Charles Strickland disappears with no explanation. The narrator, having been sent in pursuit by the grieving and confused wife of Strickland, tracks him down in Paris. There he finds his target who is unrepentant and offers an explanation of his behaviour which is at odds with the theories of those he has left behind. Strickland is remorseless and absolutely determined to fulfill the desire he has within to paint.
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The review of this Book prepared by Stepehn Mullen
This story is based on the life of French painter, Paul Gauguin. The hero is called Charles Strickland. He is a seemingly ordinary broker, until at the age of forty he leaves his wife and child to go to Paris to become a painter. He meets a Dutch painter who helps him, but then he seduces the painter's wife and deserts her. She commits suicide.
Strickland leaves Paris and eventually goes to Tahiti, where he lives with a native woman and their children. He continues painting and finally contracts leprosy. As a final act he paints his last masterpiece on the walls of his hut. His last wish is that the hut be burned down.
The review of this Book prepared by Jack Goodstein
In this book, based on the life of the artist Paul Gaugin Maugham follows the life of Charles Strickland, a rather dull and uninspiring London stockbroker leaves his wife and possessions to go to France, and later Tahiti to follow an ambition to express himself in painting. This desire to paint soon implodes into obsession, with grave repercussions. His life ended tragically, but he left a legacy of genius.
The review of this Book prepared by Jonathan Harris
A middle class stock broker leaves his wife. She and her peers assume he left for another woman. It turns out that he's always wanted to paint. He heads off for the South Pacific to pursue that dream and ends of dying years later of leprosy.
The review of this Book prepared by Timothy Scanlon