Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading: The Moon and Sixpence (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading) (Paperback)

from LynnB

Somerset Maugham writes skillfully and beautifully. His descriptions of characters are perceptive, and he delves into motivations and connections with the precision of laser surgery. The Moon and Sixpence tells the story of Charles Strickland, who at 40 years of age, leaves his job as a stockbrok...

from Sumit_Nangia

Finishing this masterpiece by Maugham was never a cinch. Montage of human emotions, dialectic of the plot and the jargon floundered its completion. Title of the book inspired from the quote "Like so many young men he was so busy yearning for the moon that he never saw the sixpence at his feet " c...

from mtroper

I came to this book having read a few others by Somerset Maugham, all of which I had greatly enjoyed. Maugham always, to my mind, describes facets of character extremely keenly, and here I find the device of having the story told by a character acqauinted with the protagonist (if you can call hi...

from thornton37814

Maugham's novel, based on the life of Paul Gaugin, features Charles Strickland, an Englishman who leaves his wife when he is 40 years of age for France. The narrator pursues him on behalf of the wife only to discover that he had not left her for another woman but to paint. Five years later, the n...

from bohemima

Wow. Oh. That can't stand as a review, right? Dang. It expressed my feelings about this book exactly. Hmm. Maugham uses three or four facts from the life of Paul Gauguin and spins a tale of selfishness, art, and social commentary. It's an amazing tour de force, not a term I use lightly. Reading t...