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The Moon and Sixpence
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
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The Moon and Sixpence
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Summary
Charles Strickland, the central character, is a stock broker in London. One day, at the age of 40, he leaves his business, his wife, and their children and goes to Paris. He has neither money nor prospects. He knows almost nothing of art. But he is seized with a passion to paint, and for the rest of his life nothing else matters to him. He gives up everything to which he has been accustomed for extreme poverty, social ostracism, and the freedom to paint. When he finally dies of leprosy in Tahiti, where he had gone native, the few paintings that turn up for sale bring only six to 10 francs apiece. But he has achieved his desire to create beauty and, with the years, the world fully recognizes his blazing genius.
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What listeners say about The Moon and Sixpence
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Happy Reader
- 16-12-23
Extraordinary story
One of Somerset Maugham’s best. A surprising and thought provoking take. He is a master of creating characters that reveal themselves slowly through the narrative. You start by hating Charles Strickland but by the end you are firmly in his side.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- K K Scott
- 11-07-23
Is it Gauguin
Great book, highly recommended for detail, description, characters. Started off a bit slowly but soon got into it. May be a bit old fashioned for some and the treatment of women generally is tough. However, this is an interesting story of the time which some readers feel is based on Paul Gauguin. Highly recommended.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ms. L. Benjamin
- 02-12-21
very good
I like Somerset Maugham's books, the way they go into a personality and what drives them.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- JSM
- 12-04-22
Too long
There’s a glitch in chapter 7 with about 3 hours 31 seconds to go it jumps to another part in the story.
The story itself is ok but meanders towards the end and includes some racist language and attitudes that were prevalent at the time of writing.
It is also well read even though you can hear the reader moving around and the shuffling of paper/script.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 27-03-23
An intriguing story
A fascinating story of an artist ‘s absolute compulsion to perform their art to the exclusion of all else -and our difficulty in understanding that singular but necessary frame of mind .
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- richard2
- 13-05-22
Interesting but very flawed
Somewhat compulsive, yet it is hideously sexist and pretty racist too. Also - the narrator sounds a bit like Kenneth Williams! Perhaps the connection with Gaugin gives it some substance. The general impression is rather distasteful somehow. Perhaps Maugham was a misogynist and racist, or just an Englishman of his era, or perhaps it is just easy to confuse the author’s attitude with that of ‘Strickland’, the protagonist.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Buys too much on Amazon!
- 19-06-22
Narrator sounds arrogant
I'm not far in, but it's difficult to get going due to the voice of snide arrogance of the narrator. Having listened to other Somerset Maughan books previously, I built a fondness for the author 's attitude, but the change in narrator grates somewhat.
It was an "Included" book so fortunately didn't cost me anything.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- rt19561
- 06-08-22
Enjoyable listen
An excellent story and a good listen. The narrator has a real patrician accent that could cut glass and suits the time the book was written.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John Rodda
- 22-06-23
A Maugham Masterpiece
A captivating story with a desperate sadness of the human condition expertly woven so intricately into the characters’ lives.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- BClose
- 28-08-23
A wonderful novel brilliantly narrated.
So beautifully written and the narration was wonderful.What a compelling story with extraordinary,vivid characters.After a slow start, as another commentator has said, the novel gathers pace and is gripping until the very end.I found the ending deeply moving.
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