Of Human Bondage - Review

(Mildred is a horrible person)

Of Human Bondage is a unique "Bildungsroman" (coming-of-age story) and made me think in more diverse ways than many of the genre.  Baggs assigned it to me for this year and it was well worth it.

It was easy to relate to whether mundane or deep; it thoroughly explores personal and mental growth; and it exposes in a painfully-realistic example how ultimately vulnerable we all are to circumstances.

Phillip Carey has a club foot.  We all have a club foot in one sense or another.  Replace "club foot" with anything (lisp, stutter, lazy eye, weight problem, flat feet, etc. etc.) and you can relate.  This book most reminded me of how The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break made me and everyone I know who read it feel.  Anyone could understand what it must be like to be the only Minotaur in any given room.  The analogy becomes what it must for the reader.



I have read that many literary critics consider the club foot to be a symbol for homosexuality because Maugham was very likely gay. I have no idea if he was or not, but it only goes to further prove to me that the club foot will become whatever it needs to be in the eyes of a reader.  Phillip attempts to hide his club foot whenever he can, which can easily be changed in any given mind into any form of masking.  We are all painfully self-conscious creatures and relating to otherness comes natural.

My one complaint as to relate-ability is that Maugham often takes the reader through too much of the mundane.  I often can find satisfaction in "boring" sections of any book, but Maugham dwells longer than usual on the logistics of moving or the steps necessary to do so many mundane things.  It is a small gripe, and one that seems petty when compared to the high quality of the work, but it can drag.

My favorite part of the book was when Phillip went to school and began to grow his mind.  His first mentor nurtured him masterfully but could not contain Phillip's "wanderlust."  He then met fascinating people in Germany and intellectuals in Paris, France.  A discussion between Phillip, his close friend, and an American was the high point of the book for me.  It was so fantastic and reminded me (as I am sure it did for anyone who read it) of that day when the mind realized for the fist time that it need not heed comfortable boundaries.  That discussion took me back to the days of late-night college discussions and rapid paradigm shifts when the soul seeks firm ground where there is none.    I loved that.

As Phillip learns to think, he also learns to reason and to adjust his viewpoints when necessary.  He becomes pragmatic and realistic, but never quite stops being a dreamer.   I was reminded of my own such "professor mentor" moment (in a different curriculum) when Phillip's art teacher gave him blunt and honest advice to consider something else.  And, much like any massive and unexpected change in a life, Phillip struggled to stay on the rails.

His new path in life, wise though it was in his circumstances, was disrupted by a series of horrible decisions and judgments relating to Mildred.  This entire section of the book was like reading the sounds of metal scraping metal.  It was maddening.  I described it to Dave as like reading about a wrestler or a porn star without the stories or the built-in excuses.  It was just painful and horrific for me, yet fascinating.

It was through Mildred, however, that Phillip's story led to another fantastic development.  Phillip became poor and desperate.  What little he had was lost thanks to the woman who I imagined to be an Olive Oil succubus.  Once there was nothing left to squeeze from Phillip, he was left to deal with abject poverty.

Phillip began to wish for his uncle's death.  This book did a masterful job of describing the desperate mind.  The shameful things anyone would be capable of if he or she were desperate.  It illustrated beautifully the inherent-brokenness programmed within us all that may be free to run once all seems lost.  It was fascinating to read and so well told.

I give it a 4 out of 5, but I suspect I am not done thinking about this book.  I recommend it to anyone.