1925 Author: W. Somerset Maugham

Score 3.5/5

First things first, this is a book written in 1925 by an English man about colonists living in British-owned Hong Kong. It’s rather horrible about its depictions of the Chinese people living there and the later fictional village of Mei-tan-fu. In this regard, none of the central characters are redeemed.

Where this book is enjoyable is in the relationships Kitty Fane fosters through this slice of her life we’re privy to. It’s a very satisfying character drama about self-determination, emotional growth, empathy (at least among European to European), and love. I’ll be thinking about it’s allegorical use of Oliver Goldsmith’s An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog and Kitty’s time with her father in the last few pages for a while.