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Of Human Bondage
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 25 hrs and 53 mins
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Of Human Bondage
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Summary
One of the most widely read novels of the 20th century, W. Somerset Maugham's masterpiece, Of Human Bondage, gives a harrowing depiction of unrequited love. Philip Carey, a sensitive orphan born with a clubfoot, finds himself in desperate need of passion and inspiration. He abandons his studies to travel, first to Heidelberg and then to Paris, where he nurses ambitions of becoming a great artist.
Philip's youthful idealism erodes, however, as he comes face-to-face with his own mediocrity and lack of impact on the world. After returning to London to study medicine, he becomes wildly infatuated with Mildred, a vulgar, tawdry waitress, and begins a doomed love affair that will change the course of his life.
First published in 1915, the semi-autobiographical Of Human Bondage combines the values left over from the Victorian era with the prevailing irony and despair of the early 20th century. Unsentimental yet bursting with deep feeling, Of Human Bondage remains Maugham's most complete statement of the importance of physical and spiritual liberty, a theme that resounds more loudly than ever today.
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What listeners say about Of Human Bondage
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. K. M. Jones
- 16-07-23
Captivating and wonderful
I am missing listening to the beautiful language and the finely drawn details of the period.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tony Fitzgerald
- 13-01-24
We're all the same to some degree
the authors understanding of humankind, their failings and also their redeeming qualities, a study on what it is to be human.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 16-08-21
Maugham's Masterpiece
If you are going to devote over 25 hours of your life listening to a book it had better be worth it and my conclusion, having just finished the novel, is that it was time very well spent. It was also brilliantly read by Steven Crossley which is another essential quality of any good listen. The search for happiness and meaning in life are universal themes and as a listener we follow Phillip Carey on his often painful journey towards an understanding that living in the here and now, rather than the future, can provide happiness and meaning. I liked the ending because I had been rooting for Phillip all along and who is to say he didn't get to Spain and the Far East. I rather hope he did.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- HalfMyLife
- 09-10-19
Thought provoking
Started thinking I'd never get through it. The reader has a slightly odd style that didn't always seem to fit. Glad I persevered as this is a great story, apparently partly based on Maughan's life. Quite a lot of art jargon and many words from the dictionary that aren't heard anymore. I was sad when it finished.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 10-03-24
A realistic and unromantic story about love and passion
A beautiful and thought provoking story about the involuntary nature of love and human attachment. Love given, love desired, love unrequited and love unwanted.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ANTHONY JAMES SHEPHARD
- 16-12-15
Classic
A story of emotional turmoil set in a forgotten age. Gloriously written and well told
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- comfy girl
- 07-05-21
Passion, emotion, motivation and dreams.
Wonderful writing. A deep dive into passion and emotions as well as dreams and motivations. The narration was generally good although the high pitched whining voices used for some of the female characters, particularly Mildred, bordered on a pastiche of Monty Python.
I listened to the "Moon and Sixpence" before this and Robert Hardy was certainly a much better narrator than Steven Crossley.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 25-04-20
The Jewel in the Crown of England's Glory
Is there a better book in the English language? Seriously? Maugham is the master, and this book is utterly timeless. It changed my life.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- kamal rahman
- 16-02-24
A beautiful companion of a story
A wonderfully human story, painted with words of depth and soul - a joy to listen to, beautifully told and like old friend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mary Carnegie
- 02-09-20
Hero/anti-hero?
A long Bildungsroman with influences from many other writers. Glad I didn’t live then, and certainly not in the south of England. Class remains a peculiar, complex, incomprehensible aspect of English life, but the misogyny of that era has softened- or been somewhat modified! The English sense of superiority to the rest of the human race, which was unashamed then, has renewed in the wake of Brexit, unfortunately.
The protagonist was orphaned in middle childhood and was born with a club foot, about which he is inordinately sensitive. He is contrary, often acting against his own best interests and good advice, which leads him into an unsettled adolescence and young adulthood. He can be kind and generous, but also calculating and cruel. The best bits for me are his medical studies and early professional life (since I’m a retired medic) but his indifference to his first experiences of the dissecting room and death do not resemble mine or those of my friends. He thinks too much, and feels too much in a chaotic way.
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