The Painted Veil

- W. Somerset Maugham -

I really enjoyed the movie version of this book, and so wanted to read the original source.

Not surprisingly the movie sexed up the story a bit by adding a romantic reconciliation between Walter and Kitty before his death, and while I enjoyed that in the movie, the book really shone without it.

Written in simple, evocative language, the book takes us on a vivid inner and outer journey with Kitty as she develops from an immature, selfish girl into a more mature and self aware woman.

Despite being told more or less from Kitty's point of view, the book gives the reader ample opportunities to understand Kitty's impulsive and self entitled behaviour and despise her for it a little, but as the outer journey progresses, as Kitty is forced to leave behind her traitorous lover and accompany Walter on his voyage into the heart of 'cholera country', it is accompanied by Kitty's steady realization of how insignificant and misguided she really is.

Kitty's character growth is really what makes this story, as she stumbles, doubts herself and questions everything about herself and the path she has chosen, she is eminently relatable, and when she finally finds some measure of peace over her future, it feels as though she is appropriately awarded for the choices she has made and the growth she had experienced.

The setting of the novel itself, China in the early 20th Century is equally fascinating as it tells of a world so foreign to us, and English settlers method of adapting even as they cling to traditions and class consciousness of the country they left behind them.

The final element in a novel that packs so much into a relatively short book, features the struggles and faith in the face of horrifying loss of life due to the cholera epidemic of the french nuns living in the small town Kitty and Walter move to. The faith and devotion of these women is both admired and questioned by Kitty and acts as a counterpoint to her own struggle to grow and develop a more balanced view of the world.

There was so much packed in to this book, I feel like I need to reread it all over again to find all the stuff I missed first go round. Definitely a keeper.