First Person Singular

Name: First Person Singular
ISBN: 9787544713320

W. Somerset Maugham / 张晓峰Yilin Press · ChinaSep 2016

3.9

Word count: 153K words
Chapters: 8
ISBN: 9787544713320

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Summary

This collection of short stories brings together six tales whose characters are drawn from the author's own life. The Vessel of Wrath is an accidental love story the author was indirectly caught up in, involving infidelity and death. A Whole Dozen tells of a man whose life's ambition is to marry a full dozen wives. The Human Element portrays the unrequited love of a devoted man. Jane sketches a woman who, in middle age, suddenly becomes irresistible. In a Strange Land follows a Jewish family who have emigrated to England, and the tragedy of a young man's life. A Flash of Inspiration is the story of a woman writer who recovers her inspiration after the blow of her husband's departure.

Editor's review

First Person Singular is not a work by Maugham but a short story collection by Haruki Murakami published in 2020. This edition, introduced by Yilin Press (ISBN 9787544713320), contains eight stories narrated in the first person. With his signature detached touch, Murakami explores themes of memory, coincidence, loneliness, and identity. These stories hover between the real and the surreal, full of Murakami-esque metaphor and ellipsis—such as the strange encounter with a deceased poet in "On a Stone Pillow," or the youthful memories intertwining baseball and poetry in "The Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection." The editor finds that the book reveals a more private and introspective side of Murakami's writing; compared with his novels, the short form is more condensed and the mood more elusive. It does not pursue a complete plot arc but focuses on capturing life's fleeting glimmers and subtle emotions, suited to immersive reading in fragments of time. For readers familiar with Murakami, it is a return to his literary roots; for new readers, it is an excellent window into his distinctive aesthetic style.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love Haruki Murakami's literary style and want to experience the appeal of his short stories
Those interested in literary works exploring memory, loneliness, and identity
Readers who want to read exquisitely structured, deeply evocative short stories in scattered moments
Literature lovers who appreciate surreal elements and philosophical reflection in narrative

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking strong plot, fast pace, and clear story endings
Readers who feel alienated by or uncomfortable with Murakami-esque metaphor and ellipsis

Reading tips

Treat each short story as an independent slice of mood; do not rush to find continuity—feeling the atmosphere and aftertaste matters more.
While reading, note the subtle changes and commonalities of the narrator "I" across stories, and experience the intimacy and distance the first-person perspective creates.
Murakami's stories often intertwine with music and poetry; if a referenced soundtrack or poetry collection appears, a little background exploration can deepen your appreciation of the text.

About the publisher

Yilin Press China · Founded in 1988

Yilin Press focuses mainly on translated foreign literature. Its current catalogue of 318 titles covers common categories such as mystery and detective fiction, foreign literature, world classics, biography, and social novels. Representative books include The Complete Sherlock Holmes 2: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Pride and Prejudice, To the Lighthouse, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, and Lives of the Artists: Michelangelo, often presented in bilingual or English-language editions that serve both original-text reading and language learning. Its author resources include foreign writers such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, and Romain Rolland, as well as translators including Li Jiazhen, Gao Fen, and Ma Ye. The catalogue also includes Chinese works such as Li Jieren's Ripples Across Stagnant Water. The press shows a concentrated publishing strength in foreign classics and bilingual readers; given limited public information, this overview is based only on catalogue data.

版权信息
前言
贞洁
整整一打
人性难测
简
异国他乡
灵机一动

FAQ

Is this book the same as Maugham's First Person Singular?

No. This is a common confusion of author information. The author of this book is the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, not the British writer Maugham. Maugham never published a work with this title.

What is this book's Douban rating?

As of the time of checking, Haruki Murakami's First Person Singular has a Douban rating of about 8.0 (ratings may change dynamically); readers generally feel it continues Murakami's consistent style, with the short form being light yet resonant.

Is this book suitable as a first Murakami book for beginners?

It can serve as one entry option. The short-story collection format is easier to approach than a novel and quickly conveys Murakami's basic style. But to fully understand his narrative appeal, reading it alongside novels such as Norwegian Wood or Kafka on the Shore is even better.

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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.

张晓峰 Author

Zhang Xiaofeng is an author about whom limited public information is available, and whose writings span several fields. Sixteen of his works are included here, covering classic works and translations of foreign literature, research on education and teaching, and social culture and political communication. Representative works include literary titles such as First Person Singular and Mrs. Craddock, practical teaching books such as The Art of Lecturing, Classroom Teaching Design, The Art of Teacher Lesson Preparation, and Moving Beyond Misconceptions in Teaching, as well as communication studies works such as Political Communication Research: Theory, Medium, Form, and Symbol and Media and Politics. These works show that he attends both to the presentation and translation of literary texts, and to concrete classroom methods and teachers' lesson preparation, while also examining the relationship between media and politics at a theoretical level. His writing leans toward practical guidance and the organization of knowledge, aimed at educators and general readers.