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The Moon And Sixpence
- Narrated by: Robert Hardy
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
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Summary
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What listeners say about The Moon And Sixpence
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- David
- 11-06-11
Not great, apart from the Reader.
I had read some Somerset Maugham short stories before and greatly enjoyed them. Others may, of course, view this story differently, but I found it long, inconsequential, dull and, ultimately, unpleasant. The two stars I offer are in recognition of Robert Hardy's brilliant reading. Had it not been for this, I wouldn't have bothered to persevere. And if, like me, you think Robert Hardy's reading is the only good thing about this Audiobook, try his reading of Evelyn Waugh's 'Vile Bodies' - it happens, also, to be one of my favourite books but Mr Hardy's interpretation of it is brilliant.
14 people found this helpful
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- Barbara
- 02-03-11
Great story - Excellent narrator
Much of the enjoyment of an audio book lies in the narrator; Hardy Robert was excellent. Each character was brought to life and the ?cast? was easily distinguished from one another by his varied rendition of their voices, which seemed to fit perfectly with my mental image of them.
7 people found this helpful
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- Wras
- 10-08-15
“I shut my eyes in order to see.” Gauguin
The name of the book is a reference to a line in Of Human Bondage "so busy yearning for the moon that he never saw the sixpence at his feet."
It is an excellent book that is entertaining, literate and beautiful.
Character Charles Strickland is inspired by Paul Gauguin (7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) but in reality all the characters in this book are ciphers of humanity's, archetypes, exaggerated in their perspectives and positions; a means to create friction and tension in what is an exploration of art, divinity, and individual social responsibility, to the family, to a culture, and to oneself.
This is not a large book but it achieves a great deal within a few pages and for the period when it was written. Somerset Maugham questions the value of art and the markets that promote it, family and duty, against the fulfilment of one's desires or calling in life, he even questions the cultural values of Europe against a simpler life in the islands, living like a native and dying like a primitive and primordial inhabitant of eden. He discusses the fulfilment of doing and working in something you love just for the love of doing it.
The two main characters are pig headed and determine, the narrator can be bitchy and judgemental, and Strickland is single minded and unpleasant to all, communicating only sparsely in words and fully in paint. The rest represent different facets and obstacles or duties in life. Some might mistake the determination of following a calling as egoism but for some it is just a form of survival
The writer did visit the islands and interviewed people that new Gauguin but this is not a biography by any means, but a work of fiction a very good work of fiction.
If you would like to know more about the life of Gauguin Wikipedia has a fantastically detailed article and substantial collection of photos and reproductions of the artists painting and sculpture.
Gauguin, is considered to be the founder of primitivism in art.
“No one is good; no one is evil; everyone is both, in the same way and in different ways. …”
“It is so small a thing, the life of a man, and yet there is time to do great things, fragments of the common task.”
Paul Gauguin, Intimate Journals, 1903
18 people found this helpful
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- dustinwind24
- 29-07-15
excellent performance
a great book and great narration by the narrator. he has done a good job.
I really enjoyed the book.
3 people found this helpful
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- AReader
- 06-05-13
Compelling story, well read
I agree with the previous reviews, odd though that may seem, as they appear contradictory.
Yes, Robert Hardy reads the story very well. His voice is very suitable.
Yes, the subject of the story is in many ways distressing. It is based loosely on the life of Van Gough. Strickland abandons his wife and children to be a painter. He has no feeling for any other person but is driven by his single minded pursuit of his art. Bad things happen to people he is involved with ( I won't spoil the story for those who don't know it). Eventually he dies in unfortunate circumstances.
Maugham is as always cynical or perhaps realistic about human motivation. However, in the case of Strickland he is perhaps less judgmental. The book raises the question of the value of art; can it be a higher good than mere happiness? Are Strickland's motives actually purer than those people who simply want a comfortable domestic life?
At the same time the narrative is compelling.
I recommend this audiobook.
6 people found this helpful
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- hfffoman
- 21-04-21
Brilliant narration can't quite redeem this
I find it amazing that a writer as famous as Somerset Maugham could have written this nonsense. It is a biography of Gauguin with the main points of his personality made up. I guess that the real Gauguin may have been somewhat antisocial and perhaps even objectionable but nobody is pretending that he remotely resembled the implausibly grotesque character in this "novel".
The book is supposedly a portrayal of artistic greatness but Maugham has not only deliberately left out what he knew (if he knew anything) about what inspired or drove Gauguin, but he has replaced it with a farce. We learn nothing about the artistic mind, or the nature of singlemindedness or obsession. The book contains not a jot of insight into what could have been an interesting subject.
I listened to the book because it has similarities with The Razor's Edge, which Maugham wrote decades later when he had apparently found something genuine to say about dropping out of conventional society. Try that, don't try this.
1 person found this helpful
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- M. Blythe
- 22-12-20
Beautiful prose matched by the voice
Robert Hardy could read a google terms and conditions contract and make the prose sing. I'd recommend anything at all that ge read but this is a masterpiece. I was gripped from start to finish. Incredible book made even better by this wonderful performance.
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 13-12-19
Sublime
Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.
Beautifully written and sublimely executed by Robert Hardy.
I can't recommend enough.
1 person found this helpful
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- Annie
- 10-12-17
Wonderful book narrated by the superb Robert Hardy
Over the years I have read or listened several times. This is a timeless book loosely based on the life of Gauguin. The construction and language makes it a book you can go back to many times and still discover something new in its pages. Although I have enjoyed it very much in print, this audio version is the one I return to because Robert Hardy’s narration is so compelling and brilliant, it brings another dimension altogether. Don’t miss out on this.
1 person found this helpful
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- Hugh M. Clarke
- 15-04-18
An Extreme Character
Robert hardy reads with great character and expression. The book is a fascinating portrait of a very bizarre character. Psychologically very interesting. The central character, Strickland, is as wayward as the art he produces. I enjoyed the book and the performance.
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- W Perry Hall
- 22-01-14
Roman a clef-abominable french artist Paul Gauguin
A dreadful misogynist who left his wife and 3 kids without remorse or a smidgen of regret in his mid-40s to pursue the painter's life in Paris, stole the wife of another painter who committed suicide when he rejected her as no longer necessary. Ultimately, he moves to Tahiti to live, paint masterpieces, marry a young native girl and die a leper.
Maugham's interesting study based on the life of the painter Paul Gauguin is partly a mockery of society's willingness to turn sinners into saints and partly a sober look at the artist's lifelong pursuit of "beauty" and its costs to both himself/herself and to loved ones.
I'd recommend it if you like Somerset Maugham, which I do, even though he was somewhat of an old lady in temperament. Warning too: it's pretty sexist -- one example, "Women are strange little beasts,... You can treat them like dogs, you can beat them till your arm aches, and still they love you." He shrugged his shoulders. "Of course, it is one of the most absurd illusions of Christianity that they have souls.... In the end they get you, and you are helpless in their hands. White or brown, they are all the same."
9 people found this helpful
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- Patrick King
- 08-03-14
Art and the Artist
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I'd highly recommend The Moon and Sixpence to anyone, particularly those struggling with the dichotomy between great art produced by a less-than-great human being.
What did you like best about this story?
Maugham uses a journalistic tone in The Moon and Sixpence to create the idea that the story happened to him just as he tells it. It is not only beautifully written but very convincing. If I didn't know that the story was based on the life of the painter Paul Gauguin and that Maugham did not actually know the artist, I'd believe this is a true story.
Which scene was your favorite?
My favorite scene was probably Maugham's confrontation with Strickland in his rundown Paris hotel. Maugham goes there full of preconceived notions about what Strickland is doing and finds that not one of them is true. The reality is much worse!
There are so many great scenes, when Stroeve does his utmost to convince his wife to allow him to bring the deathly ill Strickland home to their house. The death of Blanche Stroeve is another powerful scene. The scene when the landlady convinces Strickland to take a native wife. The description by the doctor of Strickland's destroyed masterpiece on the walls of his death hut. And the last scene when Mrs. Strickland and her children discuss the responsibilities of being related to a genius. Very ironic.
If you could rename The Moon And Sixpence, what would you call it?
Why fool with the title of a masterpiece?
Any additional comments?
Robert Hardy does a SPECTACULAR job on bringing this powerful and thought provoking novel to life. His characterizations are masterful.
6 people found this helpful
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- Douglas
- 31-01-13
Do not skip over this Audiobook!
If you could sum up The Moon And Sixpence in three words, what would they be?
Raw.Honest.Masterpiece
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Moon And Sixpence?
It's not so much a memorable moment as a theme.. How wonderfully revealing this novel is for exposing the things we will sometimes do to one another in order to fulfill our own needs.. And how can it be any other way? We are shown through Maugham's masterful use of the English language how one man's personality points fall somewhere so opposite those whom he comes in contact with on the many spectrum of life. And also how his points on those spectrum determine how his relationships play out and how he effects each person he meets. It is ugly - his truth - but is it truly his fault, being who he is? There are too many memorable moments to name just one. An incredible exploration of the darkness within us all and the overwhelming need for one and all to give of themselves or take for themselves to meet their own own needs of emotional survival. Is Charles Strickland a madman or a genius? You be the judge.
Which scene was your favorite?
There is a random meeting between the narrator and Strickland that underscores the narrator's assessment of Strickland and his base personality. It is particularly revealing and is focused on his point-blank questioning of Strickland regarding a very serious issue.
If you could take any character from The Moon And Sixpence out to dinner, who would it be and why?
It would have to be Charles Strickland, because it would be once in a lifetime to be in the presence of genius or madman and have the opportunity to decide for oneself which of those he truly is.
Any additional comments?
Well worth the time and money to just put yourself into this story as you listen and to explore where you might come out in the end...
4 people found this helpful
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- June
- 07-12-18
Love the classics!
The narrator is amazing! What struck me so much about this book is the fact that nothing has really changed in 100 years. As human beings we are still dealing with the same issues that we were dealing with 100 years ago. No matter how evolved or technically advanced we think we are, we can’t run away forever from the reality of life and death.
1 person found this helpful
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- Paganini
- 20-05-21
Still a gripping story, marred by hysterical narration.
This book is a grand tale, ranging over the globe in pursuit of the meaning of art in society. A little heavy on the "noble savage" theme; however this is defensible by the era of its writing.
The narration is frantic and hysterical, with unintelligible accents.
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- murray
- 29-09-20
story very thin
couldn't finish left with another hour to go couldn't bear listening to the tedious story
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- Paul Hamilton
- 21-06-19
Fantastic author and book!!
Really incredible book and author. Both stand this test of time, despite the language and attitudes.
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- Amazon Customer
- 23-05-18
Glad I Read it, But......
Well written book loosely based on life of Gauguin. Why? Why not write a biography based on facts? One comes away not knowing what is truth and what is fiction. I looked it up. A lot is fiction. What will stick with me....the truth or the fiction?
Still, it was an enjoyable story and a good reader. It DID make me do some research I might not have done on my own.....