The Painted Veil

Name: The Painted Veil
ISBN: 9787210082835

W. Somerset Maugham / 于大卫Jiangxi People's Publishing House · ChinaDec 2021

4.3

Word count: 124K words
Chapters: 84
ISBN: 9787210082835

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Summary

Kitty can never be sure whether her husband has discovered her secret affair—the turning of the doorknob during their trysts, the loaded remarks at dinner, and his sudden decision to take her to a cholera-stricken land all keep her nerves on edge. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she plans to lay her cards on the table, divorce him, and flee to the man she loves. Yet when the veil is lifted, the truth about love and the meaning of life shatter her innocence. With his cool, almost cruel precision, Maugham portrays a woman's fall and awakening. In a world of two, she could only choose to love him or lose him to fill the emptiness of her heart; but in a far vaster world, having witnessed life's cruelty and the splendor of human nature, she finally attains peace of mind and redeems herself.

Editor's review

Maugham's The Painted Veil is a novel about disillusionment and awakening; its power lies not in a twisty plot but in its cool dissection of human vanity and self-deception. Yu Dawei's translation is clean and restrained, matching Maugham's almost caustic narrative tone without feeling remote. From Kitty's tension during the affair and her anxiety before the confrontation to being taken into a cholera-stricken region and witnessing death and devotion, Maugham cuts into his characters' inner lives with a surgeon's touch, offering no cheap comfort. Notably, the novel does not present awakening as a one-time epiphany but as a wavering process accompanied by shame and pain, which is what makes it more rewarding than an ordinary coming-of-age novel. Best read in relatively quiet hours, especially for readers troubled by questions of emotional relationships and self-knowledge. Don't rush to judge Kitty's choices; follow her as she peels away the veils layer by layer to appreciate how Maugham's compassion and irony toward human weakness coexist.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy Maugham's cool narrative style and want to read classic literature
Readers interested in thinking about emotional relationships and personal growth
Those who want to see human complexity in fiction rather than simple moral judgments
Readers looking for a literary classic of moderate length they can finish in focused sittings

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a sweet love story or a happy ending
Readers put off by extramarital-affair themes and depictions of human darkness
Readers who prefer fast pacing and strong plot and find slow psychological development hard to accept

Reading tips

First read Kitty's psychological changes without judgment, then go back to the details and foreshadowing in the opening affair scene
Slow down over the cholera-region passages and notice how Kitty's self-understanding shifts in her interactions with those around her
After reading, compare with other works by Maugham to appreciate his attitude toward human weakness behind the cool narration
If the translation feels unfamiliar, learn about the novel's historical background before entering the text

About the publisher

Jiangxi People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

Jiangxi People's Publishing House is a comprehensive local publisher based in Nanchang, with publishing directions covering philosophy and social sciences, politics and economics, history and culture, education, and the collation of ancient texts. Judging from its books in the database, the house offers Chinese translations of world classics such as Ulysses, Les Fleurs du mal, and Letter from an Unknown Woman, while continuing to publish Eastern philosophical classics including The Analects, the Dao De Jing, and the fully translated and annotated edition of Chuanxilu, forming a parallel structure of Chinese and foreign literary and intellectual classics. Translators such as Xiao Qian, Wen Jieruo, and Zhang Qiuhong support its foreign literature translations, while authors such as Confucius, Laozi, Wang Zengqi, and Hai Zi reflect its accumulation in traditional classics, prose and miscellany, and modern poetry. Its common categories include world classics, Eastern philosophy, prose and miscellany, literature, foreign literature, and modern poetry, showing a publishing character that balances academic popularization with general reading.

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译后记

FAQ

Is this book suitable as an introduction for readers who have never read Maugham?

Yes. The novel is moderate in length, its narrative line is clear, and it follows Kitty's psychological changes, so no prior knowledge of Maugham's other works is needed. It is not a light romance, however, but a cool dissection of human vanity and self-deception; first-time Maugham readers should be prepared to accept irony and an imperfect ending.

How should the title "The Painted Veil" be understood in the novel?

The "veil" can be understood as the layer people use to hide their true selves, maintain appearances, or deceive themselves. Kitty's understanding of love, of her husband, and of herself is all veiled until she is taken into the cholera-stricken region and witnesses life's cruelty and human brilliance, and the veils are peeled away layer by layer. While reading, notice the gap between characters' words and actions and their inner thoughts.

Do I need to know about Maugham's life to read this book?

No. The novel's线索 is complete on its own and does not depend on knowledge of the author's life. If you want a deeper understanding of Maugham's narrative attitude, you can briefly learn about his experience as a doctor and novelist after finishing, but there is no need for extensive background preparation beforehand, which might distract from the text itself.

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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.

于大卫 Author

Public information about Yu Dawei is limited. Judging from the thirteen works recorded in the catalog, his translating interests span foreign literature, science fiction and world classics. His representative translations include Tolstoy's War and Peace: Four Volumes, Anna Karenina and The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Chekhov's Ward No. 6, Clarke's Childhood's End and Kazantzakis's Zorba the Greek. He has also worked on Ken Follett's Century Trilogy, including The Fall of Giants and the nine-volume collection. The chosen titles are mostly classics with grand narratives, large casts and weighty ideas, requiring translations that balance epic sweep with subtle dialogue and handle the distinctive vocabulary of science fiction and philosophical fiction. His translations have circulated among readers, offering readable Chinese versions of classic narratives from the Russian- and English-speaking worlds.