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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Razor's Edge' by Somerset Maugham was my June classic. I read 'Of Human Bondage' a couple of years ago and it became one of my favourite books ever so I knew I had to read more books written by Maugham!
Maugham is definitely my sort of writer. He analyses society like few do. He builds complex characters. His writing is sublime and he has a very particular humor. It was such a delight reading this book. I kept thinking: 'this is excellent literature. This is why I love reading'. And did you know that Maugham was the highest-paid author during the 1930s? The things I discover on Wikipedia.
For more reviews, follow me on Instagram: @booksturnyouon
Maugham is definitely my sort of writer. He analyses society like few do. He builds complex characters. His writing is sublime and he has a very particular humor. It was such a delight reading this book. I kept thinking: 'this is excellent literature. This is why I love reading'. And did you know that Maugham was the highest-paid author during the 1930s? The things I discover on Wikipedia.
For more reviews, follow me on Instagram: @booksturnyouon
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Whilst reading this book did I have a breakdown and cry like a baby. Yes, yes I did.
Never have I read a book at the exact time in my life in which I needed it so very much. The themes are so effortlessly relevant today and the characters are fascinating. The atmosphere is engulfing.
“For men and women are not only themselves; they are also the region in which they are born, the city apartment or farm in which they learnt to walk, the games they played as children, the old wives tales they overheard, the food they ate, the schools they attended, the sports they followed, the poets they read, and the God they believed in. It is all these things that have made them what they are, and these are the things that you can't come to know by hearsay...”
Wanting and yearning for that thing in your life that is almost seems it was ingrained in you since as long as you can remember can be motivating but it can be crumbling. This book is beautiful and every sentence is like a work of art. It is a book to be savoured and I am sure I will be re-reading and recommending this to anyone who will listen. I wish I could write a review as beautiful as this book but alas I can't so instead I just recommend that you read this gorgeous piece of literature.
“The dead look so terribly dead when they're dead.”
“Almost all the people who’ve had the most effect on me I seem to have met by chance, yet looking back it seems as though I couldn’t but have met them.”
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book felt like it was 80% about Elliott Templeton and 20% about Larry Darrell. I expected it to be more focused on Larry and was kind of disappointed. While the ending somewhat surprised me, it felt unsatisfactory. I also had a hard time reading and understanding Maugham's writing style so it made liking this story difficult.
this is pretty much as close to 5 stars a book can get without me actually giving it 5 stars (I have very minor gripes). very interesting from the start with how maugham himself was the narrator/observer without reallyyy being involved in the actual plot. all the main characters are so unique and enthralling. my minor complaints are that I briefly lost interest in some small sections and I didn't like how the female characters were described at points (bit of misogyny)
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes