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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
A curious book, but, like all books with some focus on European aristocracy, one that thoroughly charmed me. Wildly different characters are presented relatively amorally, with the narrator affectionate towards them all for very different reasons, which has a humanizing effect that I liked a lot. In the way of narrative and story I wasn't blown away, but they weren't really the focus and they were successful in accomplishing what they set out to.
An intriguing tale about the disillusionments of a group of intimate acquaintances who really do not know each other at all. Maugham inserts himself as a sort of character/narrator of the story, and we find out about the protagonist, Larry, through him. The love story reminds me a bit of Jeffrey Eugenides' The Marriage Plot, and I wonder if there is some connection there.
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So there was this guy — W. Somerset Maugham. He was born at the UK Embassy in Paris in 1874. He died in 1965. I mention all this because, as I was reading (that is, listening to) this book and by consequence talking about it, I didn't speak to one person who knew of him.
I heard about Maugham from a friend several years ago. She said she'd gotten into his books and really liked his writing, but she said he wrote a lot about high society in Europe in the early 1900s. Boring, in other words. I forgot all about it.
Then! I randomly downloaded a bunch of audio books from the library, with Maugham's The Razor's Edge among them. And I listened to every single other book I'd downloaded except The Razor's Edge. I still didn't have much inclination. But it turned out I was slightly more lazy to go look for new books to download than I was to give this one a try. Of course it was fantastic and I loved pretty much every second of it.
Holy shit this guy is funny. He has this pervading sarcasm and bitterness underlying all the descriptions and beats and dialogue. His characters are so real you have to assume they are at least two thirds plucked directly from his life. But oh yeah, about his life.
So halfway into reading The Razor's Edge I decided to look Maugham up on Wikipedia. Turns out he was one of the most popular English novelists of his time. Pretty much everyone knew who he was. But as you can imagine, there are a lot of popular writers who actually suck and will never achieve full-on 'classic' status. (Yeah, Maugham is classic, but nobody seems to know who the hell he is anymore.) Like I seriously hope Dan Brown is an example of this and in thirty years he will be completely forgotten. Anyway. Maugham was a literary celebrity. He was supposedly, in the 1930s, the highest paid novelist. In the world? In the UK? I haven't bothered to fact check, but either way.
The Razor's Edge isn't a traditional book with a traditional story. To begin with, it's narrated in first person, and the narrator is W. Somerset Maugham. But there are certain elements that don't mesh with his actual life. As a very small example, a central figure is this guy Larry who studies at ashrams in India — book-Maugham professes to have never been to India, when in fact real-life-Maugham travelled through India and Southeast Asia during the First World War. So in one sense the book automatically feels autobiographical, but some very key elements are obviously fiction. That's weird just on it's own.
The characters all feel strongly symbolic, yet at the same time they are extremely real and flawed and appealing each in their own strange way, because Maugham convincingly talks as if he knows them and generously explains all their flaws and unique appeal. I'm not saying anything about the plot because there is nothing about the plot that is relevant. The book is more a series of character sketches and reflections and dialogue chains, and yet without obstacles or adversity or much in the way of a climax, and which still exists within a necessary chronology.
Read this book. The language is great. The characterization is incredible. It's symbolically charged. Yeah quite a lot of it is about high society in Europe in the early 1900s, but holy shit I was fully interested in these strange people from beginning to end and I must have laughed out loud somewhere between ten and twenty times.
"I can only admire the radiance of such a rare creature, I cannot step into his shoes and enter into his innermost heart as I sometimes think I can do with persons more nearly allied to the common run of men."
**
Check out the audio book, read by Frank Muller = awesome.
I heard about Maugham from a friend several years ago. She said she'd gotten into his books and really liked his writing, but she said he wrote a lot about high society in Europe in the early 1900s. Boring, in other words. I forgot all about it.
Then! I randomly downloaded a bunch of audio books from the library, with Maugham's The Razor's Edge among them. And I listened to every single other book I'd downloaded except The Razor's Edge. I still didn't have much inclination. But it turned out I was slightly more lazy to go look for new books to download than I was to give this one a try. Of course it was fantastic and I loved pretty much every second of it.
Holy shit this guy is funny. He has this pervading sarcasm and bitterness underlying all the descriptions and beats and dialogue. His characters are so real you have to assume they are at least two thirds plucked directly from his life. But oh yeah, about his life.
So halfway into reading The Razor's Edge I decided to look Maugham up on Wikipedia. Turns out he was one of the most popular English novelists of his time. Pretty much everyone knew who he was. But as you can imagine, there are a lot of popular writers who actually suck and will never achieve full-on 'classic' status. (Yeah, Maugham is classic, but nobody seems to know who the hell he is anymore.) Like I seriously hope Dan Brown is an example of this and in thirty years he will be completely forgotten. Anyway. Maugham was a literary celebrity. He was supposedly, in the 1930s, the highest paid novelist. In the world? In the UK? I haven't bothered to fact check, but either way.
The Razor's Edge isn't a traditional book with a traditional story. To begin with, it's narrated in first person, and the narrator is W. Somerset Maugham. But there are certain elements that don't mesh with his actual life. As a very small example, a central figure is this guy Larry who studies at ashrams in India — book-Maugham professes to have never been to India, when in fact real-life-Maugham travelled through India and Southeast Asia during the First World War. So in one sense the book automatically feels autobiographical, but some very key elements are obviously fiction. That's weird just on it's own.
The characters all feel strongly symbolic, yet at the same time they are extremely real and flawed and appealing each in their own strange way, because Maugham convincingly talks as if he knows them and generously explains all their flaws and unique appeal. I'm not saying anything about the plot because there is nothing about the plot that is relevant. The book is more a series of character sketches and reflections and dialogue chains, and yet without obstacles or adversity or much in the way of a climax, and which still exists within a necessary chronology.
Read this book. The language is great. The characterization is incredible. It's symbolically charged. Yeah quite a lot of it is about high society in Europe in the early 1900s, but holy shit I was fully interested in these strange people from beginning to end and I must have laughed out loud somewhere between ten and twenty times.
"I can only admire the radiance of such a rare creature, I cannot step into his shoes and enter into his innermost heart as I sometimes think I can do with persons more nearly allied to the common run of men."
**
Check out the audio book, read by Frank Muller = awesome.
When I opened this book, I somehow expected it to be boring, but I was completely off-base. I found myself totally wrapped up in the world that Maugham creates and in the lives of each character. I felt like I was transported to Paris in the 1920s-1930s. I was taken by the character of Larry and his transformational experience. I also found the narrative techniques fascinating - I had so much curiosity about the narrator and wished that I was reading this book for a college lit course where we could have full conversations about it!
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Larry is the man. Great reflective book but still have no idea what I want to do with my life.
adventurous
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I listened to this audiobook on the recommendation of a coworker who declared it his favorite. I liked it well enough, but it didn't bowl me over. Maugham has a witty and engaging writing style, but the book has no central conflict that I could discern. Rather, it read like a memoir: "This happened, then that happened, then this other thing happened to these different people."
For the most part, the book is set among wealthy American expatriates in inter-war Paris. For some, and perhaps for my coworker, this is irresistible. While I have no problem with rich people, however, I'm not particularly into who's furnishing their apartments or designing their gowns. And while I've enjoyed several pleasant visits to Paris, I've never found it as captivating as do many of my friends and loved ones. The book also expends a lot of energy detailing the spiritual journey of one Larry Darrell, a former WWI pilot and current seeker of truth. I have no problem with seekers of truth, but I don't accept the book's obvious love for the wisdom of Hindu thought. This isn't a knock on Hindus - I just happen to see their ideology as one among many. It's interesting, but you can't wave Vishnu at me and expect me to go all wobbly in the knees.
So, there we have it. This is a perfectly fine book that's pleasant to listen to, but it didn't astonish and delight me. If you love it, I'm curious: why?
For the most part, the book is set among wealthy American expatriates in inter-war Paris. For some, and perhaps for my coworker, this is irresistible. While I have no problem with rich people, however, I'm not particularly into who's furnishing their apartments or designing their gowns. And while I've enjoyed several pleasant visits to Paris, I've never found it as captivating as do many of my friends and loved ones. The book also expends a lot of energy detailing the spiritual journey of one Larry Darrell, a former WWI pilot and current seeker of truth. I have no problem with seekers of truth, but I don't accept the book's obvious love for the wisdom of Hindu thought. This isn't a knock on Hindus - I just happen to see their ideology as one among many. It's interesting, but you can't wave Vishnu at me and expect me to go all wobbly in the knees.
So, there we have it. This is a perfectly fine book that's pleasant to listen to, but it didn't astonish and delight me. If you love it, I'm curious: why?
This might be my favorite book I’ve read this year so far and I can already tell it’s one I’ll be returning to for years to come. Maugham’s style and insertion of himself as the narrator, popping in and out of the lives of the characters really elevated their humanity and made them feel so much more real. The story’s setting in the 1920s and the narrator’s status as an outsider who becomes increasingly intertwined with the cast of characters reminded me of The Great Gatsby, which is also one of my favorite books. Loved the emphasis on the complexity of humanity and the multitude of ways people seek fulfillment in life to discover their own definition of its meaning.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes