Posts

Showing posts from July 30, 2024

THE FALL OF EDWARD BARNARD, A SHORT STORY BY W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM

Image
 Hello dear readers and fellow bloggers! In this post, I'll share a review for a short story The Fall of Edward Barnard by William Somerset Maugham.  In my last post, I reviewed The Painted Veil and did my best to avoid spoilers. Today I'll focus on one of his short stories about an  engagement , but my review shan't be spoiler free. I'm actually currently reading The Complete Short Stories by Maugham ( you can read it for free on project Gutenberg ).   Published in 1921,  The Fall of Edward Barnard    is a wonderfully ambiguous and modernist piece of writing that through irony, contrasts the the East and the West. Indeed, you might say that Maugham criticizes the Western culture, or at least its perceived inability to appreciate other cultures, and a simpler way of life.  As I mentioned in my last review, I became acquainted with Maugham's writing only last year when I happened upon one of his short stories on some audiobook Youtube channel. It's lovely how m