Been listening to the well performed youtube audiobooks of #ShortStories that are collected in #WSomersetMaugham's #TheCasuarinaTree (1926).
Four stories listened to so far, not quite in order, and it looks clear that the violence of, and corrosive effects of, #Colonialism was common knowledge in Britain.
Before the Party
P. & O.
The Outstation
The Force of Circumstance
The Yellow Streak
The Letter
A novel #TheHouseOfDoors and #TheLetter are both based on a real event.
a moth
"Don't harm it", he said, "They're the souls of the people we once loved come to visit us, to watch over us."
- Arthur (a character in #TheHouseOfDoors by #TanTwangEng)
#TheHouseOfDoors novel has a main character, the narrator, Lesley.
She's in Penang in 1910 and speaks of some #ChineseHistory - the #TaipingRebellion. WP has 20-30 million deaths. But I've seen estimates x5 higher.
As well as the rebellion leader thinking he is the #BrotherOfJesus, the rebellion is lead by the #Hakka, who I've heard refered to as the #NomadClan, or "#GuestPeople who may have offended the Emperor". Whereas they had lead a rebellion!
1/?We're listening to the #Audiobook of #TheHouseOfDoors again.
The Prologue specifically.
The reader/performer is doing different voices for each character.
The prologue is in the first person.
Lesley appears to find the postman highly sexually desirable.
She "followed him with my EYES", and "he dismounted from his bicycle (underlined) and PROPPED IT against its kickstand".
The postman going from the accent performed is a Jamaican-Irishman. Called Johan.
Continued ...
#ElderlyRelative is listening to #AudioBook #TheHouseOfDoors by #TanTwanEng.
Hmmm.
Why would the reader/performer of the prologue say "Droenfontein".
Isn't it #Doornfontein?
So now I've got ongoing doubts about the performer's faithfulness to the book and the accuracy of any emphasis they make in their speech.
Don't know how much audiobook performers get paid. Maybe it isn't enough to get correct pronounciation happening for unfamilar words?
And where is their editor?
skua
Cassandra House of Priam