W Somerset Maugham Books

This book was a pure joy to read. Even though it's meant for children, I received it as a gift and intend to read it to my daughter when she's old enough to understand. The person who gave the book to me knew that I, like you, would appreciate the dreamlike environment in which the book is set. It makes for a golden-threaded background for another lesson based on the golden rule--with a twist. Instead of "Do Unto Others As You Would Be Treated", it's more of a "Do As They Want to Be Treated."

The words used and the way the story is told keeps the tale alive and interesting for both adults and children. (Adults in particular would enjoy the "knowing way" in which certain descriptions are slipped in.)

His short stories whetted my appetite for good reading as I was learning the subtle nuances of English language as an adolescent in 1970s. Like healthy food healthy books also need some effort at resisting junk while cultivation of a taste is ongoing in one's reading adolescence. English was only a second language for me after Oriya those days. One of my favorites is "Bookbag", where a British Colonial Civil Servant survives his outpost reading books and late delivery periodicals in chronological order.(Like watching a video tape of a soap opera in right order) I sought out all his books as well as books about him. One of them called "Somerset and all the Maughams" is written by his nephew Robin Maugham. In that he also mentions about a maternal uncle of Somerset Maugham, a black sheep named Charles Snell, who died an untimely death in Cuttack,a town in eastern India where I happened to spend a good part of my youth. I found his tomb stone in a cemetary known to locals as white mans' burial ground. Each epitaph in that cemetary may as well be spun into a Maugham story. Hope his books start to sell at Airports or train station bookstalls again. I think he is one of the most under-rated literary prodigies of last century. Do any English Professors teach his books in a undergraduate class ? Unfortunately the period and locales described by Maugham are rapidly being dismembered by the tramplings of human civilization. Hope reprints of his short stories like this; will keep them alive in the imagination of generations to come, at the least.

This quasi-journal of Maugham's thoughts, travels, philosophies and bits of literature is facinating on several levels. For an avid Maugham fan, you can see the germination of the ideas and the travels that became his novels. The charming, brilliant and matter-of-fact way in which Maugham says startling things about life will have you underlining passages throughout the work.

Guys....the only bad experience i have had so far with buying stuff through amazon.

The book I received was through Amazon and was described as "new" but it was actually soiled on the outside. Otherwise the book was fine.

About the book its a splendid book with the exotic prose of the classics of yore like that of "Great Expectations".

I am still half way through the book and am reading in the speed read mode.
Happy reading guys.this is a book worth the money.

CJ in LA

"The Razor's Edge" is a wise and well-written novel about American expatriates in France in the 1920s and '30s. The characters make different choices about life: one is a ludicrous social snob; another enters a loveless but stable marriage; another opts for degradation and self-destruction; and another seeks enlightenment in India. Every character (and path) is vividly rendered, making it an unforgettable book.

That said, readers expecting a tale of Eastern mysticism may be disappointed. The section on India is a relatively small part of the book, and the events there are rendered (rather artificially) in the form of a long reminiscence by the enlightenment-seeker, suggesting that Maugham didn't quite know how to pull off the "spiritual" material. But it's the only "off" note in an otherwise near-perfect book. Read it.

The book and audio detail exquisite conversations and journeys apropos of what many are currently going through now. Lovely vignettes and snapshots of a bygone era-however it seems the issues of enlightment and self examination are universal. Wonderfully written and always refreshing to reread. I love Maughn-he captures so much in each scene.

This book, recommended by a friend, was my first exposure to Maugham. I enjoyed it thoroughly, as I find myself asking the questions (or perhaps looking for the questions) Larry, one of the main characters was asking. While it was billed as a book about a man searching for purpose, truth, and meaning, it was only partially that. Maugham juxtaposes the snob Elliot Templeton, contrasting their motives, yet comparing their actions in many respects also.

Having read "Siddartha" by Herman Hesse and "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer, I found "The Razor's Edge" to be very similar. If you are a fan of the theme of a maverick youth looking for truth outside of comfortable society, then the "Razor's Edge" is for you.

Timeless classic for anyone who loves freedom, rebirth and the hunger for knowledge. The passages and conversations on India, Paris and the South of France are exquisite, the characters formed; you know some of these people. Many people search the world for truth as self defined, seeking wisdom with passion inside that is an unquenchable fire. This book will mean different things to different people but if you give it a clear read, it will leave a lasting impression on you similar to the novels Lost Horizon and Homage to Catalonia. For anyone with a love of Europe, Americans in Europe and the radiance, tragedy and survival of the human spirit.

Of Human Bondage is a study of how life circumstances mold human behavior and thought. The story follows Philip Carey's life from birth to age 30. We see life through Philip's eyes to understand the experiences that shape the boy and the man. Through life's trials; disability, loss, deprivation, ridicule, friendships, love and achievement Philip grows and changes. He reveals in his human struggle bounded by his passions his desire to find a meaningful life.

Maugham's characters are writ large. Philip's uncle is not simply stern, but austere, coldly unemotional, miserly, and unsympathetic. Philip doesn't just have financial problems, but falls upon near starvation and homelessness. His girlfriend is not simply hurtful but calculatingly cruel, and devoid of human decency. Anthley cannot just be a jolly sort, but a verbose and bellowing character bursting with goodwill and humanity. Philip's actions and insights are sometimes disgustingly selfish and other times heartbreaking sincere and humble. He is fully and believably human.

After loving Maughams other works such as, The Razors Edge, Up at the Villa, Theatre I felt I must give Of Human Bondage another try. My first attempt failed as I did not have the patience to make through the sluggish first 200 pages of Philip's early years. After Philip goes off to Paris to pursue an artist's life, things really take off for both Philip and the reader. Though written almost a century ago the story is as relevant as ever and will be as long there are people taking life's journey. A full and absorbing tale deserving of it's classic status.

When little club-footed Philip Carey's mother died, he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle, severe, religious relatives who knew not how to handle the child thrust into the midst of their lives. He grew up without coddling or affection, but with books and the fantastic worlds they brought to him, worlds he would strive his whole life to recreate in fact. From his experiences in school to an artist's paris, to the hospitals of London and the dregs of society, Of Human Bondage details his search for himself and for his own brand of reality as he waits, desperate for life to finally begin. I see a lot of myself in Philip's apparently directionless wanderings, which is the beauty of this novel. He is believeable to extremes, and gloriously ambivalent morally. The book is beautifully written and wonderfully unpredictable, avoiding trite cliches and overlong prosaic rambles alike. Read it for school, or for pleasure, or for the experience of seeing plainly a slice of someone else's life, someone neither virtuous nor sinful, someone wholly real.

Little read these days, but Maugham remains head and shoulders above almost all contemporary novelists and this is his masterpiece.

I have read this book many times over the years and it's different every time. Is amazing how one writer can get all those human emotions and write about them, one can actually feel what the characters feel and get involved into their lives. A book that is worth reading more than once...

I am sorry to say that I thoroughly disliked "Of Human Bondage." I know it is on every must read list for fiction (which is why I decided to read it) however, I just wonder how such a boring story can continually be relegated to such a hallowed position in literature? Not only did I find it dull but I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the main character's perception of women! I'm not a feminist in the least but most of the female characters were described in such pathetic ways. "Yellow teethed" "Sallow skin" "Dirty Hands" "Tear stained over powdered face", it goes on and on. I wondered if the author was uncomfortable women? I looked online for some information about Maugham. To my surprise I found out that Maugham was bisexual. He did marry and have a child but for most of his life it sounded like he was involved with men. In no way can I say this substantiates or confirms the tone of the book -- but in some way it answered my question or concern.

Instead of this book I'd recommend the following classics: Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Madame Bovary by Flaubert. At least in these books, maybe the female characters are not the most virtuous but the characters are written with such sensuality that even though they might not be described as gorgeous they are brought to life in the pages by the author with a kaleidoscope of words that makes them multidimensional -- good or bad.

The Painted Veil pits amiable but unscrupulous fools against tormented souls, has a duly sarcastic starting-point, and is set in far-away, warlord-era China; in short, it has the ingredients for vintage Maugham.

The book begins in Hong Kong, with an adultery scene. Kitty Fane is beautiful, shallow, and calculating. She soon finds her match in Charles Townsend, a vain and cynical but popular colonial official - and in her own husband, the lover's very photo-negative, who drags her through plague-ridden country in revenge. The story is that of her spiritual transformation. It can even be read to show women's superior ability for moral elevation.

The Painted Veil is full of Maugham's innumerable human insights, and it is filled with danger, physical and psychological. This is an easy to read, absorbing novel. Readers expecting lush visions of warlord-era China to jump from the page, though, will need to look in another place. The "native" country is distant, dream-like and morbid, seen through the eyes of the heroine, whose preoccupations are elsewhere. It is only peered at from the height of a curtained palanquin. Indeed, the novel paints the superficial and self-centred expatriate community of Hong-Kong much more than it does labouring China; as such, it probably remained true to life until very recent times.

The Painted Veil is the story of Kitty Fane, an Englishwoman living in Hong Kong in the 1920s. Unhappily married to Walter, a bacteriologist, Kitty embarks on a love affair with Charles Townsend, a local government official. When Walter finds out about the affair, he coerces Kitty into accompanying him to Mei-tan-fu, a town that has been struck with a cholera epidemic.

What I loved about this book, and what I love about all Maugham's books, is the way he has with language. The novel is short, but each sentence he uses packs a powerful punch; from the first page I was absolutely enthralled. Kitty is an extremely shallow, materialistic character, but still she's likeable--you even understand why she does what she does. We only see Walter through Kitty's eyes, and we're given a distasteful view of him; I wish that Maugham had introduced the reader to what he was thinking. Despite its flaws, however, I was utterly captivated by The Painted Veil.

I have not yet seen the movie, but I think Somerset Maugham deserves his place as one of the great authors of the last century. The story is inviting but not overwhelming and the author's sparse prose evoke just the right emotion of each scene. This book also has some important things to say about life and how we live it. This is an emotionally satisfying and heartfelt novel. Among the best 10 novels I've ever read.

'The Painted Veil' is certainly a deceptive literary masterpiece. From a 30,000 ft view the story sounds a bit boring: spoiled British woman, circa 1920, hastily marries a total bore, moves to Hong Kong and gets into a bit of hanky-panky with married self-centered turd, then is hijacked to the boonies by hubby to help the misfortunate Chinese cope with a cholera epidemic. Yawn. And indeed the first third of 'The Painted Veil', while certainly quality literature, is hardly enthralling.

Thankfully the author is simply WONDERFUL in capturing raw human emotion and how the human spirit can change. Our bratty, slutty leading lady goes through hell and is eventually transformed in remarkable, and believable ways. No, she doesn't become a saint. But her maturation is remarkable. I am left in *total awe* at how the author got away with producing a real corker of a novel in so few pages with relatively little in the way of action.


Bottom line: a little known masterpiece. Brilliant.

I saw the movie first and loved it, then went out bought the book and read it. Hated the book!!!! It was nothing like the movie, relationships that you thought would be described better in the book did not even exist! If you have seen the movie and love it don't read the book it will ruin your experience. However, if you have not yet seen the movie then you will probablly enjoy the book.

While books by the gazillion exist providing all of the secrets for improving one's style, marketability, plot, grammar, etc, there is no literary work I am aware of that touches the essence of being a writer better than does this book. It is Maugham's own view that readers should take from the books they read that which suits their own distinct interests; thus, reading should not be an onerous chore, but something to be cherished in satisfying distinctively individual appetites. The nature of this review, therefore, will not be all encompassing in its overview of the book. I seek instead to reflect on how his process of becoming a writer and thinker has influenced my feelings about creativity, or lack there of, in America today.

While Maugham recommends improving the technicalities of writing by concentrating on the literary elements of simplicity, euphony, and lucidity, his insights through years of prodigious writing offer much more than can be reduced to any easily digestible five-step format. For Maugham the artist, thanks largely to wealth or social distinction, is provided with greater freedom for expression than can be found in most other narrowly defined vocations. Yet he berates the pompous quarters of the literary community who view the uncultured masses as their inferiors. In seeking fodder for a novel, Maugham would rather have spent an evening with a Cockney plumber than a week at 10 Downing Street with the Prime Minister himself. "There is no more merit in having read a thousand books," asserts Maugham, "than in having plowed a thousand fields." How many of us, however, can honestly remember our younger, pedantic, school days when we held in disdain those who sought sustenance in trades? "It is a silly prejudice of the intellectual that his [knowledge] is the only one that counts." (pg. 87) To Maugham, therefore, culture in its highest form is not a stodgily arrogant attitude condescending toward those of lesser rank and privilege, but instead it is a noble expression in which modesty and compassion reign supreme.

In summing up, Maugham's lasting message to me as a writer is to focus more on the quirky, ordinary day-to-day occurrences in life, and to do so with a greater sense of humility. Beyond that and on the broader plain, I can only think of how Maugham might view the abysmal state of our current educational system, where public education teachers often feel like automatons teaching to the almighty test. Hypothetically, if you find yourself lost in a sub-zero snow storm in the midst of the wilderness some day and your car breaks down placing your life at peril, and your fellow passenger is a choice of either a 'smart-aleck' special education student who has been tinkering with engines since age six or some stuck-up kid who scored tops in the school's standardized test, which one would you leave behind? In the most inclusive fashion, Maugham reminds us that we all have different creative aptitudes. To suggest that academic ability is the only venue for measuring student success is immeasurably wrong. Sadly, it is harmful to those whose learning capabilities differ but who have real, valuable contributions to offer our society.

Founder of the Kentucky Young Writer's Connection

This audio presentation of 'The Summing Up' was masterfully presented by Charlton Griffin. I have read several of Maugham's works and consequently found the content of this book very enlightening. I thoroughly enjoyed Griffin's calming voice, with a subtle touch of Maugham's native British accent. At times, I felt as though I was sitting in an English pub with Maugham himself, listening while he talked of his life, philosophy and writings. I would highly recommend this recorded piece of literature, especially to other W. S. Maugham enthusiasts like myself.

I do not mean to discourge pepole from reading this book if they are not Maugham's fans. I have read the book twice or three times. In the book he summarizes his life and he has something to say just about everything. I found his philosophical discussions intersting. He is also a master of literary criticism and you learn a lot about the art of fiction as well as many artists, writers and famous people of his time. This is not a book for people interested in his biography, but a philosophical book about how he lived his life and how you should live if you go by his opinions. I highly recommend it to Maugham's fans and people studying literature and arts.

Somerset Maugham sums up his vision on mankind, the English, morals and art (theatre, the novel). It is a penetrating and very modern view. The best book I have read from him.
It shows that he had a very profound scientific and philosophical background.

His stance on determinism, chance and free will was based on his philosophical and scientific readings (Hume and Heisenberg's Principle of Indeterminacy).
The same can be said of his view on mankind, which was highly influenced by Darwin and Schopenhauer: 'The essence of man is his egoism that we all inherit from that remote energy which in the unplumbed past first set the ball rolling'; or 'So long as some are strong and some are weak, the weak will be driven to the wall'.

Having read a lot of philosophy, he was upset by the low standard of the philosophy of his days, which dodged for him fundamental problems, like evil (war).

The author has sometimes been characterized as cynical (e.g. for his best novel 'Of human bondage'). He shows his cynicism again in this book: on the English, 'They are not an amorous race. They are of course sufficiently sexual for the purpose of reproducing their species, but they cannot control the instinctive feeling that the sexual act is disgusting.'
Or his virulent atheism: 'God is not so reasonable. He promises rewards to those who believe in him and threatens with horrible punishment those who do not. For my part I cannot believe in a God who is angry with me because I do not believe in him'.

His analysis of the writer (not one but many men), the novel and theatre is highly modern. It could easily be applied on TV plays today.

This is a sincere, still topical and highly recommendable book.

Maugham has always been one of my favorite writers. He was an Edwardian gentleman in every sense of the word. I can't really call this an autobiography because many chapters are concerned with Maugham's literary and artistic insights, as well as philosophy and religion. But, my God!...what an incredible conversationalist he must have been. The narrator here, Charlton Griffin, perfectly captures the suave, unflappable, urbane charm that Maugham exuded. I don't know what Maugham sounded like, but I can no longer imagine him without hearing this tape in my head. That world-weariness that descended on Maugham and his class in Britain is superbly realized in Griffin's voice. Make no mistake about it - this will be a classic recording for years to come...the definitive recorded edition.

I loved this book and am writing here to strongly recommend that it be read along with Moonchild by Aliester Crowley. This is a terrific suspenseful adventure. If you read both books you are in for a special treat.

Maugham's elegant prose, his mastery of dialog, and his uncanny ability to sketch living, breathing, three dimensional characters in a few sentences serve him well in this gripping tale of the life and crimes of the evil Oliver Haddo and the handful of unlucky naïfs who fall under his spell in Paris at the turn of the last century.

Unlike many of Maugham's other novels, the appeal of "The Magician" owes as much to the tight plotting as to the characterizations. In particular, the character of the deliciously wicked Oliver Haddo, based on the infamous Aleister Crowley, "the wickedest man alive," jumps off the page. However, like Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (a book that in structure "The Magician" resembles more than a little) the plot can sag slightly when the villain is off-stage. Luckily, this is never for more than a handful of pages.

Still surprisingly fresh and readable nearly a hundred years after its first publication, this book will appeal as much to the literate horror fan as to the typical "Twentieth Century Classics" reader.

This is possibly the strangest of all Maugham novels that I've read. It starts innocently enough with the type of sophisticated turn of the century Parisian characters that populate much of his fiction. The characters are lucidly established and we are slowly drawn into their relationships and longings in typical Maugham fashion. Then we are introduced to the strange eccentric character of Oliver Haddo and with each of his subsequent appearances the theme of lurking evil is masterfully developed. The plot then takes over in a way that I felt was unique for Maugham and this novel turns into a suspenseful page turner. It is in someways reminiscent of Dracula. The climax builds relentlessly and the last half of the book is virtually impossible to put down once it's begun. Wonderfully blends a horror tale with the cultural sophistication of all Maugham's writing.

This is the story about a beautiful young girl named Margaret, her friend Susie and Arthur Burdon - Margareth's guardian and fiancée. They are in Paris, preparing the wedding of Arthur and Margaret, when they meet the strange Oliver Haddo. He is introduced to them by Dr Porhoët, a friend of Arthurs'. Haddo is an eccentric character who is deeply occupied with occult mysteries and perhaps has dark powers of his own (or is he joking?)

Arthur and Margaret take an instant dislike to Haddo, and when he and Arthur become enemies, strange things begin to happen...

Soon the sensible and rational Arthur finds himself in way over his head in mysteries, when he tries to save the woman he loves from a truly horrible fate!

The story is interesting and haunting, but the characters are a bit too rigid for my taste, and - except for Haddo - without much nuance. I'm aware that the themes they represent are the main focus of the novel, but I would have liked more "3 dimensional" characters (again except for Haddo).

The plot is well constructed and interesting, and the explorations of the dark arts and it's practises are fascinating!

I won't reveal too much of the story here, as it takes some interesting twists and turns along the way! A nice read for a rainy day, if you like suspense and mystery mixed with love and occultism!

This novel is based on a character whom Somerset Maugham met in Paris in 1897 called Aleistair Crowley. He was a liar, a boastful man and a voluminous writer of mediocre verse. He was also dabbing in Satanism, magic and occult. He inspired Somerset Maugham and served as a model for Oliver Haddo in "The Magician".
Arthur Burdon, surgeon of St Luke's in London, has just arrived in Paris to study the methods of the French operators. But he has also come there to see Margaret Dauncy with whom he is in love. It is Dr Porhoet, a lifetime friend of Arthur's, who introduces him to Oliver Haddo. This obese, fleshy-faced man with an imposing paunch claims to be a magician. At a dinner party, the guests can hardly believe the stories told by this charlatan. They wonder whether he is an impostor or a madman and how much he really believes what he says. Does he deceive himself or is he laughing up his sleeve at the madness of those who take him seriously? To Arthur's bewilderment, as he is about to marry Margaret, she falls under the spell of Oliver Haddo and flees with him. Yet Arthur can hardly picture into what abyss of horror and evil Margaret will be driven.
A complex and perceptive novel. The theme of evil is perfectly woven into a story stunning for its action and vivid characters.
I recommend the audio version from Audible.com. Listening to Frederick Davidson reading "The Magician" is a pure delight!

I discovered Somerset Maugham about 10 years ago. I had ignored his works before that because my brain reacts in a not-so-polite way to books in the "classics" section: it goes into REM mode.

I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy his works, although there were parts that were somewhat disturbing and many of his short stories seem to have a similar plot.

This biography has helped me understand where the writer was coming from. Sadly, now I am a bit more disturbed about the human being behind the writer. But since I am a reader, it is the writer whom I can judge.

Why four instead of five stars? Because of some repetitions, without which I would have had saved some time, maybe to re-read "The Moon and Sixpence".

Jeffrey Meyers is a prolific biographer of literary figures whose books are hit-and-miss - while never less than professional, they are sometimes excellent and sometimes disappointing, depending on the rapport that Meyers has with his subject. But they are always marked by his remarkable industry and erudition. I've enjoyed most of them very much, and his last book, on George Orwell, was excellent.

I'm delighted to say that his new book on W. Somerset Maugham is just as good. It's possible that Meyers feels a rapport with Maugham because, like his subject, Meyers is fantastically prolific and not given his due by the intelligentsia. Whatever the reason, this is an excellent biography of an underrated writer, and immediately becomes the standard life of its subject.

Maugham was a very fertile writer and, like anyone who writes a lot, his production is uneven. Some of his books -- "Of Human Bondage" and "Cakes and Ale" come to mind -- will live as long as any English novels of the last century. Others, such as his historical novel about Machiavelli, "Then and Now," which Edmund Wilson used to unfairly trash his entire body of work in a 1946 New Yorker review, will most likely be forgotten. But Maugham wrote brilliantly in virtually every genre, from the essay to the spy story (his "Ashenden" had a noticeable influence on Ian Fleming's creation James Bond) to the travel book to plays (he once had four plays on the West End at once -- a feat that's been seldom duplicated) to the novel and short story, and the best of his work will live. Meyers illuminates his life with understanding and tact, and avoids (or at least does his best to downplay) the prurient detail so indulged in by other, more sensational biographers (Ted Morgan leaps to mind).

So if you're at all intrigued by the most successful author of his time, or if you're already a fan of his work and would like a sympathetic (yet not uncritical) look at his life, I would highly recommend Jeffrey Meyers new biography. And I can't wait to see which author he tackles next.

Maugham is one of the best authors of the 20th C. and Mr. Meyers not only does an excellent job summing up his life but a notable job analyzing his works. Through this meandering work we are able to learn much about Maugham as a person (some of which I did not care to know as it shattered my image of him) and about his private life. The book alo does an excellent job charcterising [...]. All in all a worthwhile book.

Over the years W. Somerset Maugham has become one of if not my favorite author. His Novels, plays and short stories capture his time and social circumstances perfectly. He is the consumate Edwardian writer.
Jeffrey Meyer has produced a great biography that combines well researched details of Mauham's personal life with analysis of his work from various periods of his long and prolific career.
This is a wonderful biography, that fully immerses the reader in the world of Maugham as a writer and a man who had obvious shortcomings but yet emerges from this as a sympathetic character. There is much here for the fan of Maugham that will illuminate some of his better known characterizations as being based on individuals in his life.
Overall I found this to be a highly readable and very enjoyable literary biography and I will be sure to check out more of Meyers' work as well as revisit some of Maugham's as a result of having read this.

I am a big fan of Sumerset Maugham. The problem with this particular book (and it does not happen in any other I have read/bought) is that it is full of typos!

There are repeated phrases; using form instead of from; too instead of to.. etc. The amount of errors is unprecedented and I wonder is this some sort of "off brand" reprint??

I would suggest looking for a different maker for these stories. It must be out there.

It's great news that they'll soon be issuing a new edition of this collection. The stories are timeless and beautifully rendered. Maugham explores everything from the evils of colonialism to the rigid social expectations of turn of the century Chicago aristocrats -- and in each case he transports us to the South Pacific. He's one of the great practitioners of the short story and this collection provides us with a concise glimpse at his handiwork.

Somerset Maugham was a veteran of British intelligence during World War I, an experience that was to influence his views of the world in subsequent years as well as his writing. The Trembling of a Leaf is a compilation of six short stories and two sketches by Maugham, including his famous story "Rain," an ironic look at the dark consequences and of being too fixated on the object of your affections, -- which is perhaps better known by its film and theater adaptation as "Sadie Thompson." Romance, the cruel forces of reality, and a keen attention to the unforeseen color this classic anthology showcasing Somerset Maugham's literary genius.

This book consists of 8 short stories, many of them playing in the South Sea Islands. After reading this book you will want to go there and enjoy the beauty of life. Beautifully written, a pure pleasure to read!