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Content snapshot
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Violence
Barely any
Minimal violence; the novel's harm is psychological and moral
Language
Barely any
Mild language in Maugham's elegant literary register
Sexual Content
Some
Adult content; Strickland's treatment of women — cold, exploitative — is the novel's most disturbing element
Substance Use
Barely any
Some drinking
Emotional Intensity
Some
The psychological portrait of a man who has genuinely transcended ordinary moral feeling in service of his art — and what that costs those around him — is the novel's disturbing and fascinating subject
What this book is about
Based loosely on the life of Paul Gauguin, Maugham's novel follows Charles Strickland, who abruptly abandons his comfortable London life for painting. The narrator observes Strickland across multiple countries as he achieves artistic greatness through complete moral indifference to everyone around him. Maugham writes with characteristic wit and the novel's portrait of the artistic temperament is both admiring and devastating. The treatment of women is disturbing to modern readers; Strickland's complete indifference to human decency is the novel's central subject.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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