Ashenden

Ashenden comprises a series of interlinked vignettes/stories involving the eponymous character, a de facto double of Maugham himself, who served as a spy during World War I. There is a certain peculiar British humour to the collection, albeit somewhat dated. Ashenden shows a remarkable degree of detachment to the events going around him, many of which end in (sometimes accidental) death or tragedy. Some of this is self-inflicted, and critics have noted the element of disillusionment (and hence perhaps unfortunate ending) that runs through the work. Maugham is acutely postmodern in his approach, explaining his “purpose” in the preface and delineating between fact and fiction. He acknowledges a debt to both Maupassant and Chekhov. I would add that without Ashenden, the literary path of Le Carré in the future might not have been so evident. 7 out of 10.

By Somerset Maugham