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GREAT AUTHORS | LITERATURE
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham- A Book Review
“Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun.” — Picasso
Having read my second W. Somerset Maugham novel, The Painted Veil, and still in awe of his masterpiece, The Razor’s Edge, I imagine the author’s mind as a basin where his acute observations of nature and humanity accumulate as poured from the faucet. Then, when he is ready to record all he has seen, felt and experienced, he pulls the plug, and the liquid volume flows to his pages as pure as spring water.
Claiming any artistic work as “the best” is a tricky thing. Some would shout that Marvel’s Avengers End Game is astonishing, and while thoroughly entertaining, it doesn’t even enter the realm of art such as The Godfather, Life is Beautiful, or Schindler’s List.
So, is it fair to say that The Painted Veil or The Razor’s Edge is the best ever? That can only be answered by each reader to themselves. I will say that Somerset Maugham, in both aforementioned novels, is the best writing I’ve ever read.
If asked to describe Maugham’s work in one word, it would be “Flawless.” He writes like a river flows, effortless and eternal. If poets…