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The Moon and Sixpence

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The Moon and Sixpence

By: W. Somerset Maugham
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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About this listen

Based on the life of Postimpressionist artist Paul Gauguin, The Moon and Sixpence builds on a long tradition of European writing about the South Pacific as an exotic locale. It also marks the transformation of British writer W. Somerset Maugham from celebrated playwright to accomplished novelist.

In The Moon and Sixpence, Charles Strickland is a respectable London stockbroker who decides in middle age to abandon his wife and children and devote himself to his true passion: art. Strickland's destructive desire for self-expression takes him first to Paris to learn the craft of painting, and finally to Tahiti in the South Pacific. The Moon and Sixpence remains a complex and engaging novel echoing Maugham's own struggles between artistic expression and public respectability, and between his public persona and private life.

Public Domain (P)2010 Tantor Classics
All stars
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It's so refreshing to listen to the English language worked so well. Maugham is a literary marvel and his use of language perfect.This story is I believe loosely modeled on Gaugin's life. It's based on fragments of a life rather than a chronological account of every happening in his life. So there's an element of cat & mouse, some need to guess and weave together and perhaps never enough detail but enough to paint a picture of a life. It all comes together. It's been a while since I was motivated to see the novel through to conclusion so quickly, in this case over 24 hours. The narrator does a v good job without attempting silly accents to convey different characters. First rate.
Hi

Beautiful language

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Written over a hundred years ago and as fresh today as the day it was written. The story is great, the reading is brilliant and the issues of identity and living an authentic life are as relevant now as they were shocking then. Maugham was a master storyteller and I loved this book.

Excellent

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I read this book many, many years ago and enjoyed it then....truly not disappointed to have it read to me for a second time!

wonderful narration

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