Search for Nirvana by Robin Maugham (1975)
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Overview: Described as "unashamedly homosexual", Maugham never married, and the viscountcy became extinct upon his death. He had three sisters: Kate, Honor, and novelist Diana Marr-Johnson.
He wrote a candid, critically acclaimed, autobiography, Escape from the Shadows (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1972), and then a sequel, Search for Nirvana (W. H. Allen London 1975) which he dedicated to his last companion William Lawrence who travelled with him on his search and who assisted him with his work.
Genre: Non-Fiction > Biographies & Memoirs > Autobiography > gay > LGBTQI+
A review:
This is Maugham’s sequel to his first autobiography, "Escape from the Shadows", and is a very meditative as well as scholarly work. Maugham writes very well about his harsh upbringing (his father was very strict), his difficult time at school and all of his career problems. (Father wanted him to be a barrister, he just wanted to write like his Uncle Willie Somerset Maugham.) Maugham fought Rommel in the North African desert, was badly wounded and wanted to remain in that part of the world for the rest of his life. His North African travel books (Siwa, Notebook etc) are, for me, his best works and he fleshes them out in this book. In particular he reveals the self-censorship he had to impose on books he wrote in the 1940’s. Maugham has many regrets, particularly over unconsummated relationships, but he is not bitter or twisted over it. He regrets not pursuing his friendship with a German, Dieter, but thanks god he didn’t turn out like the Buddhist Briton he met in the jungle. Maugham is a forgotten, but outstanding writer, and unlike his uncle his non-fiction work is far superior to his fiction. For me this is a life changing book, certainly one that will get a reader thinking about career and personal choices. A vital read.
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