The Great Mr Maugham

We are having,

record breaking heat,

here in Montreal,

and,

not just one day,

either,

since last Friday,

it has been warmer,

then my ole bod,

can recollect,

and this week,

starting last Sunday,

well it,

has been hot.

Yesterday,

was twenty-six degrees,

that’s twenty degrees over normal!!

No global warming ,eh?

No climate change?

Well,

I tell you girls,

from where I sit,

I feel the globe warming.

My beloved Habs,

are melting,

they lost again,

they won’t make,

the play offs,

we’ve known this,

for a while,

and,

I know I should just,

hope they finish last,

and,

get a top draft choice,

but,

I don’t like the idea,

of them finishing last,

a pride thing.

I know it’s silly,

not like,

I’m out there,

chasing the puck,

if I was, rest assured, we would finish last!!! BB is no athlete much less a jock, we all have our strenghts right? 🙂

Last night,

I went to a showing of,

at the Grande Bibliotheque.

We have this amazing,

film festival,

every March,

Le Festival International Des Films Sur L’Art ( FIFA).

Every year,

I tell myself,

I’ve got to get,

my ole butt,

in gear,

and go check out,

some of these movies,

but,

March is tough,

cold, rainy,

and,

let’s be honest,

sort of,

miserable.

Well,

I sure don’t have that excuse,

this year,

do I?

So,

off I went,

on a Wednesday night,

in balmy weather,

to watch a movie,

that promised to reveal,

much,

about one of my favourite writers,

W. Somerset Maugham.

Anyone who has been,

reading my blog,

for more than a few months,

knows,

BB loves Maugham,

he speaks to me.

He never seems to tell the same story,

he describes,

yearning, longing, passion,

and occasionally,

obsession,

like no-one else.

His prose is perfect,

not too flowery,

not too sparse.

He observes people as they are,

he is neither,

overly generous,

nor overly critical,

his,

is a balanced viewpoint,

not easily acheived.

Maugham wasn’t perfect,

he was interested in,

fame and fortune,

and,

early in his career,

he set out to do,

just that,

but,

he worked,

he wrote everyday,

and,

he could have,

basked in his popularity,

he was one,

of the most popular writers,

of his day,

both critically,

and,

especially commercially.

He is the most adapted,

of twentieth century writers.

Maugham was good,

and,

knew how to market himself.

This movie,

reveals,

a fews things,

I didn’t know,

about Maugham.

I knew he was a homosexual,

who lived for many years,

with his lover,

in the south of France.

I also knew,

he was in fact,

bisexual,

and had a miserable marriage,

which produced,

a daughter.

What I didn’t know,

is that,

at the end of his,

long life,

he was manipulated,

by an unscrupulous man,

Alan Searle,

who got,

a senile old man,

who could still write,

to write a poisoned pen,

account of his marriage.

It ruined his reputation,

it blackballed him,

it resulted in estrangement,

and disinheritance,

of his family.

He died a rich and sad old man,

no friends,

and his reputation,

in tatters.

…and yet,

today,

all of his books,

are still in print,

and read all over the world,

his name is Googled more,

than a majority of contemporary writers,

and,

his short stories and novels,

he was a master of both, very rare indeed,

have universal appeal,

his work,

survives his disgrace.

This is my 400 th post,

a milestone:-)

Girls do me a favour,

read some Maugham,

Cakes and Ale or The Painted Veil,

or some of his short stories,

well worth your time.

Well,

thanks for reading.

Later girls,

BB