I was intrigued by the concept of this book which featured W. Somerset Maugham - I first read Of human Bondage for my English A level and have enjoyed many of his books since. The author of this book composes a narrative around the visit of Maugham to Penang to visit friends and the intrigues of daily life that he encounters there. It is told in two time lines and two voices - those of Maugham and his hostess.. I enjoyed parts of it but I felt it was a little disconnected and that it failed to reach any satisfactory endings..

I wanted to read this book solely because it was based in a time and place that I have never visited in books before. 1921 in Malaysia is a scene of colonial entitlement. The luxuries that the colonisers are accustomed to come on the backs of the locals who are settled in smaller sections of the country. Somerset Maugham is one of the two central characters in the book. He is visiting an old roommate of his, a well-established lawyer in the city, and his wife, who is more of a local than an average white person. She was born in the country and grew up knowing the language and enjoying the climate. Her married life in general is starting to bother her.
Somerset Maugham is in an emotional tangle of his own, is broke and is looking for inspiration to base his next story around. We begin in a desolate location and go back in time to see what the bit we first encountered means.
The people we meet have a lot more time on their hands than is good for them, and it shows in their mental state as well as how they interact with the world around them.
I liked the author's writing style. We get vividly different narrations as we look out the two different protagonists' eyes. Even when they interact, they stay distinct, something that is sometimes hard to do with such a tale. The atmosphere of the time and place and the different types of events happening in the country make for interesting reading. I would have rated it higher if I was invested in the kind of lifestyles (or the end result) we encounter. My rating is mostly for the writing and the scene setting.
I would still recommend this to readers who like to travel to remotely visited times and places.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

For some unknown reason, I sobbed, overwhelmed with emotion as I leafed over the last few pages of Tan Twan Eng's latest novel The House of Doors as the protagonist Lesley Hamlyn recounts the stories of her life; the days she spends with her late husband, Robert Hamlyn; her fateful encounter with Sun Yat-Sen in Penang in 1910; as well as the time she hosted the writer W. Somerset Maugham at her house, The Cassowary House, in Penang. All were told in hindsight in 1947 as she sipper her tea at her house in Doornfontein, South Africa, where she lives with Robert since 1922.

Willie, as W. Somerset Maugham is referred to throughout the story, visits the house with his secretary-cum-lover, Gerald Haxton, in 1921. It's important to understand that at that time, homesexual activities were considered a crime and are punishable by imprisonment. That fact about the relationship of her guests is immediately apparent to Lesley Hamlyn. During his brief stay in the Federated Malay States, Willie documented the Ethel Proudlock's case in his short story The Letter, maintaining the plot, albeit altering the names of the people involved in the affair. The case happened in 1911, yet in keeping with the occasion of Sun Yat-Sen's stay in Penang, Tan Twan Eng moved the trial to 1910 in the story, instead of the original 1911 (by that time, Xinhai Revolution was already at its critical stage in China).

I see the whole point of the story more as a feminist retelling of Ethel Proudlock's case (I'm not a Maugham's scholar, yet I couldn't help but noticing some traits of the historical Ethel are present in our memsahib, such as her history as an adulteress and her later move to South Africa). To me, Lesley seems like a Hokkien Chinese from Penang in soul, yet she is someone who is forced to wear the cloak of an angmoh as a result of being born to British parents. She also speaks Hokkien and Malay, and in her dealings, she feels more at ease with the locals rather than with her fellow angmoh.

In the fictional story, Lesley happens to befriend Ethel who'd confide to her about the truth behind the case, that is the victim of the shooting, William Steward, was her lover. In exchange for knowing the truth, Lesley promised Ethel not to tell a soul about the affair. During the subsequent episodes of the trial, Ethel makes continuous attempts to hide her dubious affair with Steward from the juries and the audience, effectively decreasing her chances of being acquitted. Ethel was found guilty and was sentenced to death, yet she was granted amnesty by the Sultan of Selangor.

Lesley, on her part, ends up conveying the whole stories to Willie. In her defence, she views that in telling Willie the story, she believes that Ethel will be remembered, making her case a lesson learned for the future generation of people, that for once, an unjust case befall upon a lady called Ethel Proudlock.

In a way, Lesley also makes a case about herself. Perhaps in real life, there is no historical Lesley at all. Yet we could not rule out the possibility that there was once an anonymous lady in the Straits Settlement whose name is forever lost to the annal of history, who contributed to the success of Sun Yat-Sen in carrying out his revolution in China, as well as inspired Willie Maugham to recover his position as a prominent writer (he was financially in ruin by the time he stayed in the Straits Settlement). Tan Twan Eng's latest novel is simply powerful, with balanced traits of characters. It's the first novel I read in 4 years that could move me to tears, although fact-wise as a work of historical fiction there are some questionable elements to it. Yet I could get why it was longlisted in the last year's Booker Prize.

This was a really wonderful read. I love reading historical fiction from across the world as it gives me a chance to learn more about different countries in an interesting way.

Poetic and precise.
What a beautifully written book this is, not a word is wasted and it flows so well despite two time lines.
The book starts with Lesley and Robert living in Penang in 1910, the description of parties, snobbery and a privileged life are fascinating. Robert has been ill and his his friend Willie or Somerset Maugham, along with his secretary come to stay. Willie and Robert are both slowly recovering from ill health, so they have plenty of time to talk. Lesley realises that Willie and his secretary Gilbert are lovers, initially she is appalled, but comes to confide in him.I
Lesley takes us back to 1910, when she finds out a secret about Robert, she is shocked and upset, she gets involved with a revolutionary Sun Web and starts to lead a secret life, forever fearing being found out. Leslie's friend Ethel shoots a man and goes on trial, this is a scandalous!ous event in tight knit Penang.
Robert's ill health prompts him and Lesley to move to Africa, which is a harsh contrast to their former climate, but Robert's health improves.
The epilogue is written by Lesley in 1947, it answers questions about the date of people and gives some hope to Lesley..
A few of Willie's books are mentioned, I loved the painted veil film and would now like to read some of his novels
Thank you Tan and NetGalley.
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I loved this story, set in early 20thC Penang, the narration switching between Lesley, a colonial housewife and the writer W Somerset Maugham, who is visiting Lesley and her husband. A brilliant work of historical fiction which, as the best historical fiction does, gives a vivid and evocative picture of the time & place in which it's set.

I really enjoyed this book set in Malaysia a century ago. The author's descriptions of Penang and the lives of those living their time there as an outpost of the British Empire were so evocative. Definitely worth a read

Everyone wears a mask....

Every main character in this epic novel seems to have a secret that, if known, would blow their lives to pieces: a public face and their private true self, whether because the prevailing morality of the time makes openness impossible or because they cannot face the consequences if they were to ‘come clean’.

Half-truths abound. Renowned author Somerset Maugham hides the extent of his bankruptcy from his lover and his homosexuality from the world. Successful lawyer Robert Hamlyn hides his sexuality from his wife Lesley. Lesley, the main focus of the novel cloaks her relationship with an Asian doctor with references to charismatic Chinese revolutionary Dr Sun Yat Sen. She knows Robert is having an affair, but not with whom. Ethel Proudlock did kill her lover, but it is not till later that we find out why.

Switching between sun-parched South Africa and the lushness of Penang, going back in time, the author charts both the heyday and the tail end of Empire, where to be British was once to mean being innately privileged, but to transgress openly was social suicide.

Tan Twan Eng is a consummate stroy-teller, and I adored the ‘Russian doll’ effect of stories within stories. Meanwhile, throughout, Somerset Maugham gathers more grist for his mill by mining his adoring public’s secrets.

Set in the early 1900’s in colonial era Malay and specifically Penang this is a well crafted piece of writing. The story intertwines historical facts and people , W Somerset Maugham being a main character, with tales of love and sexual attraction which would have shocked the polite society of the time. It revolves around Lesley wife of Robert, a European solicitor living in Penang who is visited by his friend Maugham. During the visit she recounts to Maugham events in her earlier life including interactions with the Chinese revolutionary Dr Sun Yat Sen and her fictional involvement with a true life murder.
The loves and desires of the characters are handled sensitively and the author manages, without the need for graphic description, to convey to the reader a feeling of both sensuality and love while at the same time staying true to the social attitudes of colonial life. The sights and sounds of Malay in the era are beautifully described and resonate with my memories of the two years I spent in Singapore in the late 60’s.
This is an excellent novel which I can recommend.

Loved this book, it was right up my street, full of history and with references to the literary world. Very atmospheric, with lots of information about that time in history and the people who lived then. Different stories of love were masterfully intertwined with a part of biography of Somerset Maugham and historical events in China and Malaysia. I learnt lots of new things when reading this. This is not the first book from this author I have read and I was not disappointed.

Robert and Lesley Hamlyn live in Cassowary House in Penang, part of the colonial settlement there. Lesley was born in Malaya (as it was called then) and has lived there all her life, while Robert is British-born and came to Penang as an adult. It is 1921, and Robert is still suffering badly from the lung damage he sustained during the war. Their two sons are in boarding school in England. Outwardly they seem to be a contented couple, mixing with the best of Malayan society. But when Robert’s old friend, the famous novelist Willie Somerset Maugham, comes to visit, Lesley finds herself telling him stories from her past – how they once knew Dr Sun Yat Sen when he spent some time in Penang, and how Ethel Proudlock, a friend of Lesley’s, was once tried for murder. And along the way, she reveals the history of her marriage to Robert. Willie is considering writing a book about Sun Yat Sen, but in the end it’s the story of Ethel Proudlock that fascinates him, and which he will later turn into one of his most successful stories.

Tan writes beautifully and his descriptive prose especially paints wonderful pictures of Penang during the colonial era. It is the writing that kept me going and meant that I enjoyed the book overall, despite some fairly hefty reservations as to the content. I’m rather confused about how I feel about it, to be honest. It has everything I should love – great writing, colonial setting, interesting characters. Yet somehow it never fully won me over – I didn’t feel emotionally invested. Let me try to explain why.

The first thing is that it seemed very odd that it reads almost exactly as if it were traditional colonial fiction written by a Brit. If that was what Tan was trying to achieve, then he certainly has. But since there is already a ton of colonial literature written by Brits, I somehow expected and hoped for a different perspective from a Malaysian writer. With the exception of the Sun Yat Sen strand, the story is relentlessly set among the colonial community, and therefore I felt gave no insight at all on how Malayans lived, or what they thought of life under colonial rule. Even in the Sun Yat Sen story, it is all about his interactions with the Brits – we are told of his popularity in China and of the ambivalence of the Malay Chinese, who have, according to Tan, largely bought into British culture. There is a Chinese character who plays an important role, but honestly, if Tan hadn’t told us he was Chinese, I wouldn’t have known – he seemed as colonially British as the Brits in terms of culture and attitudes.

The second thing that irritated me was that, in line with nearly every other piece of literary fiction written in the last decade, two of the main themes are the social and legal prejudice against homosexuality and the subjugated position of women. I find this concentration on fashionable themes tedious. I’ve said it before, but I always imagine publishers sending out a ticklist at the beginning of each year to authors, telling them which themes they must include if they want to be published – currently, strong women fighting against the patriarchy, tick; gay people being victims of homophobia, tick; straight men being violent and misogynistic, tick; white people being racist and non-white people being victims, tick. Tan pretty much covers them all to a greater or lesser degree. It’s not that I feel any of these things are intrinsically untrue, but they are not universally true. It’s bland when every book repeats the same messages.

But the thing that I think most niggled me was the incorporation of more than one of Maugham’s famous stories into the stories that Lesley tells. Tan is making the point that Maugham apparently often used real stories as the basis for his tales, sometimes without even changing the names, and Tan suggests that Maugham made himself unpopular in the Malayan colonial community as a result. Fair enough – interesting point and raises valid ethical questions. However, I didn’t feel Tan explored those questions – he simply left them hanging, and I couldn’t help feeling that, by using Maugham and other real people as characters in his book, Tan was doing rather the same thing himself. And I felt, to be honest, that the interesting bits in this story were mainly the bits that retold Maugham’s stories, and frankly, I think Maugham tells them better. Again I’ve said it before, but if a writer chooses to reference one of the greats of literature in his work, then he needs to be sure that his own writing will not suffer from the inevitable comparisons that any reader must make. I suspect if I hadn’t read Maugham’s stories quite recently, I’d have enjoyed this book more. As it is, though, I spent most of my time thinking I’d rather be reading Maugham.

Having said all that, the quality of the writing still makes it an enjoyable read overall, although slow and not as insightful or original as I’d hoped it might be. In all fairness, I need to point out that most people are raving about it, so hopefully my grumpy review will not deter anyone from reading it. 3½ stars for me, so rounded up.

Tan Twang Eng's new book is an exciting read, as such books come along very rarely. The novel fictionalizes real lives and events. Normally, I find a non-fictional account more interesting than a novelization. While reading Booth, I spent more time Googling the people and events than actually reading the book. However, Tan Twan Eng's writing kept my attention in this instance. The sense of place is excellent - Penang is Tan Twang Eng's hometown, so it should be, but he has also masterfully captured the sense of the era. Many writers make the mistake of researching a time and then throwing everything into the book, resulting in many anachronisms. This book avoids such mistakes by not having any anachronisms.

The first part of the book sets up the story by introducing the time and place and establishing characters. We (and the fictionalized Somerset Maugham) realize that there is a story behind one of the characters that needs to be told. The second half of the book takes us back and unravels the mystery. It is a quiet book with a well-told story. It skillfully takes the reader into another time and holds their interest. Even if it hadn't been based on real characters, I would have believed every moment of the book.

Excellently done.

Very aptly named. This House of Doors opens with a story that then opens into another story and another and another. Just like the House of Doors we visit in the book we go from one door swiftly onto another door, then another door and another .....

Tan Twan Eng is a great story teller capable of having a multitude of brilliantly hewed threads wonderfully woven into a whole. His threads examine the tumultuous beginning of the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen, William Somerset Maugham, Ethel Proudlock and through them, marriage, betrayal, homosexuality, love, family, finding a way forward.

An ARC gently provided by author/publisher via Netgalley.

Excellent historical fiction book. It was real pleasure to read it. Very atmospheric and giving a lot of information about that time, people. Different stories of love were masterfully intertwined with a part of biography of Somerset Maugham and historical events in China and Malaysia.

An absolutely gorgeous book, beautifully written and compassionate. It has an understated style which just allows the story to unfold. perfect blending of fiction and historical fact. I loved it ( and am delighted that it is shortlisted for the Man Booker along with Sebastian Barry- my loyalties will be torn.)

This is a period of time I know so little of, but was fascinated to learn about. Sun Yat Sen is of course a well-known player in one of the world's most major and lastingly impactful moments in history, and Somerset Maugham a famed novelist, but the insights given here - fiction or not - open up a new world of wondering, humanising what were previously only names on paper and giving richness and depth to their lives, and perhaps more importantly the lives of the people they impinge upon.
The descriptions of life in Malaysia during the British colonial past really brings it to life, rather shamefully, to be honest, and the move from the humidity and heat of SE Asia to the dry, bleaching heat of South Africa not only reflects the shrivelling of Lesley's soul, as she leaves the place and people she loves to follow a husband where there is no love, shows the stretch and range of the Empire's selfish reach.
There's so much to unpick in this novel - love, secrets, colonialism, duty, societal expectations, the place of women, homophobia - it's a story that could, should, form part of a A Level syllabus.
Just read it.

Tan Twan Eng's previous novel, The Garden of Evening Mists, was an absolute delight for me- a sensuous, moving and clever novel.

Although The House of Doors did not always connect for me in the same way, the beauty of the language was still very much there, as Tan Twan Eng guides us through the tension and politics of not only empire and colonialism, but how that intersects with law, sexuality and justice.

Without spoiling the book, two major plot points centre around a court case and the complications of trying a white woman in colonial Penang, and around W Somerset Maugham as he inhabits a world that wants to both covet and reject who he is.

Building in tension and in thoughtful discussion, this book is a powerful re-centring of colonial narratives from someone who understands what they can feel like.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Having been to Penang for holidays for years I was very interested in this book. I was not disappointed it transported me it gripped me and it was beautifully written. A joy.

We meet Lesley in 1921 in Penang, as she and her husband prepare to welcome the writer W. Somerset Maugham and his secretary to stay with them. Willie, as he is affectionately known, ever with a nose for a story, senses that Lesley has a secret that she has kept hidden from her husband – much as he has kept his homosexuality hidden from those around him for decades. Believing the secret to be an affair with the Chinese revolutionary, Dr. Sun Yat Sen, Willie connects with Lesley in order to learn more about her relationship with this man. However, the truth he uncovers is rather different.

This was an intriguing novel, and is certainly beautifully evocative in terms of conjuring up the time and place in which it is set. I enjoyed learning more about this period, as well as the life of Somerset Maugham. Some of the language used and sentiments expressed by several of the main characters are rather jarring to modern ears, but I don’t believe it is the author’s intention to make the reader comfortable in what is fundamentally a story about secrets and the danger of non-conformity at this time.

I would certainly read more by this author, and have also been inspired to reread some works of Maugham!

My thanks to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for the arc to review.

This novel is sent in the early 1900s, in colonial Malaya, with the island of Penang featuring prominently. It follows the author Willie Somerset Maugham, and his friends Robert and Lesley. The most interesting relationship develops between Willie and Lesley, as she slowly reveals to him the happenings on the island some 11 years prior, with stories of her relationship with Chinese revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen, and thus her involvement in the revolution. She also reveals to him details of the trial of Ethel Proudlock, a white woman convicted of shooting her lover, whom she claims was attempting to rape her. It is a fascinating account of these historical events, and certainly provided a new understanding for me of the importance of Penang in the Chinese Communist revolution.

I am certain that the author had a strong sense of direction from the very beginning, however I did find the first section quite slow-paced, with no obvious sense of where it was headed. The 'present-day' narrative - i.e. during Willie's stay with Robert and Lesley, as opposed to her flashbacks - don't have much of a driving force. It is only when Lesley begins her tales of a decade ago that I found myself truly engaged with the story. Even then, her dual narratives about the growing rebellion, and the trial of Ethel Proudlock, feel quite contrary to one another. However it is clearly a detailed and eloquent representation of the many different events happening on this one small island.