This book is a study of late Victorian society among other things. Set mainly in England with excursions to Germany and France we see clerical life in rural Kent, Bohemian Paris of the Latin Quarter, office work and medical school in London. The main character Phillip moves from a position of relative wealth and comfort all the way down to poverty and homelessness, and all because of his unrequited love for the mercenary Mildred. This is not a romantic or beautiful love worth suffering for though as Mildred is completely unlovable and is, in fact, incapable of feeling love herself. Nor is it her feminine beauty that enraptures Phillip as he describes her complexion as ‘green’. She is shallow, boring, selfish, promiscuous and stupid and yet Phillip’s passion for her is as great as his hatred of these very traits.
This madness that grips Phillip makes this an uncomfortable read at times. We can only watch on passively as the hero fritters away his small inheritance on the gold-digging waitress. This is a large book in both length and depth and the discussions and musings on Art, religion and philosophy are particularly engrossing and become more so as Philip’s suffering increases and lends a desperation to his search for ‘the meaning of life’, and it is his painful investigations into these areas that leads him ultimately to his own enlightenment in chapter 106. ( )

A good, solid book. Phillip is a very genuine character who lives and loves, exults and suffers, learns and grows. He has talents and faults and his life is nothing extraordinary, except that he is so compelling to read about. ( )

I know that it is considered by some to be an English classic. But it remains one of the most depressing books that I've ever read. Do you think that somewhere in the great beyond, Maugham, Dickens, and Hardy are reading to each other? A little Jude the Obscure followed by a little Hard
Times Bondage? ( )

Intense and somewhat depressing since I am an eternal optimist. Yet the writing is exceptional and paints a very clear picture of the life of the main character. ( )

This is a real thinking person's book. The journey of self discovery, questioning ideologies, the influence of others in our lives and the lessons learned from mistakes are all explored beautifully in this book.

I would love to go "hopping". ( )