The Gentleman in the Parlor by Somerset Maugham

Catalina by Somerset Maugham

Gentleman in the Parlour by Somerset Maugham

The Explorer by Somerset Maugham

The Moon and Sixpence by Somerset Maugham

I'd forgotten how sexist this book is, how sexist Maugham generally is. Nonetheless, it's a stunning portrait of a man who does portraits -- I'm writing this for myself so puns come aplenty, o imagined reader I am writing to regardless. Maugham combines psychology with storytelling, but in a majestic way: allowing a character's mysterious behaviour to remain mysterious, not providing reasons where reason knows not, all the while still rendering the characters believable.

On a Chinese Screen by Maugham

The Merry-Go-Round by Somerset Maugham

Christmas Holiday by Somerset Maugham

Catalina by Somerset Maugham

Ten Novels and their Authors by Somerset Maugham

The Narrow Corner by Somerset Maugham

Don Fernando by Somerset Maugham

Points of View by Somerset Maugham

I doubt know how Somerset Maugham could think anyone would be interested in this book.

Liza of Lambeth by Somerset Maugham

As generally happens when reading the full complement of a favourite author's works, the highs of initial brilliance are replaced by the lows of missteps.

This was Maugham's first novel, and though the trademark sympathy for fun-loving people is apparent, it's pretty ordinary.

Is this the only Maugham novel written in the third person?

The Letter by Somerset Maugham

Supreme short stories set in the tropics and reread in the tropics.

The Magician by Somerset Maugham

Maugham is one of my favourite writers. This book, however, is terrible. Not only by his own standards, but more generally, it is third-rate at best.

Maugham admits it's quite ordinary in an introduction written many years after he had written the book, and a long while after he had fixed on his more well-known style and subject matter that reached their apotheosis in Cakes and Ale.

I think I've read more Maugham than anybody else. Of those works, The Magician is without doubt the worst.

I've read the following, in order of preference: Cakes and Ale, The Moon and Sixpence, The Painted Veil, The Razor's Edge, Collected Short Stories Volumes I - IV, Up at the Villa, Of Human Bondage, Ashenden: Or the British Agent, The Summing Up, A Writer's Notebook, Theatre, The Magician.

All up, fifteen books. Cakes and Ale is ridiculously good, and I was pleased to read an essay written by Vidal on Maugham that concurred wholeheartedly. The Moon and Sixpence and The Painted Veil are not far off that high watermark either.

I think only Philip Roth and Paul Auster can compete in terms of quantity, although Auster doesn't come close to matching the other two in terms of quality.

Roth's books, in order of preference: I Married a Communist, Portnoy's Complaint, American Pastoral, The Facts: A Novelist's Autobiography, The Human Stain, The Plot Against America, My Life as a Man, Goodbye Columbus, Reading Myself and Others, Sabbath's Theater, Conversations with Philip Roth, Everyman, Patrimony: A True Story, The Ghost Writer, The Anatomy Lesson, The Breast, The Great American Novel.

All up, seventeen books (which beats Maugham!) The first six listed are absolutely brilliant. I'm reeling at the thought of someone being able to write six masterpieces. Incredible.

Auster's books, in order of preference: New York Trilogy, The Invention of Solitude, The Red Notebook, Leviathan, The Book of Illusions, The Music of Chance, Moon Palace, Oracle Night, Brooklyn Follies, In the Country of Last Things, Timbuktu.

All up, eleven books, of which nothing comes close to the New York Trilogy in brilliance. In fact, the last three are embarrassing and those of the middle are just repetitions on similar themes.