The Painted Veil (original 1933; edition 2006)

From the "Rather Random Bookbox".

beautiful love story.i loved both the novel and the movie....
the great difference between Kitty's shallow soul ,spoiled and selfish and Walter who believe in sacrificial service and volunteers to go work in remote rural village under siege from cholera.
while Walter is madly in love with her...

Kitty married to Walter whom she does not love and she has nothing in common with him...the novel is an emotionally charged journey...the
devastating emotional consequences of infidelity and betrayal...
the realities of marrying for the wrong reasons.

the irresponsibly of accepting marriage proposal, not for love....
The resentment between kitty and Walter grows like the diseases that surround them....
Walter learns of their affair and is determined to punish her...
He gives her two choices: either join him on his journey to a remote, cholera infested village where he has volunteered his expertise, or endure the disgrace and embarrassment of a public divorce....


Kitty grows bored at home and visits a local orphanage hoping for an occupation to cure her boredom. This is when her
character starts to wizen and deepen. As she matures the shallowness subside ..

and her compassion for others grow. At the orphanage, Kitty sees a side of her husband she has never
known – a compassionate man risking his own health to care for the sick and dying....

the last scene with Walter suffering cholera was very touching .....
and u dont know for sure he forgive her or not...


did kitty loved Walter at the end or was it pity..?

( )

This is so good.

[b:The Painted Veil|99664|The Painted Veil|W. Somerset Maugham|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320421719s/99664.jpg|1069201], first published in 1925, is now considered a classic. That fact - combined with the cover, description and the reviews - had me switching into classic-reading mode. That might sound like I've gone a bit mad, but I mean that I approach classics with a different frame of mind and a greater tolerance for slow-moving plots, airy-fairy language and characters I cannot relate that much to. You know what I mean, you cannot expect fast-paced action if you want to appreciate Austen and others like her, violence is toned down in classics, sex is a rarity. This doesn't mean they aren't good, but I always prepare myself for a very different - and perhaps more challenging - kind of read.

As it happens, I need not have bothered.

This book hooked me from the very first page where Kitty is caught in the bedroom with her lover and kept me interested right the way through. From the delving into Kitty's recent past and her mother's insistence that she marry as soon as possible, to Kitty's relationship with an intelligent and shy man who genuinely loves her but she cannot love back, to the middle of a cholera epidemic that challenges Kitty's views on life and love. Her character development is astounding, how she goes from being an annoyingly fickle and selfish young women, to one who sees the world in a new light and gains a certain wisdom that is only achieved through facing and overcoming hardship.

Much about this story reminds me of [b:Gone With the Wind|18405|Gone With the Wind|Margaret Mitchell|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328025229s/18405.jpg|3358283] (thankfully, not the length), it's the same idea of an immature and self-centred young woman being unable to appreciate the love of the man by their side until it's too late. They would prefer to fawn over a married man who will never treat them seriously, and yet they are so shocked to discover that their beauty cannot get them everything they want. Both Kitty and Scarlet are extremely spoilt and vain, so used to getting what they want that they are unprepared when life suddenly treats them unkindly. But they do both manage to change and grow stronger as well.

This is a very sad novel. I find it sad how Walter was willing to overlook all Kitty's negatives and the fact that she didn't like him at all just so he could have the chance to love her. I know this wasn't her fault but I find it sad that she didn't love him, he was so sweet and kind and under-appreciated. The ending (well, the bit just before) is also sad, but necessary in order for Kitty to become the person she does so I can't really complain about it.

I think Kitty's state of mind at the end is an important statement about women at this interesting point in history where women have the vote but very few options in life, the way she realises that it is far more beneficial for everyone - both men and women - if girls aren't simply raised to be weak and mindless wives, but open-minded and independent human beings. Overall, this is a very interesting exploration of people and the relationships between men and women - it definitely won't be the last I read by [a:W. Somerset Maugham|4176632|W. Somerset Maugham|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1281475888p2/4176632.jpg]. ( )

The first Maugham I've read, and I was impressed. For a short novel, there was a lot going on. Kitty's maturation, although forced through extreme circumstances, was believable. The central point, that a cuckolded husband would force his wife to live in a city undergoing a cholera epidemic, is certainly shocking, and makes a great jumping-off spot for this story. Could he really be that cruel, or is he depressed and suicidal himself? We really don't get to see much into his motivations and character, until his last line. (Look up the poem he quotes from - it makes all the difference.) I expected a different ending -- that probably shows that I've been raised on too many Hollywood romances. I thought this was a wonderful book, and I usually don't say that if I don't really like the characters. ( )

Kitty Fane, a lovely but shallow and slightly vulguar young Englishwoman, marries a doctor who adores her. They wisk off to China, where the marriage turns unsatisfactory; Kitty finds herself in a shabby but physically compelling affair with an equally shallow man, while her husband pursues his medical research.

When Walter Fane discovers the affair, he cruelly forces his wife to accompany him to a town in the midst of a cholera epidemic. The bulk of the story follows Kitty's emotional and spiritual growth as she copes with the consequences of her actions.

Maugham employs an amazing insight into the mind and heart of a young woman. This is a sophisticated story, beautifully told. Highly recommended. ( )