The Narrow Corner - W. Somerset Maugham Audiobook

Written by W. Somerset Maugham
Read by David Thorpe
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
Release date: 01-29-13
Publisher: Brilliance Audio/Audible Studios

Filled with adventure, passion, and intrigue, The Narrow Corner is a classic tale of the sea by one of the twentieth-century’s finest writers.

Island hoping across the South Pacific, the esteemed Dr. Saunders is offered passage by Captain Nichols and his companion Fred Blake, two men who appear unsavory, yet any means of transportation is hard to resist. The trip turns turbulent, however, when a vicious storm forces them to seek shelter on the remote island of Kanda. There these three men fall under the spell of the sultry and stunningly beautiful Louise, and their story spirals into a wicked tale of love, murder, jealousy, and suicide.

Reviews….
“Maugham had a narrow but profound gift for domesticating the strange and making the exotic appear reassuringly familiar”

Inspired by Conrad…in a Malaya state (Indonesia, probably) arrive 3 “outcasts,” each w a shady past : captain of the boat, a discredited doctor, and a beautiful rich boy. The heat is killing ; everyone has a stiffy. How to repress? ~~ The catalyst is the stunning daughter of a planter…whose Danish beau is sorting stuff out…no, don’t ask.

WSM avoids all cliches and all sentimentality. He delivers his finest, most brutal finale…herein, superior writing. Nephew Robin said unkie called this his “queer” novel, though no one noticed anything odd on pub (1932) and it had 2 film versions. At end, the rich boy sighs, “Life fills me with horror…” The characters cannot escape the unreality of their lives or their wickedness. There is no escape.

A quick romp around the southern seas. Excellent character painting, philosophic ramblings and the ending was taut. I don’t need to tell you that the writing is exquisite, do I!?