A Christmas vacation in Paris, paid for by loving parents, what other gift could you wish for when you are only 23 and have your whole life ahead of you? Five days of unbridled fun were in store for the handsome, successful, rich, young Charlie. He planned to devote five days to himself and his childhood friend, Simon, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. He dreamed of visiting the best art galleries, listening to classical music, if the opportunity arose, going to the theater to see a new play, having a great time with a friend, and making sure he had a love affair with an attractive Frenchwoman.
William Somerset Maugham was born in Paris in 1874. He spoke French even before he spoke a word of English, a fact to which some critics attribute the purity of his style. His parents died early and, after an unhappy boyhood, which he recorded poignantly in Of Human Bondage, Maugham became a qualified physician. But writing was his true vocation. For ten years before his first success, he almost literally starved while pouring out novels and plays.
It should be noted that at the beginning of his novel Somerset Maugham told in great detail about Charlie's good family, so that the reader has no doubts and preconceptions that the story that happened in Paris, could happen in real life. The family was not always well-to-do; they came from simple occupations (Charles's great-grandmother had once worked as a cook). The head of the family, devoid of excessive vanity, was proud of his position and his ability to earn money, and hoped to introduce his son to the business in the future. Being a wise and kind man, he never imposed his opinion on his son and tried to encourage him in all his undertakings and passions. Thus, studying in Cambridge, Charlie tried his hand as a writer - he wrote plays for the amateur theater, he learned to play the piano and even wanted to be a musician, tried his hand as an artist, he took a great interest in painting. His father respected his hobbies, but with an experienced hand nudged his son to serve in the family business.
I saw Charlie as a talented young man, gentle, courteous, polite, and humble. What was my surprise when the author introduced me to Simon, a longtime friend and classmate, a gloomy and sullen man completely unlike Charlie. Time had shattered the former close friendship of many years; it was as if a partition had grown between them, preventing warm and cordial communication. Unfortunately for Charlie, Simon was not happy about his friend's visit and tried in every way to get rid of him, escorting him to a brothel, one of the attractions of Paris, and putting a strange Russian girl named Olga on him.
This is where we meet the novel's new protagonist. She is just as miserable and lonely as Simon, just as withdrawn and not wanted by anyone. Her name is Lydia, but her stage name in the house of comfort is Olga, Princess Olga. How nice it must be for the customers to know that they are buying love with a titled person. Lydia cannot be called beautiful or pretty, she is only pretty, her indifference and disinterest strikes Charles and arouses no sympathy, at least at the first moment of communication.
It's funny how Maugham sees Russian immigrants. I learned from the book that Russians are too lazy and noisy, completely unreliable and feisty, unable to behave in decent society, barbarians, ignorant and savage. Their Slavic savage disposition irritates the Parisians. At first they amused the French, but quickly became boring and began to provoke the anger and resentment of the locals. Of course, it's a shame for our compatriots, but it's hard not to agree that the author of the book is right in some respects.
But back to the night butterfly, Lida. The author did not spare her at all; she appears to the reader in a completely gray color. She has been in emigration since she was two years old, she lost her parents long ago, she has only heard about Russia from acquaintances or read (Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy), she hardly knows her native language, and she receives Russian literature only in translation. She is as foreign to her countrymen as she is to the French and the English; she has no family, no home, no language, no homeland. A stranger, outcast, humiliated and insulted. Does all this justify her profession? No. The reason for her low fall is something else!
Delicate and disinterested Charlie, who, I recall, was planning to have fun in Paris and experience all the delights of an uninhibited sex life, had the misfortune to run into this very unfortunate woman. This is all the tricks of Simon with his obnoxious temper and political obsession.
I warn future readers that this book with its magic title is not suitable for reading at Christmas time, you won't find any fabulous happiness and the birth of a miracle in it, even with a great desire for warm and romantic feelings, you won't get any holiday spirit from it, the absence of a holiday mood after it is guaranteed. "Christmas Vacation" is a sad story, appealing and mysterious, tragic and joyless, the story of unhealthy love between a scoundrel and an innocent sheep. Charlie did not have a joyous vacation, and he did not have a good time. He met a strange woman with a mysterious past, devoted all his time to her, listened to her heartbreaking confession, learned how painful, all-forgiving, killing love can be, and realized that his life will no longer be the same, an unforgettable vacation changed him forever.
This article was sponsored by Jake OConnor
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