Maugham as an author is impeccable. His characters are alive, passionate and human. This book was a fantastic voyage, and one of those books which are better than food. You pick this book, read it and feel your insides change by the time you finish it. Fantastic. ( )

Wonderful character development with thought provoking themes. ( )

Amazing characters, as usual. ( )

"The best to be said for it is that when you've come to the conclusion that something is inevitable all you can do is to make the best of it."

I got this lovely book as a present at the end of last year and for the past three weeks or so I have been reading it slowly so as to savour the great story.

Laurence Darrell known for the better part of the book as Larry is an American war veteran who after the death of a friend during the war is stirred with questions of life, existence and meaning, which leads him to France, Germany and later India on a quest of answers to his questions. This is among the books I've read that I wished I'd read sooner. The first Maugham book to have read, I think it's a great introduction to a fantastic storyteller.

Throughout the book, Maugham seamlessly takes us through time and uses points of view from different very well written characters to tell the story. Not only does this book tackle questions of life, meaning, love, class, Maugham also writes of failure and reinvention and loss and tragedy, a book that I already miss just some mere minutes after reading. ( )

great. “distracted by so many conflicting interests, so lost in the world’s confusion, so wishful of good, so cocksure on the outside, so diffident within, so kind, so hard, so trustful, and so cagey, so mean and so generous, which is the people of the United States” ( )