A Writer's Notebook

Name: A Writer's Notebook
ISBN: 9787532769629

W. Somerset Maugham / 陈德志 / Chen XingShanghai Translation Publishing House · ChinaAug 2016

4.3

Word count: 219K words
Chapters: 29
ISBN: 9787532769629

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Summary

“I have never claimed the gift of inventing stories out of thin air; I usually need an event or a person before I can begin writing, but I always apply imagination, inventiveness, and a sense of drama to make the material my own.” So said Maugham. From 1892, at the age of eighteen, Maugham formed the habit of recording all kinds of material for writing whenever it occurred to him, and he kept to it for more than fifty years. In 1949, at the age of seventy-five, Maugham selected from the fifteen volumes of notebooks, memoranda, and travel journals he had preserved and, with brief commentaries, published this book, A Writer’s Notebook. It is undoubtedly one of Maugham’s most important and most truthful works, amounting to making public his “warehouse of writing material”—the ultimate secret of his creation—after he had formally abandoned the writing of fiction. Although he later published two collections of essays and criticism, The Vagrant Mood and Points of View, A Writer’s Notebook may be seen as both the starting point and the endpoint of Maugham’s literary career, his farewell to a long literary life.

Editor's review

A Writer’s Notebook is not a work of fiction by Maugham but a private notebook of scattered records kept over decades of his writing life. Its value lies in the unique perspective it offers: a glimpse of how the inspirations of the twentieth century’s greatest storyteller took root in the soil of daily life and, through his keen and slightly sardonic observation and reflection, were eventually hammered into shape. The contents span nearly fifty years, from his vigorous youth to his accomplished old age. The notebooks contain sketches of character, fragments of dialogue, and observations of social phenomena, as well as philosophical reflections on human nature, art, religion, and love. It is like an unrefined mountain of ore in which gleam the original veins of the later celebrated novels—The Moon and Sixpence, The Razor’s Edge, Of Human Bondage. In reading it, one encounters not carefully constructed narrative but the most authentic and private training ground of a writer’s mind. For literary enthusiasts, it is the key to understanding the core of Maugham’s creation; for writers, it is an unparalleled demonstration of observation and craft; for general readers, these concise, sharp, and humorous fragments are a superb prism through which to see the complexities of human nature. This translation, published by Shanghai Translation Publishing House, is of high quality and faithfully conveys the calm, clear, and slightly irreverent style of Maugham’s notebooks.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Deep literary enthusiasts with a strong interest in Maugham’s work and creative process
Writers who wish to learn to observe life, accumulate material, and practice literary creation
Readers who enjoy incisive, sharp observations of human nature and aphorisms
Researchers of history and culture interested in the social and cultural life of Europe in the first half of the twentieth century

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a novel with a complete plot and rigorous structure
Readers more interested in gossip about the author’s private life than in his thought and creative method

Reading tips

It is not necessary to read linearly from beginning to end; open any chapter at any time, like enjoying a box of intellectual chocolates
While reading, compare the notebooks with Maugham’s classic novels and look for connections between fragments of inspiration and the finished works; this adds particular pleasure
Keep a notebook and jot down sentences that stimulate your thought or resonate with you—a dialogue with the master across time and space

About the publisher

Shanghai Translation Publishing House China · Founded in 1978

Shanghai Translation Publishing House is a Chinese publisher oriented mainly toward translation and publishing. Its publications cover foreign literature, world classics and classic works, as well as social culture, folk literature and classical poetry. The database contains 2,618 titles, including Never Let Me Go, Les Misérables (2 volumes), Don Quixote (illustrated collector's edition), The Complete Comedies of Molière (4 volumes), The Complete Novels of Kafka (3 volumes), The Collected Works of Dostoevsky (9-volume set), Reason and Persons, and Oedipus Rex (Translation Classics). Its author resources include foreign writers such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Victor Hugo, Cervantes and Molière, as well as translators such as Zheng Kelu, Sun Jiameng, Li Jianwu and Zhang Kun. The publisher has brands such as "Translation Classics Selections" and "Translation Documentary," and emphasizes translated works in foreign literature and the humanities and social sciences, while also publishing bilingual dictionaries and foreign-language educational books. Public information is limited; the above is based on the book information in the database.

版权信息
前言
一八九二
一八九四
一八九六
一八九七
一九○○
一九○一
一九○二
一九○四
一九○八
一九一四
一九一五
一九一六
一九一七
一九一九
一九二一
一九二二
一九二三
一九二九
一九三○
一九三三
一九三六
一九三七
一九三八
一九三九
一九四○
一九四一
一九四四

FAQ

Is this book in the same style as Maugham’s novels?

Not entirely. The novels are polished finished works, while A Writer’s Notebook is raw material and sparks of thought. It is more fragmented, more direct, and more unabashedly reveals Maugham’s sharp eye for the world and his philosophical reflection, though its concise, precise, and piercing style is consistent.

Is it meaningful to read this book if I have no plans to write?

Yes. Even without writing, this book can greatly train your powers of observation and depth of thought. Maugham’s analysis of human nature and insight into the world can help you see the world around you and your own life with greater clarity and insight—its value goes far beyond writing technique.

Are the contents arranged chronologically?

Yes, the book is arranged roughly chronologically, from 1892 to 1944. This arrangement clearly shows the evolution of Maugham’s thought and concerns, from an ambitious young medical student to a mature writer traveling the world; the focus and depth of the notebooks change accordingly, forming a microhistory of a writer’s spiritual growth.

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About the author

W. Somerset Maugham Author · British · 1874–1965

W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) was a British novelist, playwright and short-story writer, born in Paris. He trained in medicine and turned to writing after publishing his first novel, Liza of Lambeth, in 1897. His representative works include Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence, Cakes and Ale and The Razor's Edge, as well as a substantial body of short stories. His plain, direct style and his insight into human nature and society place his works among foreign literature and classics. Maugham excelled in both the novel and the short story; his restrained narration and penetrating observation have earned him a wide readership in Chinese, and this site holds 176 of his works.

陈德志 Author

Chen Dezhi: public information about this author is currently limited. The name appears in Chinese bibliographic records, with one work held in the collection, Writers' Notes (Zuojia Biji), commonly classified under essays and miscellaneous writings. Based on the available information, the work is written in a notebook style, falling between the personal essay and the literary jotting, and appears to center on writing, reading, and everyday observation, carrying the casual tone and personal reflection typical of essays and miscellaneous writings. Because no reliable records have been found regarding the author's background, nationality, dates of birth and death, or English name, it is difficult to reconstruct a full biography or trace a complete writing career, and no judgment can be made about education, profession, or literary school. What can be confirmed is only the title and classification of this single work and the orientation it reflects: a preference for textual record and personal expression rather than systematic argument or fictional narrative. For general readers, it may be regarded as one example within the category of essays and miscellaneous writings; further public materials would be needed to learn more about Chen Dezhi and his writing.

Chen Xing Author · Chinese · 1957

Chen Xing was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, in 1957. He is a professor at Hangzhou Normal University, director of the Hongyi Master and Feng Zikai Research Center, and president of the editorial office of the journal Aesthetic Education. He joined the Chinese Writers Association in 1992. His research and writing span literature, art, and history. He is the author of more than fifty works, including A Study of Feng Zikai's Cartoons, A Textual Study of Hongyi Master, The Baihu Lake Writers' Group, and Revisiting the Homeland of Prose, and has received awards such as the first National Cartoon Theory Award and the National Young Scholars' Outstanding Achievement Award in Social Sciences. Five of his works are included here, covering history, prose, popular science, and law: oral-history compilations such as the nine-volume series from the Academia Sinica and The Early Republic: Oral Accounts of Eyewitnesses, essays such as Writer's Notes, and legal studies on unified legislation for geographical indications and on empirical case studies. His writing thus ranges widely across genres.