The Merry-Go-Round by W. Somerset Maugham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well, I wanted to like this more than I did. I love Maugham for many reasons and he has a wide scope for all his novels, but this one in particular just reminded me of a 19th century soap opera with super-headstrong idiots making idiotic choices.

Sure, Maugham referred to London, itself, as the Merry-Go-Round, but I think it's more proper to call the PEOPLE within it the Merry-Go-Round. They hop on each other and hop off each other with such random glee, picking another griffin or dolphin or dragon whenever it pleases them, spilling all their drinks and cotton candy all over the ride -- and these are ADULTS, mind you, behaving so abominably, and they don't seem to care if they step on anyone. Not even kids! *gasp*


Honestly, it's like a poor-man's Edith Wharton. It's decent for what it is and it reminds me of a ton of other Manners fiction, but to me, some of the characters sucked all the enjoyment out of it.

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