It’s Friday and the end of Week 1! So far, I am really loving Of Human Bondage. I thought it would be very heavy, but that is not the case at all. It’s giving me Holden Caulfield vibes but not as bratty. That’s a reference to Catcher in the Rye if you haven’t read it.
By now, you should have read the following but of course you can read it at your own pace. For my own good, I set a schedule.
Chapters I-IV / 1-4 (18 pp.)
Chapters V-IX / 5-9 (21 pp.)
Chapters X-XIV /10-14 (20 pp.)
Discuss the above by 10/4 here on the blog. (59 pages total)
Click here for the full schedule.
Week 1 – What’s Happened?
Poor Philip. Only 9 years old and already an orphan. I don’t know what I expected when I picked this book up but I didn’t expect to so easily fall into the story.
Philip is young and forced to live with an Uncle and Aunt he hardly knows. And he must do this without his childhood nurse. Seems extraordinarily cruel. So much change for a young boy.
But Blackstable is pleasant even if his Aunt seems quite unsure of how to care for the boy. There is the issue of money. Not much was left for the care of the boy so careful consideration of what’s necessary becomes a concern.
We learn that Philip’s mother knew of her poor health, enough so to have portraits taken so the boy could remember her. Touching.
Philip’s Uncle is the town’s Vicar so the business of church, Sunday and the like is fairly new to Philip. His rebellious nature gets him into trouble and leads to him saying a very hateful thing to his Aunt, who is really only trying to do right by the boy.
This lands him in prep school where he meets a horrible bully named Singer. Philip prays for change and is disappointed with the outcome.
As you can see, so much has happened. This first chunk was very easy to read and has definitely piqued my interest.
- How do you feel about the Aunt and Uncle? Are they doing right by Philip or are they not invested in his upbringing?
- Philip suffers a deformity, how does that deformity shape who he is?
- The topic of Identity is strong in this chunk of reading. Who does Philip have to help shape his identity?
I have mixed feelings about Philip’s Aunt and Uncle. They seem to want to do right, but feel obligated to do so. There seems to be an attempt on his Aunt’s part to get to know the boy, but it seems a little forced.
Philip’s club foot. Poor boy. We don’t spend much time with him before he moves in with his Uncle so it’s hard to say how he felt about his deformity prior to his move but with him being thrust into school with classmates all around him, it’s definitely something he battles with.
I couldn’t help but feel for Philip. He really doesn’t have anyone to look up to. Without his childhood nurse, he finds himself fighting for his independence. The house maid, Mary Ann seems like a promising character. One who will maybe rally in his corner.
Your turn to weigh in. What do you think so far?
Book Chatter 
I shall start reading today!
Yay!! It’s pretty good.
I also thought of Catcher in Rye and find Phillip a much more sympathetic character than Holden Caulfield. I find myself really enjoying the book.
I feel the aunt and uncle are doing the right thing even though it is evident they feel obligated to take care of Phillip and its a task they aren’t quite up to. The uncle didn’t care for the lifestyle of his sister-in-law and was surprised her deceased husband, a doctor, left so little money for his family. Before Phillip moved in with his aunt and uncle there was a little prejudice regarding the family.
Phillips club foot is an obstacle for him to join in with the other boys and quite sets him apart at times. The story is semi-autobiographical, and it makes me wonder if the author also had physical limitations. I should do some research and find out.
Phillip really doesn’t have a proper role model that suits his character. He watches and learns from those around him. It’s going to be fun to see how he develops.
The author stuttered which could certainly be represented by that club foot.
I am a little ways into the next section and I do see some potential mentor type relationships. Will be interesting to see if they play out.
Whoops, that should have been Debbie Hellman. Somedays I feel technically illiterate. Ha!
I do NOT like how horrid Uncle is to Auntie. She’s trying and I do think her love is redeeming her to Phillip. (MSM sure makes a point to mention her hair!)
The relationship between the Uncle and Aunt is strange. They are slightly off. Maybe old fashioned in their ways.
SO. Before I begin, I must make a confession: when I opened my copy of Of Human Bondage, I was gob-smacked to see that it was an ABRIDGED edition. I wasn’t even going to read it, but then I read the Introduction, which was by Maugham himself. He says, in part, A writer is a fool if he thinks every word he wrote is sacrosanct and that his work will be ruined if a comma is omitted or a semi-colon misplaced. A novel is not a scientific work nor a work of edification. So far as the reader is concerned it is a work which purports to offer him intelligent entertainment. If this book, in this shortened version, finds new readers who get just that from it, I shall be well satisfied.
So, not being able to obtain a full-length edition from the library, and having spent my book allowance for the month, I decided to go ahead with the abridged version, with the author’s approval. And, I hope, not too much disapproval from the rest of the group here.
I’ll make a new post for my comments on this weeks reading.
I didn’t even know there was an abridged version. I’m sure it’s fine. I will say the unabridged version does not read long at all. A testament to the writer.
The first thing that struck me about the story is how very Dickensian it felt: the poor child with an affliction, the poor-as-church-mice clergy, the hypocritical vicar, and so on. Because I’m reading the abridged, I can’t tell if the style is anything like Dickens.
I think the uncle is a hypocrite and unnecessarily cruel to Philip. There were times I wanted to slap him – or worse. The aunt, I think, wants to have a loving relationship with Philip but just doesn’t know how. What a wasted life she leads.
And that club foot: my heart broke for Philip when he prayed so hard for a miraculous curing! It was painful to watch him suffer the foot, but also the loss of faith.
I slipped easily into this story – much more so than I thought I would. I’m curious to find out what happens to Philip in this week’s reading.
Very Dickensian, I agree.
I find it very easy to feel empathy for Philip. I don’t always agree with his actions but he seems for the most part a likable boy.
maybe it’s just me, but I feel a bit like I’m reading a Dickens novel without all of the extraneous parts.
Another reader mentioned Dickens too. I feel that, but it’s not quite as depressing and dark, even given Philip’s loneliness and heartache.
This next section really zeroes in on the isolation he feels and as he gets older it seems to become even more of an issue for him.
When I read this in school, it was a comparison with Dickens’ style. Maugham’s style is far more accessible compared to Dickens. That’s the one thing I took away from our discussions in school. This is like David Copperfield in some ways and mirrors Dickens’ themes on society and clergy and hypocrites, etc.
What I loved are those tiny moments of tenderness. I hope those stay with Philip throughout the journey. He’s definitely very cerebral boy – he thinks deeply. I think the Aunt here is not sure how to care for a boy not her own, but feels it is her duty to do so. The uncle irks me greatly.
When we get the school, it is expected he would be an outsider here give his club foot. And despite all of his efforts, he just doesn’t belong and they don’t want to accept him. They all are here for a hardship story, but it seems as though Philip’s disability sets him even further apart — someone who gets treated better because of it (at least in the other children’s eyes).
Maugham is an excellent storyteller so far.
Many readers find Philip to be a little frustrating but I was empathetic towards him. He reminded me a lot of Holden Caulfied from Catcher. And yes, the comparison to Dickens. I find Dickens to be a bit depressing. I didn’t get that with OHB.