The Moon and Sixpence

<p><em>The Moon and Sixpence</em> by W. Somerset Maugham is a novel inspired by the life of painter Paul Gauguin. It tells the story of Charles Strickland a seemingly ordinary London stockbroker who abandons his wife children and comfortable life to pursue his passion for art.</p><p>Obsessed with painting Strickland sacrifices everything-social respectability family ties even his health-in his quest for artistic expression. His relentless pursuit of beauty leads him to Paris and eventually to Tahiti where he creates powerful original works but lives in poverty and isolation.</p><p>The novel explores themes of obsession the destructive demands of genius and the clash between conventional morality and artistic freedom raising questions about the cost of true creativity.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>