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Christmas Holiday

W. Somerset Maugham

Start date: December 1, 2017

Finish date: December 31, 2017

Discussion: Group Reads - Fiction

Why we're reading this: A holiday book in the interim between methods of choosing books...
[close] A holiday book in the interim between methods of choosing books...

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Group Reads - Fiction

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What Members Thought

Dec 12, 2014 Leslie rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics, holiday

Interesting story of a young man (22? 23?) first coming to realize that people (and the world) are more complex than he had thought whilst on his first Christmas holiday apart from his family.

Although Charlie is the "main character", much of the book is taken up with the story of Lydia -- a young Russian woman he meets through his friend Simon. Both Lydia and Simon think and live so differently from Charlie's family, he begins to awaken to the fact that he has only experienced a small part of th ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Dec 23, 2017 LauraT rated it really liked it

"It was a fact that he had done nothing; his father thought he had had a devil of a time and was afraid he had contracted venereal disease, and he hadn’t even had a woman; only one thing had happened to him—it was rather curious when you came to think of it, and he didn’t just then quite know what to do about it: the bottom had fallen out of his world."

Terrible Holidays - but you need them every now and then! ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 28, 2014 Terry ~ Huntress of Erudition marked it as to-read

Shelves: save-for-later

This is good - easy to read, with well thought out characters, except that I would have liked the protagonist to enjoy his holiday in Paris, seeing the sights, etc. a little longer before the serious stuff started.

3 likes · Like · see review

Dec 07, 2010 Petra rated it really liked it

A young man goes to Paris for a week of "freedom" before settling down to a career. Charley comes from an idealic family and a solid, stable financial background. Everything is perfect. (so perfect that the first bit of the book becomes rather slow reading)
In Paris he meets with an old school friend and is introduced to a woman who is the wife of a convicted murderer. Over the week, he learns about lifestyles and life circumstances that were previously invisible to him. These situations show hi ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 25, 2012 Carol rated it really liked it

Shelves: maugham, set-in-paris

I just love Maugham's work. The characters in the story -- Charley Mason: 24-year old comfortably born Englishman goes to Paris for a week. Simon Fenimore: Charley's schoolboy friend, cynic, anarchist, manipulator. Ignores Charley except to set him up with "Princess Olga." Lydia: Russian prostitute who Charley meets at the Serail and is introduced as "Princess Olga." She is married to Robert Berger the rake, she atones for his sins by debasing herself. Robert Berger: Imprisoned husband of Lydia, ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 11, 2012 Beth (bibliobeth) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is the first of W.Somerset Maugham's books that I have read for a book club and I absolutely loved it. The writing was beautiful and the characters so intriguing. The ending, (which I won't spoil) was left slightly up in the air, but I loved it. I'll definitely be checking out more of this author's work. ...more

1 like · Like · see review