Jack Daly Daly থেকে Schleswig, IA 51461, USA
Cakes and Ale isn't like the Maugham books that I really, really enjoy (Razor's Edge and Of Human Bondage) in that it doesn't describe the massive, beyond-the-point-of-no-return changes in a person. Instead, Maugham takes pains to help us to understand the doings of a unique woman that people have labeled as unfaithful, whore, wench, et cetera and shows us that it's not that simple. Through this woman, the men she interacts with, and a successful writer, he explores the idea of best-seller-type 'biographies' and illuminates just how far from actuality they can be. I'm sure that this must have been some kind of jab at writers of his day. Maugham's style is, as always, clear, fresh, and easy to understand, no matter how convoluted the subject matter at hand is. It's this that makes him one of my favorite.