Magazine content is available exclusively for TIME subscribers.Beer & Skittles*
Beer & Skittles—
CAKES AND ALE—W. Somerset Maugham—Doubleday, Dor an ($2).
Somerset Maugham writes a workman-like novel; easy to read, witty, sardonic, realistic, far from the borderline of boredom. He does not believe in "great" books; has never written, will never write one. His habitual bitterness, whether natural or acquired, has become part of his stock-in-trade. He now uses it effectively, usually cloaks it in brusque but polite irony.
Cakes and Ale: or The Skeleton in the Clipboard is a novel without a hero. Narrator is William...
To read the entire article, you must be a TIME subscriber. Already registered? Sign in below
Current print subscribers to register
Subscribe now to get TIME All Access
Email, Password or Region is incorrect
A required form parameter was missing.
The System is currently down. Please try again in a few minutes.
Email Address is invalid
Password is blank
Most Popular »
- JC Penney and Ellen, Lowe's and All-American Muslim: A Tale of Two Bigotries
- Four Ways the U.S. Could End Up at War with Iran Before the Election*
- The Art of Nazi Hunting: How Israel's Mossad Found Adolf Eichmann
- Top 10 Celebrity Restaurants
- Study: Zapping the Brain Boosts Memory
- College Endowments: Why Even Harvard Isn't As Rich As You Think
- Bradying: The Poor Man's Tebowing
- Pentagon Rules 'Shift' on Women in Combat
- Twimmolation Alert: Roland Martin Gets His Ascot in Hot Water at CNN
- House Pulls the Plug. Too Soon or Too Late?
- The Upside Of Being An Introvert (And Why Extroverts Are Overrated)
- The Brain: How The Brain Rewires Itself
- Egypt's NGO Crisis: How Will U.S. Aid Play in the Controversy?
- Why Is Your Boss Moving to Brazil?
- Friends With Benefits
- Seoul Searching
- New York City: 10 Things to Do
- Pentagon Rules 'Shift' on Women in Combat
- Haiti Papers Over the Past: The Rebranding of 'Baby Doc' Duvalier
- In Singapore, Finding Peace Among the Pain of Thaipusam
More News from Our Partners
Top Stories on TIME.com
Quotes of the Day »
DAVID CAMERON, British Prime Minister, on England's soccer manager, Fabio Capello, who resigned after challenging the FA's decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy; Terry denies a charge of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand
