant in my eyes. But the witty, fast-paced, immaculate dialogue in this book is what makes it so special to me. I’ve tried my hand at writing and I’ve seen how immensely difficult it is to write polished dialogue, so it’s truly impressive to read Walter and Kitty’s flawlessly crafted and effortless interactions. Of course, I had to cringe every time there was any portrayal of the Chinese, because it was truly, and bitterly racist. But what surprised me the most (pleasantly) was the feminism. Especially coming from a male writer in the ‘20s. I love it that the only extremely, openly sexist line in the novel was uttered by the one character deemed common and worthless. And I also love these: “How silly men were! Their part in procreation was so unimportant; it was the woman who carried the child through long months of uneasiness and bore it with pain, and yet a man because of his momentary connection made such preposterous claims.” “When I look back upon the girl I was I hate myself. But I never had a chance. I’m going to bring up my daughter so that she’s free and can stand on her own feet. I’m not going to bring a child into the world, and love her, and bring her up, just so that some man may want to sleep with her so much that he’s willing to provide her with board and lodging for the rest of her life.” I only regret having dived into this novel with such clouded expectations, because even though it’s extremely real in its heartache, and it leaves you feeling hopelessly depressed, it is so mind-numbingly worthwhile.

A tale of awakening in a shallow woman. I was unsure what to expect of Maugham but I'm pleasantly surprised. Filled with innumerable human insights and redemption. Think I might pick up either The Magician or Cakes and Ale next.

The Painted Veil is one of those books I got to read because of the movie. Not being British, I hadn't heard about W. Somerset Maugham until recently and I discovered the book completely by accident. Since I remembered having loved the movie, I picked up the book, thinking it had to be better. It is, and yet it's not. After finishing the book, I rewatched the movie, which I hadn't seen in 10 years, to see if I remembered it correctly. I did. Both the book and the movie are beautiful in their own way. And while the movie is more romantic than the book and allows some creative adaptations which have nothing to do whatsoever with what W. Somerset Maugham wrote, it is also more politically focused and gives some insight into Chinese politics that the book doesn't even touch. Naturally, since the book is written entirely from the main character's (Kitty) perspective and she was definitely not politically aware. The movie is also more scenic, something I felt the lack of in the book. We know it's set in Hong Kong and inland China, but have no idea what they look like. W. Somerset Maugham sacrificed setting descriptions to make room for introspections and, while this was a good idea in terms of keeping the book short, to me it felt lacking. While this is not a movie review, it's hard not to compare the two. The movie focuses more on the relationship between Kitty and Walter, pre and during their stay in Mei-tan-fu, while the book is one-sided, we only know Kitty's perspective. Walter is rarely seen in the story, while the movie focuses more on his activity and research in Mei-tan-fu, which I find to be a real treat, as it allows for more character development and an insight into Chinese politics and social life. It's true that the movie is more romantic, it had to be accessible to the public, but I didn't find it cheesy. And while the movie starts a little bit rushed and goes maybe too quickly through the London part, omitting thus much of the relationship between Kitty and her family (which is the main reason why she is the way she is and why she makes the decisions she makes), the China part is much more complex. Now solely about the book. I feel that W. Somerset Maugham might have used The Portrait of a Lady as inspiration, but for some reason, this is a book I could digest and actually like, as opposed to Henry James' novel, which I hated with a passion. The book is an introspective view into Kitty Fane's life and, as many good stories do, it focuses on a not-so-perfect human being who makes mistake after mistake in a long journey of self-discovery. You start by hating the character and the opinion may not change until the end (I still found her shallow, even if maybe a little bit less), but at least she becomes someone who you can empathize with. It's a study into the influence of family and education over one's personality and how someone transplanted into a different environment than the one they were brought up into reacts, adapts and - sometimes - changes. Although the book is relatively short, I didn't find it very easy to read in the beginning, mostly due to the fact that Kitty annoyed the heck out of me in the first chapters. The lack of descriptions contributed to the shortness of the novel, but I don't count that as a plus, as I would have actually loved to "see" something more of China. The ending also felt a little bit forced; finishing the book in the middle of the ocean would have worked better for me. I didn't really find the need of Kitty having closure with her family, leaving things open would have been more interesting and less cheesy. To summarize: the novel is a nice study of human psychology. It's the kind of growth story that leaves you a little bit more aware of yourself.