The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng

‘Where does a story begin, Willie?’ I asked. For a while he did not say anything. Then he shifted in his chair. ‘Where does a wave on the ocean begin?’ he said. ‘Where does it form a welt on the skin of the sea, to swell and expand and rush towards shore?’  ... Yes, I thought to myself. Tell him your story. Let him write it. Let the whole world know" - Tan Twan Eng, House of Doors

If you are looking for your next great read I highly recommend The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng, longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2023.  And thanks to Sam at Book Chase (link under blogs I follow) for recommending this novel.  Sam chose The House of Doors as one of his best books of 2023 and a book recommended by Sam is worth your time.

The House of Doors is a historical novel set primarily in Penpang, Malaysia in 1921.  One of the two main characters in this novel is Somerset Maugham.  In real life Maugham (WIllie to his friends) was a great writer, a world traveler and a complex man.  And in 1921 he spent several months living in Penpang, Malaysia.  He would later write The Casuarina Tree, a collection of short stories about his time in Penpang.  The most famous of these is The Letter, based on the infamous Ethel Proudlock murder trial which took place in Kuala Lumpur in 1911.  Maugham first heard about the case from an attorney while staying in Penpang in 1921.

But in The House of Doors, Tan Twan Eng imagines a different scenario regarding how Maugham learned about the case and how he came to write The Letter.  He creates a fictional couple Robert and Lesley Hamlyn who invite Maugham and his secretary Gerald Haxton (who is also Maugham's lover) to stay with them at Cassowary House.  Robert is a friend of Maugham from when the two men served in World War I.   

Somerset Maugham is not in the best of health at this point in his life.  His marriage to his wife Syrie who lives in England is not happy.  They live separate lives and due to a bad investment Maugham has lost a great deal of money and needs to think up ideas for new stories fast.  If he remains broke his wife Syrie and his young lover Gerald will not be pleased having grown accustomed to the finer things. Maugham has alot to deal with.

And that brings us to the other major character in The House of Doors, Lesley Hamlyn, Robert's wife.   Lesley is cool to Maugham at first.  Her sympathies are with Syrie back in England partly because her own marriage to Robert is also not going well.  But Somerset Maugham is fascinated by Lesley.  He knows that she grew up in Malaysia and that as a young woman she met and became associated with the Chinese Revolutionary Sun Yat Sen.  Might there be a story there? And as the two begin to talk and share confidences they become close.  Lesley confides to Somerset that yes she does have quite a few stories to share which will also include the Proudlock case.

The House of Doors is a kadilescope of a novel touching on many themes: the expat community during the early twentieth century, the revolutionary history of China, marriage, affairs, secrets and the life of Somerset Maugham and how living at that time he could not be open about who he loved.  And House of Doors is also about the creative process and how a writer becomes inspired to write a story like The Letter.

So thanks again to Sam and this year I am going to pay more attention to the novels that get short and longlisted for the major book awards.  There are gems among the nominees and The House of Doors is one of them.