Review
One of the best collections of short stories of the year (with Edna Ferber's THEY BROUGHT THEIR WOMEN, the two best). Suggests his TREMBLING OF A LEAF of several years ago, with the sureness of touch and matured technique the intervening years have given him. Stories of the Malay peninsula, the Dutch Indies, and of the life of the Europeans stationed there. With swift strokes, he gives vivid portraits, and a keen underlying sense of the unnatural contrasts, the strange passions of life lived in those outposts of civilization. The readers of Kipling's PLAIN TALES FROM THE HILLS will recognize a kinship in these wholly modern stories. The collection contains THE BOOK BAG, which Ray Long selected as the best story in his twenty years of editing. And there are others just as good. (Kirkus Reviews)
Product Description
Set in Malaya, this collection of short stories brilliantly captures the essence of colonial life. Maugham paints a keen picture of the expatriate planter, missionary, and colonial officer - and their womenfolk - as they pass their days in this remote corner of the empire.