This is one of the books discussed in "The End of Your Life Book Club." I have this book by Somerset Maugham on Audible and had listened to it about 18 months ago and decided after reading the Schwalbe's discussion of it thought it deserved another look. I put my earphones in and listened for a whole afternoon while cleaning the house and then for another couple of enjoyable hours while I worked on a puzzle at the Lake. This short romantic book, one of Maugham's classics, is a look at turn of the century women, adultery, and redemption.It takes place primarily in colonial China and tells the story of a woman on the edges of society who is ambitiously determined to marry up. She ultimately enters into in a loveless marriage simply to avoid spinsterhood and follows her doctor husband first to Tiching-Yen (euphemism for Hong Kong) and then into the interior of China where he is studying a cholera epidemic. It's a bitter-sweet story of lovelessness and love and a story that ultimately allows for the real possibility that a person can evolve into their better self.
I enjoyed this book even better the second time and would recommend it as a good beach read or to keep you company while housekeeping!
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