Have I already said how much I am enjoying W. Somerset Maugham's The Painted Veil? I think I have, but I want to mention it again. It was published in 1925, but what strikes me is how fresh the story, or at least the storytelling, feels. There are cultural markers that set it firmly in that era, but at the same time it doesn't feel outdated. The language feels almost contemporary and human behavior has certainly not changed much in the last ninety or so years.
I know a number of people have already read the book or seen the movie (which I plan on watching when I finish), but if you don't know the story, it's about a young woman who marries a scientist (bacteriologist to be specific) who is living in Hong Kong. He's a shy, introverted man and she's a beautiful socialite who begins an affair with a local government official. The affair is discovered, which is where I am at in the book. I know from the blurb that the husband will force her to come with him to a part of the country that is being ravaged by cholera, which is going to be a life altering experience. Can a story like this possibly end happily? Don't tell me, I'm going to find out for myself soon enough.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Kitty, the wife, has spent a whole chapter rationalizing her affair as well as the knowledge that she has probably been found out. It's actually not very pretty and I'm not really liking her too much at the moment, but I suspect these feelings are pretty human and I might just be thinking the same things in the same situation.
"Walter was such a gentleman, she would do him the justice to acknowledge that, and he loved her; he would do the right thing and allow her to divorce him. They had made a mistake and the lucky thing was that they had found it out before it was too late. She made up her mind exactly what she was going to say to him and how she would treat him. She would be kind, smiling, and firm. There was no need for them to quarrel. Later on she would always be glad to see him. She hoped honestly that the two years they had spent together would remain with him as a priceless memory."
"It was all very simple and everything could be managed without scandal or ill-feeling. And then she and Charlie could marry. Kitty drew a long sigh. They would be very happy. It was worth going through a certain amount of bother to achieve that. Confusedly, one picture jostling another, she thought of the life they would lead together, of the fun they would have and the little journeys they would take together, the house they would live in, the positions he would rise to, and the help she would be to him. He would be very proud of her and she, she adored him."
I think she is deluding herself somewhat. It's never as easy as all that, but we'll see what happens. The biographical information notes that Maugham was a one of the twentieth century's most popular novelists. He was also a secret agent during World War I. I'm afraid I really don't know anything about him, but if the rest of the book reads as well as the first part I think I might just have to indulge in a Maugham reading-fest. I have about eight of his books including one volume of short stories, so plenty to keep me busy.