W. Somerset Maugham · 448 pages
Rating: (1.6K votes)
“I do not believe that I am a vindictive man, but when the immortal gods take a hand in the matter it is pardonable to observe the results with complacency.”
― W. Somerset Maugham, quote from Collected Short Stories: Volume 1
“…I do not mind odious young men; it is when they are charming that I button up the pockets of my sympathy.”
― W. Somerset Maugham, quote from Collected Short Stories: Volume 1
“I do not like these painted faces that look all alike; and I think women are foolish to dull their expression and obscure their personality with powder, rouge, and lipstick.”
― W. Somerset Maugham, quote from Collected Short Stories: Volume 1
“We can only guess at the thoughts and emotions of our neighbors. Each one of us is a prisoner in a solitary tower and he communicates with the other prisoners, who form mankind, by conventional signs that have not quite the same meaning for them as for himself.”
― W. Somerset Maugham, quote from Collected Short Stories: Volume 1
“...her very kindness was cruel because it was founded not on love but on reason...”
― W. Somerset Maugham, quote from Collected Short Stories: Volume 1
“Well, Henry, if I were you I wouldn’t worry”, said the lawyer. “My belief is that your boy’s born lucky, and in the long run that’s better than to be born clever or rich.”
― W. Somerset Maugham, quote from Collected Short Stories: Volume 1
“From the standpoint of what eternity is it better to have read a thousand books than to have ploughed a million furrows?”
― W. Somerset Maugham, quote from Collected Short Stories: Volume 1
“It was difficult for her to preserve that haughty, sullen, and coldly indifferent demeanour that appears to be essential to the mannequin as she sails in with deliberate steps, turns round slowly and, with an air of contempt for the universe equalled only by the camel’s, sails out.”
― W. Somerset Maugham, quote from Collected Short Stories: Volume 1
“annihilated them. ‘I have often wondered why men”
― W. Somerset Maugham, quote from Collected Short Stories: Volume 1
“Heaven knows, I'm the easiest woman in the world to get on with, but I will not be bullied by any man. After all, I have my self-respect to think of.”
― W. Somerset Maugham, quote from Collected Short Stories: Volume 1
W. Somerset Maugham
Born place: in Paris, France
Born date January 25, 1874
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― Lauren Myracle, quote from Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks
“That was the problem with reading: you always had to pick up again at the very thing that had made you stop reading the day before.”
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“I know you wish to be normal, human, but soon you will see there is nothing better than what you are.”
― Penelope Fletcher, quote from Demon Girl
“But, when I was growing up, the one thing that did help me not to feel so isolated and crazy was reading - especially books by authors who fearlessly examined and exposed their highly imperfect inner lives. Books like "Confessions of a Mask" by Yukio Mishima; "Tropic of Cancer" by Henry Miller; "Try" by Dennis Cooper; and, of course, the works of authors like Bukowski, Salinger, Hesse, Bataille, Iceberg Slim, and Murakami. These writers revealed the things that existed beneath most humans' seemingly secure and confident exteriors. I suddenly realized, after reading their work, that I wasn't unique - that my doubts and fears and insecurities were more universal that I could've ever imagined. Their words gave me strength. They have me permission to start trying to accept my flaws, my darkness, my insanity. They let me know that it was okay not to fit in with everyone else - to be a sensitive person - and that others struggled just like I did. It was such a relief when I finally began to understand this. It was like I could breathe - maybe for the first time.”
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“Do you know what it is?' [Toby] said thoughtfully. 'It's that they haven't had anything really awful happen to them. No wonder they seem so superficial and unfeeling.'
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