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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Book Review
The Razors Edge
3/5 stars
"Yet another hackneyed 'finding oneself' story / bildungsroman"
The book is in 54 chapters over 7 parts. 314 pages.
The average chapter is 5.8 pages, which is just enough to read a couple of them over a lunch break.
(Side bar: there's no way you cannot know that this author is gay within the first 20 pages of the book. He pays WAY too much attention to women's clothes, and the looks of the male characters. [p.24: "Gray Maturin was striking rather than handsome...... The built on so larger scale, he was finally proportioned, and stripped he must have been a fine figure of a man.")
Why this book? (I only do one or two fiction books per year out of about 50.)
I had read several lists of "the classics," and for these lists I read an average of 25 to 30 books.
So, I didn't think it would cause any harm to try to get a little bit closer to completing one of the lists with a book that showed up several times.
This one in particular had many reviews on Amazon, and so that was a good sign.
Or so I thought.
The book is reasonably short, and the prose is enjoyable, it's just that I'm left asking "what was the point?"
If you want to read a book by a real philosopher-drifter, then Eric Hoffer was that thing--and he wrote several books over his lifetime about what it was like to drift and gain deep insights into human nature.
And he did gain insights! And what he had to say was actually interesting. (His job as a longshoreman gave him sustenance with reasonable working hours, and plenty of time to think and write.)
*******
This book puts me in mind of James Weldon Johnson's autobiography of an ex-colored man. (These larger than life characters, independently wealthy and in improbable circumstances in order to make a point. What point?)
1. Hoffer has written that: "Where people toil from sunrise to sunset for a bare living, they nurse no grievances and dream no dreams" and that "The poor on the borderline of starvation live purposeful lives. To be engaged in a desperate struggle for food and shelter is to be wholly free from a sense of futility."
And so you have a book here with a bunch of affluent white people with too much spare time on their hands and probably more money than they do brains. And this causes them to set about the business of trying to "find the meaning of life."
Such questions always leave me cold, because the follow-up question is: "Once you figure out the meaning of life, what are you going to do with it?"
(Also, I'm preoccupied with paying bills and raising children, and am wholly free from a sense of futility.)
This question has been repeated so many times the people have even started to make movies about "finding oneself." ("Eat. Pray. Love." / "Into The Wild"
2. There's a Yiddish expression that "
If a man is meant to drown, he will drown in a spoonful of water."
So, certain of these characters (Sophie MacDonald) just kept finding that spoonful of water in which to drown.
So now what?
3. "Nobody Knows When You're Down And Out" is the title of a famous blues song that encapsulated the entirety of the life of Elliot Templeton--in 2 minutes and 58 seconds.
Nobody knew when he was down and out, and......nobody cared.
There were a few decent quotes, and lots of vocabulary.
Verdict: recommended at the price of $3 or less, and I will not be re-reading this.
Vocabulary:
marquetry commode
ducal landlord
petit point
"Letter of introduction"
divine (=clergyman)
cretonne
vitrine
hobble skirt
aspic
raddle
porte cochère
meretricious
marocain
megrim
podgy boys
frowst
salver
plebian
caporal
crinoline
veronal
lustral bath
continence (=abstinence)
unctuous
mistral
Quotes
(39) When you're 18 your emotions are violent, but they're not durable.
(130) Nothing is easier to bear than other people's calamities with fortitude.
(162) A mother only does her children harm if she makes them the only concern of her life.
The Razors Edge
3/5 stars
"Yet another hackneyed 'finding oneself' story / bildungsroman"
The book is in 54 chapters over 7 parts. 314 pages.
The average chapter is 5.8 pages, which is just enough to read a couple of them over a lunch break.
(Side bar: there's no way you cannot know that this author is gay within the first 20 pages of the book. He pays WAY too much attention to women's clothes, and the looks of the male characters. [p.24: "Gray Maturin was striking rather than handsome...... The built on so larger scale, he was finally proportioned, and stripped he must have been a fine figure of a man.")
Why this book? (I only do one or two fiction books per year out of about 50.)
I had read several lists of "the classics," and for these lists I read an average of 25 to 30 books.
So, I didn't think it would cause any harm to try to get a little bit closer to completing one of the lists with a book that showed up several times.
This one in particular had many reviews on Amazon, and so that was a good sign.
Or so I thought.
The book is reasonably short, and the prose is enjoyable, it's just that I'm left asking "what was the point?"
If you want to read a book by a real philosopher-drifter, then Eric Hoffer was that thing--and he wrote several books over his lifetime about what it was like to drift and gain deep insights into human nature.
And he did gain insights! And what he had to say was actually interesting. (His job as a longshoreman gave him sustenance with reasonable working hours, and plenty of time to think and write.)
*******
This book puts me in mind of James Weldon Johnson's autobiography of an ex-colored man. (These larger than life characters, independently wealthy and in improbable circumstances in order to make a point. What point?)
1. Hoffer has written that: "Where people toil from sunrise to sunset for a bare living, they nurse no grievances and dream no dreams" and that "The poor on the borderline of starvation live purposeful lives. To be engaged in a desperate struggle for food and shelter is to be wholly free from a sense of futility."
And so you have a book here with a bunch of affluent white people with too much spare time on their hands and probably more money than they do brains. And this causes them to set about the business of trying to "find the meaning of life."
Such questions always leave me cold, because the follow-up question is: "Once you figure out the meaning of life, what are you going to do with it?"
(Also, I'm preoccupied with paying bills and raising children, and am wholly free from a sense of futility.)
This question has been repeated so many times the people have even started to make movies about "finding oneself." ("Eat. Pray. Love." / "Into The Wild"
2. There's a Yiddish expression that "
If a man is meant to drown, he will drown in a spoonful of water."
So, certain of these characters (Sophie MacDonald) just kept finding that spoonful of water in which to drown.
So now what?
3. "Nobody Knows When You're Down And Out" is the title of a famous blues song that encapsulated the entirety of the life of Elliot Templeton--in 2 minutes and 58 seconds.
Nobody knew when he was down and out, and......nobody cared.
There were a few decent quotes, and lots of vocabulary.
Verdict: recommended at the price of $3 or less, and I will not be re-reading this.
Vocabulary:
marquetry commode
ducal landlord
petit point
"Letter of introduction"
divine (=clergyman)
cretonne
vitrine
hobble skirt
aspic
raddle
porte cochère
meretricious
marocain
megrim
podgy boys
frowst
salver
plebian
caporal
crinoline
veronal
lustral bath
continence (=abstinence)
unctuous
mistral
Quotes
(39) When you're 18 your emotions are violent, but they're not durable.
(130) Nothing is easier to bear than other people's calamities with fortitude.
(162) A mother only does her children harm if she makes them the only concern of her life.
b站up主提到的小说入门，月亮与六便士之外还有刀锋，本来就在书单上于是提了一下priority。剧情在美国的背景设置正好在芝加哥，地域情结悄悄在心里加了0.5分。
there are men who are possessed by an urge so strong to do some particular thing that they can’t help themselves, they’ve got to do it. They’re prepared to sacrifice everything to satisfy their yearning.
一直就很羡慕目标明确的人，抑或是敢于放弃现有成就追寻梦想的人，艳羡前者有清晰的方向，也佩服后者在唾手可得的成功和荆棘坎坷的未知中选择了更难走的路的勇气。
另一个[b:Design the Long Life You Love: A Step-by-Step Guide to Love, Purpose, Well-Being, and Friendship|60769862|Design the Long Life You Love A Step-by-Step Guide to Love, Purpose, Well-Being, and Friendship|Ayse Birsel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1652694318l/60769862._SX50_.jpg|95822746]类似的takeaway是珍惜当下。
Nothing in the world is permanent, and we’re foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we’re still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it.
there are men who are possessed by an urge so strong to do some particular thing that they can’t help themselves, they’ve got to do it. They’re prepared to sacrifice everything to satisfy their yearning.
一直就很羡慕目标明确的人，抑或是敢于放弃现有成就追寻梦想的人，艳羡前者有清晰的方向，也佩服后者在唾手可得的成功和荆棘坎坷的未知中选择了更难走的路的勇气。
另一个[b:Design the Long Life You Love: A Step-by-Step Guide to Love, Purpose, Well-Being, and Friendship|60769862|Design the Long Life You Love A Step-by-Step Guide to Love, Purpose, Well-Being, and Friendship|Ayse Birsel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1652694318l/60769862._SX50_.jpg|95822746]类似的takeaway是珍惜当下。
Nothing in the world is permanent, and we’re foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we’re still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it.
My opinion of the book fluctuated as I read. The author inserts himself as a character, and sometimes that makes the narrative flow awkward. You end up with passages where he's writing things like (not an actual quote), "I wasn't there so I can only surmise that it went something like this." Overall, though, I once again really enjoyed Maugham's style and the story itself is thought-provoking and entertaining. He creates good characters, and the at times dark material is sprinkled with some healthy doses of humor. After Of Human Bondage and The Razor's Edge, I'm still anxious to read more of Maugham's work.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
someone eat bacon and eggs in paris with me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Death, Racism
This was a bittersweet book.
Maugham was right, everyone did get what they wanted, but at what cost? It was as the ‘what ifs’ one experiences in life were present a little too much. You could just taste the different paths, and I couldn’t help but to feel for them. It was as this was the best possible outcome even if felt like no win was possible: Isabel would be incapable of accepting Larry’s life; Larry’s would be miserable if he did what Isabel wanted; Gary married who we wished for, but she longed for someone else; Sophie got what she wanted only after losing her world; Larry’s made it, but always alone.
I didn’t appreciate the moments where Maugham engaged with the reader. Not because of the engagement but because it always felt like a drop in the pacing of the book and it didn’t add much value on its own. His descriptions of women were also something quite avoidable.
It is a very interesting book that does makes you think about society expectations, your own expectations, and the consequences of them in ones’ life.
Maugham was right, everyone did get what they wanted, but at what cost? It was as the ‘what ifs’ one experiences in life were present a little too much. You could just taste the different paths, and I couldn’t help but to feel for them. It was as this was the best possible outcome even if felt like no win was possible: Isabel would be incapable of accepting Larry’s life; Larry’s would be miserable if he did what Isabel wanted; Gary married who we wished for, but she longed for someone else; Sophie got what she wanted only after losing her world; Larry’s made it, but always alone.
I didn’t appreciate the moments where Maugham engaged with the reader. Not because of the engagement but because it always felt like a drop in the pacing of the book and it didn’t add much value on its own. His descriptions of women were also something quite avoidable.
It is a very interesting book that does makes you think about society expectations, your own expectations, and the consequences of them in ones’ life.
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
reflective