The Narrow Corner

By W. Somerset Maugham

On his way home from a remote Pacific island, Dr Saunders travels with two strangers: the treacherous Captain Nichols, and Fred, a handsome Australian with a shadowy past. Driven to shelter from a storm on the island of Kanda, the trio meet good-natured Erik Christessen and his fiancée, the cool and beautiful Louise. A tense, exotic tale of love, jealousy, murder and suicide...

• Language: English
• Publisher: eBookIt.com
• Release date: Feb 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9781456636647

W. Somerset Maugham

W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was an English novelist, playwright, and short story writer. Born in Paris, he was orphaned as a boy and sent to live with an emotionally distant uncle. He struggled to fit in as a student at The King’s School in Canterbury and demanded his uncle send him to Heidelberg University, where he studied philosophy and literature. In Germany, he had his first affair with an older man and embarked on a career as a professional writer. After completing his degree, Maugham moved to London to begin medical school. There, he published Liza of Lambeth (1897), his debut novel. Emboldened by its popular and critical success, he dropped his pursuit of medicine to devote himself entirely to literature. Over his 65-year career, he experimented in form and genre with such works as Lady Frederick (1907), a play, The Magician (1908), an occult novel, and Of Human Bondage (1915). The latter, an autobiographical novel, earned Maugham a reputation as one of the twentieth century’s leading authors, and continues to be recognized as his masterpiece. Although married to Syrie Wellcome, Maugham considered himself both bisexual and homosexual at different points in his life. During and after the First World War, he worked for the British Secret Intelligence Service as a spy in Switzerland and Russia, writing of his experiences in Ashenden: Or the British Agent (1927), a novel that would inspire Ian Fleming’s James Bond series. At one point the highest-paid author in the world, Maugham led a remarkably eventful life without sacrificing his literary talent.

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Reviews for The Narrow Corner

[eglinton_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Eurocentric, male-centric tale of passion and dispassion in the old East Indies. Maugham’s style is always a comfort: precise descriptions, detachment from his characters, an air of calm authority. So the action and the characters (rogues, frauds, obsessives, a mellow nihilist as the principal) are relayed to us from civilised, sedate scenes: gin pahits before dinner, cheroots on the veranda.

[soylentgreen23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The ending is spoiled in the introduction, and so the whole book feels unnecessary.

[la2bkk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another worthwhile read by Maugham. The story captures the essence of a life in the South Seas that has long since past. Interesting characters and story lines- however, it was odd that while the majority of the book focuses on Dr. Saunders, the real "action" concerned Fred Blake's interactions with women, both of which have unintended and compelling results.

[edwinbcn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Published in 1932, W.Somerset Maugham novel The narrow corner harks back to the author's experiences in the Far East. The novel features some remarkably beautiful and sensuous descriptions of life in China, the beauty of the land and the people, and the purity and devotion of the main character's Chinese boy. In those days, having a "Chinese boy" was a very standard part of the expat's lifesyle, and the "boy" referred to a young male manservant, who would serve the Master from sun-up to late night, preparing tea, cooking meals, boiling water for shaving and preparing opium pipes, etc. For Somerset Maugham who was extremely discrete regarding his own personal life and privacy, it has been suggested that the tender descriptions of the "Chinese boy" in The narrow corner are a reflection of his interest in Asian men.The plot of The narrow corner are reminiscent of novels by Jack London while the setting, cruising the Malayan archipelago, where the Dutch were the colonial masters, may remind readers of the novels of Joseph Conrad.The narrow corner starts out slowly, with Dr. Saunders being called upon by an old Chinese relation to leave Fuzhou and come to operate on his eyes offering to pay him extremely well. After the operation, Dr. Saunders is stuck on the island, and when Captain Nichols, with the young Australian Fred Blake in tow arrives, he is tempted to offer for passage on their vessel. Captain Nichols is a bit of a boastful character, and unreliable at not just that, while Fred hides a dark secret. When the three of them put in at another island. On the island, under Dutch rule, Dr Saunders will wait for the Dutch packet boat Princess Jualiana , which can take him to a larger island. They mix with the local resident foreigners, a mixed bag of oddballs, and the handsome Blake falls in love with the daughter of an eccentric Englishman called Frith. Their presence and Blake's involvement with Louise leads to the suicide of the Danish Erik Christessen.While not spectacular, and the plot development in the second part of the novel being a bit obscure, The narrow corner is a beautifully written novel, that might interest quite a few readers.All the novels and short stories, as well as essays by W.Somerset Maugham were re-issued in new editions by Vintage in 2001. All book covers are styled in the art deco style of the Roaring Twenties, which unfortunately means that the cover for The narrow corner would give interested readers a completely wrong idea about the content and style of the novel.

[piperbill · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Maugham's characters are always special and usually placed in provoking situations. This work is proof of Maugham's magic.