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Title: The Trembling of a Leaf - Selected Stories
Author: W. Somerset Maugham
Narrator: Flo Gibson
Format: Abridged
Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
Language: English
Release date: 07-25-17
Publisher: Audio Book Contractors, LLC
Genres: Classics, British Literature
Publisher's Summary:
With the South Seas as a background for such stories as "The Pacific", "Mackintosh", "The Fall of Edward Barnard", "Red", "Rain", and "The Pool", we experience scenes of passionate love, tragedy, and violence - all described in Maugham's beautiful prose.
Members Reviews:
Honolulu and points west
"... You have never heard of the wise, cynical French duke who said that with two lovers there is always one who loves and one who lets himself be loved; it is a bitter truth to which most of us have to resign ourselves; but now and then there are two who love and two who let themselves be loved. Then one might fancy that the sun stands still as it stood when Joshua prayed to the God of Israel."
And how do you think the story which that quote comes from ("Red") works out? There's always more bitter than sweet in these stories, even (especially?) when love is involved. They are told in a crisp, aloof style which has hardly dated.
As a sample, I will quote one passage, with some lines of verse which were unfortunately garbled in my Kindle edition (tho' they came out clear when I highlighted them):
"By George, I'd like to be in London to-night. Do you know the Pall Mall restaurant? I used to go there a lot. Piccadilly Circus with the shops all lit up, and the crowd. I think it's stunning to stand there and watch the buses and taxis streaming along as though they'd never stop. And I like the Strand too. What are those lines about God and Charing Cross?"
I was taken aback. "Thompson's, d'you mean?" I asked.
I quoted them. "And when so sad, thou canst not sadder,
Cry, and upon thy so sore loss
Shall shine the traffic of Jacob's ladder
Pitched between Heaven and Charing Cross."
He gave a faint sigh. "I've read The Hound of Heaven. It's a bit of all right."
"It's generally thought so," I murmured.
Wonderful, exotic tales
Nobody weaves a story like Maugham. Every tale is a gem.
I read this book during a winter blizzard in upstate New York. Maugham's portraits of brown-skinned Pacific Islanders in lava lavas, living their lives under the hot rain came as an image of great comfort to me.
Read a good book once in a while!
If youâve ever wondered where British writers like John Le Carre, Graham Greene and Len Deighton drew much of their influence, look back to W. Somerset Maugham, one of the most popular writers of the early 20th Century. Thereâs a reason Maugham achieved that status.
With elegant, precision-like prose that drills into the human condition while maintaining its empathy, these short stories showcase Maughamâs considerable skills as a writer and stand the test of time. This collection may hearken back to the days of British influence when they were the dominant global power, with its world-weary characters longing for love and status, but they may as well have been written today. Thereâs âMacintoshâ, the classic English fish out of water on a South Sea Island, trying to play by the rules that work back home at Oxford or Cambridge and succumbing to darker techniques with devastating results. Thereâs âThe Fall of Edward Barnardâ but is it really? English wit prevails in the story of a man trying to break away from what is expected of him.
