Rating: 
Summary: Not just a story but a glimpse of the ego of an Artist
Review: The most striking aspect of this novel, the one that remains in mind long after you close the book, is not the story itself but the psychology of the main character and the way he affects those around him. Lonely without ever realising that such a state exists, driven by an inner vision Charles Strickland has hardly a single endearing quality but like those that do not need others he draws people to his side. It is Maugham at his most cynical, but appealingly so.
Rating: 
Summary: Proficient, swift reading
Review: MOON AND SIXPENCE by W. Somerset Maugham is worthy on two levels, the insights into the cultural sea-change from the Victorian era to the war years and the craft the novel displays, particularly voice, character and perspective. Inspired by the life of painter Paul Gauguin, Maugham investigates what it takes at age 40 for a successful and respectable banker in Victorian London to walk away from the responsibilities of job, high social status and a family, and into poverty a world away for the sake of art. Briskly told from the vantage point of an acquaintance looking back, Charles Strickland is first encountered as a somewhat Philistine but prosperous, upright gentleman. Sent to retrieve Strickland after he precipitously deserts his family, the narrator, a young writer, finds an unrepentant man. Five years later, the narrator encounters him again in Paris where the artist has grown more monstrous though his art reveals a beguiling genius. Even the tragic recipient of the worst behavior unleashed by Strickland remains his champion in the art world. The narrator does not meet up with Strickland again, but to set the record straight he interviews those who knew him up to his death at age 53 in the remote South Pacific. The novel takes its power in well developed characters, even the most minor are fully realized. The very last chapter is brilliant in its sly revelations of the themes and cultural benchmarks articulated by Strickland's life, death and art. Maugam, once a prominent early 20th century writer, did not make many, if any, end of the century, end of the millennium "best of" lists. Now this relatively prolific British writer is beginning to show up on the radar of literary discourse again. Mostly the talk is of CAKES AND ALE and THE RAZOR'S EDGE, the latter last popular with adolescent baby boomers, but MOON AND SIXPENCE, only a little dated, is due consideration.
Rating: 
Summary: Disturbing, Thought-Provoking, Enlightening
Review: In The Moon and Sixpence, Maugham introduces the artist Charles Stickland, whom we wish never to meet outside these pages. He is a thoughtless and irrational genius, wholly unconcerned about any opinion of his painting other than his own. In fact he is throughly unconcerned about any type of disapprobation. Without using the phrase, Maugham interprets Strickland as an "idiot savant," who is blissfully unaware of any other person's feelings. He abandons his wife and children, he induces a suicide in a lover, and is unaccountably remorseless for these and other trespasses against human decency. It is Strickland's ostentatious remorselessness which turns the reader against him, and his genius isn't sufficient to mitigate our, well, disapprobation. We already knew that great artists don't always have to be great people; what Maugham does, however, is take us to the extremes of both. Therein lies the creative tension, and it remains with us for a very long time after we turn the last page.
Rating:
Summary: Maugham's subtle narrative, and Gauguin's life-story!
Review: Maugham, as always, writes in a very easy to read style, the characters are crafted imaginatively and sensitively, and the story is interesting and progresses like a biography. In fact, I was to find out later that the story of Charles Strickland, who leaves his wife and family to pursue his own artistic ambitions is inspired by the story of a French impressionist painter Paul Gauguin (famous for painting Tahiti women).
The novel is in a beautiful narrative, checkered by delightful moorings of the author, well-written dialogues and descriptions which are picturesque enough to be adapted by the reader into a sort of beautiful movie and documentary, which all human emotions coming into play. The novel is about passion, the intense passion that drives artists, helps them to achieve greatness at the cost of their own idiosyncracies, passion which drives as well as cuts, passion that propels a being beyond the commonplace. For admirers of Paul Gauguin, this novel represents a kind of biography, that presents a life-story in a very unobstrusive fashion, and sheds light into the elements in painter's mind and heart that must have influenced his art.
Beyond Charles Strickland and the narrator, there are several characters worth mention. Strickland's wife is a woman who admires artists and writers (and fails to see the artist in his own husband), Dirk Stroeve is a painter who knows his limitations as well as he has the talent of seeing the genious in others and he is a human being who is wronged by his own zeal to be helpful and caring, Mrs Stroeve is (without revealing anything) a very interesting character, and there are many others. The novel benefits from Maugham's skill as writer of short stories and plays, for the novel consists of many chapters, each chapter tells of an incident or dialogue, and the story moves through smoothly and nicely.
Another brilliant novel to read and like. If you liked Maugham's Razor's edge, this will endear Maugham further!
Rating:
Summary: Maugham not so typical English writer
Review: Moon and Sixpence is the first Somerset Maugham book
I've read and I'd like to make a few comments, just
because it was so interesting.
As you may have read from other reviews, this
book is based on the life of French painter, Paul
Gauguin. That, however, is not very intriguing. Even
if the story were based on Leonardo Da Vinci, it would
not have been intriguing either. The spark is provided
by Charles Strickland, the stockbroker who turns painter
in the novel. And what a fascinating character! He
quotes Nietchze feverishly, he loathes woman, he refuses
to sell his precious art (his life), he practically goes
mad. And that I may add, in the space of five years
(which is the first problem in this novel).
Maugham writes tough, and unlike many English
novelists of the past, use his words sparingly.
He knows his strengths (which is not descriptive)
and works extra hard into turning this dull stockbroker
into an artistic maniac. The novel is short, but I
couldn't see it go any further. In fact, it could have
done with the whole lecture thing at the end.
Strickland was the subject - not art.
Maugham is witty, and in the end his comic outlook saves the novel. It won't change your life, but it's a page-turner, a good read, and at times, very funny.
Rating:
Summary: 3 & 1 /2 stars for a very good book...
Review: I'm usually the kind of person to give a book either one or five stars. Time's too short to dilly-dally in the middle, I want people to know whether a book is WORTH reading or NOT WORTH reading. This book happens to be worth reading for most people, in particular those who are interested WSM's style, but may be a bit of a waste for those already familiar with WSM's other work.
As everyone probably knows in this book WSM provides what is a fictionalized account of Gaugin's life - Gaugin replaced with Charles Strickland. There are moments of brilliance, it is very well-written and WSM's mastery of the English language is among the most notable.
I removed a star and a half ( * 1/2* ) because, frankly, the characters are over-the-top one-dimensional. Without giving anything away, for example, Strickland is painted (no pun intended) as an inhuman, remorseless cur. A character by the name of Stroeve is similarly displayed in a single light: pure, unadulterated buffoonery. There are no shades to these characters - they are either this or that, and while WSM will occasionally discuss the manifestation of contradictory attributes residing in the same person (these make some of the prettier, more thoughtful passages), his own characters are blatantly one-dimensional.
As a voracious reader (and a bit of a writer myself), I'm always keen on what the author is saying - what he's speaking to the reader - and what he's doing (i.e., the plot, the characters, etc.). While WSM's literary genius is undisputed, it's clear that he didn't mix the paints as thoroughly as he could have.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful
Review: What The Moon and Sixpence lacks in length, it more than makes up for in substance. Although Maugham has changed much of Gauguin's history, both substantive and trivial, he has given us an amazingly poignant fictional novel that sheds light on what made the enigmatic genius tick. As we explore the eclectic subtleties and bizarre idiosyncrasies of Charles Strickland, we feel magically transported back to a time and place that is so unlike today's world, yet somehow vividly alive and real.
Seeing as it is written in 1st person narrative from a fictional author's point of view, we see England, France, and Tahiti from a unique firsthand perspective - all the while watching Strickland engage in his capriciously self-destructive, yet fastidiously predictable, behavior. While Strickland is far from endearing and likeable, I nonetheless admire him for his resolve and unwavering tenacity which drove him to achieve greatness through art - on his own terms.
"Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem."
- W. Somerset Maugham(from The Moon and Sixpence)
Rating:
Summary: the run-away genius painter
Review: When I first picked up this book, I took it merely as an entertainment novel that helps me to kill an idle evening. I read it. I read it again. I read on and on. All of a sudden, the world around me disappeared totally. Everything around me, the trees, the people, the strawberry in a bowl, were clothed with a dim and unspeakable color. I felt the power that Maugham tried to convey to the readers. I felt that struggling pain, but in an exultance. I came to love Maugham since then and decided to focus on him on my graduation thesis. Maugham is not a very serious writer that can be found easily in any A-level writer list. However, there is something extremely unique about him: He saw life and wrote it down not only as what it is, but as what it will be. Who said Strickland is an inhuman painter? Didn't he see the tears that he shed for the faithful tears of Ata? In my eyes, Strickland IS detestable, for he wants too much. Isn't there always a strickland in our hearts? Ignorance doesn't mean overlooking it. Philip in "Of Human Bondage" walked all the path taht Maugham walked on, but strickland went through a spiritual prigrimage that only rehearsed in Maugham's mind. Maugham is a pathetic guy throughout. He is one of a few who remain somber, therefore, he is painful. Read this book in a room of your own, you'll find a room with a view.
Rating:
Summary: ~Fall in love with Maugham's Writing~
Review: Beautiful writing. Somerset Maugham wrote with so much feeling it's hard not to fall in love with his stories or himself. Romantic and practical, the author narrates his personal journey with well-known painter "Charles Strickland", Maugham's stories feature their early lives in England, Paris and later Tahiti. Described as a "selfish" man (depending on how you view him), Strickland suffers isolation and no recognition during his lifetime. His advanced art vision set the base for a post impressionist movement, raised Strickland to fame posthumously. I really think Maugham has done an incredibly super job in describing the complexity of the characters in the book (Strickland, Dirk Stroeve, Tarie among others). Thorough and subtle, his characters are believable and alive. Maugham also includes stories of Tahitian natives whom Strickland has made his acquaintances. His dreamy description of Tahitian lives make me want to live there and experience the island's beauty for myself.
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