Maugham does not write, he creates magic. His books are a pleasure to read and so much so that at times, I am disappointed when the book ends. ' Theatre' is another masterpiece of his and I enjoyed it even more than any of his other works because of hubby dear's involvement with stage and acting.
This book, as the name indicates, revolves around the stage and is the story of a couple who are in the theatre business. Essentially the story is about Julia Lambert; a beautiful, talented and successful actress. But it is not her success story as an actress that Maugham talks about. He tells the story of Julia Lambert the person who leads two lives; one in reality and the other in a make-believe world. The only problem with Lambert is that she doesn't know when to stop acting and thus, she employs her acting methods ( body movements, lines from plays) with her husband, son and lover. This technique is advantageous to her in some cases but in other instances it does leave her distressed and broken. What makes her a wonderful character is her passion for acting. She derives strength from her make believe world in which she reigns as a queen.
A highly recommended read, especially for actors. If you're not the reading sort you can watch 'Being Julia', a film based on the novel.
Photograph: Google Images
Sounds good. The only Maugham I've read is The Painted Veil, which is sooooooo wonderful, and so much better than the movie (and I liked the movie!).
ReplyDelete