Goodreads

I might be the last bookophile to join, and some of my friends have tried to get me to over the years, but 2011 has brought me interest in joining Goodreads. So I'm on there, and if you would like to see my books, or share what you've read with me, I'd love to see. I'm always open to suggestions.

I just read The Painted Veil, by W. Somerset Maugham. I saw the movie last year and L-O-V-E-D it. The book had a different ending, and I have to say I prefer the movie's take more. But I still liked the book and would recommend it.

It's the story of Kitty, an overindulged girl who has passed up several proposals of marriage in the 1920's. When her younger sister becomes engaged, horrified she runs to a proposal from Walter, a shy bacteriologist who has been chasing her in his own, awkward way (I heart Walter). They move immediately to China, where he works for the government on diseases. Kitty, who never pretends to love Walter, oh and how he dotes on her!, has a year long affair with an older government official, who she does love. When Walter finds out, he takes her into the Chinese back country where a cholera epidemic has broken out. This is when Kitty gets to be without her comforts and grows into a wiser woman.

I love the love and triumph and development of Kitty. She's so stupid and emotional and selfish and I think we can all relate to her in some phase of life. And then she falls in love with these orphans and sees Walter in a different light and she grows.

I've returned the book already, but I love a quote from the head nun when she says something about how some people pray to God all day long, and some people's lives are a prayer.