Rating: 
Summary: Moving suggestive portrait of what it means to yearn to know
Review: It has been said that a young man should not read Somerset Maugham too early in life, lest he be ruined, and The Razor's Edge is a tremendous example of the truth behind that aphorism.The search for understanding is one we all yearn to undertake, but Larry Darrell serves as an example that what we want in life we may not necessarily get. It's a hard lesson we think we understand, but it is not until the vast torrent of life washes the lesson over us that we truly realize just how insignificant we are. Although the narrative device of author/uncle does weaken this book, it would be hard to imagine it written with such power in any other way. A must read for anyone who longs to understand our place in existence.
Rating:
Summary: Superb Classic
Review: I first read The Razor's Edge when I was 11, when a great deal of its depth, (not to mention a great deal about Isabel's lust, and Sophie's downfall), must have gone right over my head. I've read it several times since. I suppose it was Larry's search for meaning in life after his war experiences that intrigued me the first time, and stayed with me. But as I go through life I more fully understand the parallels between Larry and the other characters. Each of them has hardship and loss in their lives. They handle it according to their abilities, and carry on. His search through mysticism with its ultimate peace of mind was one way of coping. The others, on completely different paths, also find what they're searching for. None of them are without faults and they do not always behave well, but the beauty in the book is that their behavior is always rational for their circumstances. The author displays enormous compassion and does not pass moral judgment on them or impose fictitious punishment. It's a character-driven story, and it's a story that we all, in one form or another, live.
Rating:
Summary: Classic!
Review: This book has been passed around my family and friends and it is looking a bit ratty. We can all see a bit of ourselves in the characters. Many lessons to be learned...
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: First, a word of warning to the readers of the Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics edition of this book. You may want to hold off on reading the introduction as Mr. Curtis reveals a plot point that might frustrate first-time readers of the book. Now, onto the review. The plot of The Razor's Edge is quite well-known and can be summed up as the quest of a young man to find himself. I think many, if not most, people can identify with the peripatetic, searching nature of Larry Darrell. Larry is burdened with some of the fundamental questions of life that we all have but, owing to a war-time experience and some independent financial means, he's unwilling to assume his place in a post WWI world until they're answered. Larry interacts with several characters throughout the book over the span of several decades. All of the characters are well-developed and the writing is good on a fairly consistent basis. As has been mentioned in previous reviews, there are a few occasions where the details provided by the author have the effect of slowing down an otherwise brisk pace. The frank depiction of sexuality in the book somewhat surprised me given the publication date of this work. In the end, I recommend the book as an enjoyable and often funny exploration of clearly defined human archetypes (i.e. the superficial, the introspective, etc.). I've awarded the book 4 stars because of the detail-laden aspects of some of the book and also because the ending seemed somewhat forced to me. While the summation of the characters provided in the conclusion was quite pithy, the overall effect of the last chapter was to leave me with a sense of having been rushed. As such, it didn't live up to the otherwise high standards set by the book. Nonetheless, The Razor's Edge is deserving of your time.
Rating:
Summary: You must have something in common with someone in this book.
Review: I discovered Maugham last year reading Of Human Bondage for the first time. Instantly, I became a fan. Having finished The Razor's Edge, I am on a quest to read everything I can by this wonderous, insightful and witty author. Maugham himself appears in this book and takes quite an actively passive role with his cast of characters. The lines between reality and fiction are blurred and I agree with another reviewer when you begin to question what is story and what is memoir. I walked away from this book, for the most part, admiring Larry who deliberately chose to follow a different path than his peers.. a path leading towards spritual enlightenment. Due to an unfortunate encounter with the loss of a comrade during the War, Larry decides that he needs to find out the meaning of life-- much to the dismay of his betrothed. Isabel just wants to live the "normal" life that every girl of her station (upperclass) has the opportunity to take advantage of. They choose to go their separate ways and the book follows their choices (as well as others in their circle) over the next couple of decades through the roaring 20's and the Great Depression. While no character actually seems by the end of the novel to be truly happy (except Larry) each achieves exactly what they set out to achieve. Maugham points this out in the end, and it is a comment that still leaves me questioning. What amazed me most about this novel was that I could recognize people in my own life as fitting some of the roles depicted in it. The people we learn of are REAL people...their actions, sufferings, and idiosyncracies are recognizable in ourselves and others. A morality play of sorts, the Razor's Edge offers a look at how individuals choose to fulfill their time here on Earth.. it is both a comment on society and its mores as well as a discourse on personal freedom and spirituality.
Rating:
Summary: Throughly enjoyable, and illuminating!
Review: The Razor's Edge is a tale of one man (Larry) who was born and brought up in US, spend many years in Europe, first flying aircrafts in WW I and later living an idiosyncratic existence where he searched for purpose and ambition through books, languages and labor. He later travels to India, and finds solace in the Hindu philosophy, where he also learns how to medidate and be at peace with oneself and the world. Maugham writes a very accurate and engaging account of Hinduism.
The novel explores the relationship of various people. The author as a part of story travels in and out of the life of Larry and his friends, and through several conversations that occur intermittenly recreates the story of Larry, Isabel, Gray, Elliot and Sophie. Isabel loves Larry, but Larry's insistance on choosing to loaf and search for the meaning of life and his purpose (and hence living a poor life) and marries Gray, the multimillionaire. Without divulging much details of the story, one can say that the author does a good job in making his characters real and interesting, and presents through them an array of human emotions. The Razor's edge is also a social commentary, and Maugham opens a window into the lifes and times of early twentieth century Upper classes, their constant striving for popularity and for materialistic pleasures, their hopes, and failings. The story is written in a sentiment and style that makes this discussion and critique on classes as invisible score playing somewhere in background. In modern context of the philosophy of science, as say Capra in his Tao of Physics points out, or read Complexity by Waldrop, Eastern and especially Indian ageold wisdom and philosophy resonantes with the new contexts and paradigms in science. The paradigms of having cycles of existence, of evolution and coevolution, of each and every action of every creature affecting everyone else (Butterfly Effect), of uncertainity and unpredictability. Some sentences about Hinduism are particularly well written, say quoting from the book " Can there be anything more stupendous than the conception that the universe has no beginning and no end, but passes everlastingly from growth to equilibrium, from equilibrium to decline, from decline to dissolution, from dissolution to growth, and so on till eternity?" Larry's description resonates with the beliefs and ideas I was taught while growing up in India. And since I have stayed in US for three years now, I guess I read into novel the kind of questions that I have faced: choice between materialism and spiritualism, choice between love and ambition, between my own country and the land of opportunity, of religion and beliefs! If you are a wanderer, and faced with such questions of life and reality, maybe you will love this book as much as I did! It ain't only a love story, does not mean it isn't a good love story. Read it, maybe you will like it too!
Rating:
Summary: Superlative storytelling
Review: Rarely can a book truly pull you in from the moment you commence reading. Well, The Razor's Edge is the exception to the rule. It is not only the mark of a good book, but a sublime storyteller. The incredible combination of an extraordinary melange of remarkably eclectic and certifiably unforgettable characters, a masterfully woven premise of singular quality, as well as a suave and melodious prose that virtually flows off of the page all emanate early and often from Maugham's pen in The Razor's Edge. While much has been made of the inscrutable idealist Larry Darrell, I found myself equally fascinated by the beautiful, yet cold and predictable Isabel, the banality of everyman Gray, the irrepressible flair of Elliott Templeton, the vague goings-on of Maugham, and, last but not least, the expressly antithetical, yet similarly intriguing, tales of Suzanne Bouvier and Sophie Macdonald. What makes The Razor's Edge so engrossingly captivating is the dichotomy of Maugham employing himself as the first person narrator and the irrefutable fact that the book draws from a vast multitude of his personal experiences -- both of which add immensely to the verisimilitude of the experience. In short, it has the feel of a memoir of sorts -- a true testament to Maugham's genius. "He's the idealist, he's the dreamer of a beautiful dream, and even if the dream doesn't come true, it's rather thrilling to have dreamt it." - Maugham
Rating: 
Summary: Not what it appears to be...
Review: 'The Razor's Edge' is usually billed as the story of Larry Darrell, a young man on a spiritual journey. However, the bulk of the text concerns Elliott Templeton, as he journeys from middle to old age, as a garrulous, opinionated, in some sense well-meaning, but in many ways tragically limited character. His motivations remain overtly uncharted, yet much is implied. Prime among these implications is his sexual orientation.
*
Maugham himself is the narrator and a character in this novel; hence, it's not unreasonable to think that his own life history would be relevant to the book. Jeffrey Meyer's recent biography, available on Amazon, is a good source of information. Maugham was married, unhappily, and during the Second World War, openly admitted his homosexuality, living as a homosexual for the rest of his long life. He published 78 books, selling over 40 million copies. Many, if not all, his characters were reportedly based on people he knew in real life. There are suggestions, then, that Elliott is an amalgam of several persons, possibly even of some aspects of Maugham himself. It's worth bearing in mind that homosexuality was illegal in England at the time the book was written. This in itself might go some way to explaining why certain matters are implied rather than directly addressed.
*
The Larry Darrell character is less insightfully presented that one might expect. He seems more the object of infatuation of several of the characters, not least of Maugham himself. As such, he is indulged, even when his actions might, objectively, be objectionable or obscure. His ruminations upon mysticism, in particular, are related by Maugham in a spirit of tolerance, with the occasional, very much muffled, hint of skepticism. His physical appearance, in contrast, is openly admired and, rather repetitiously, drawn to the reader's attention.
*
The treatment of the female characters is far less sympathetic, but, for that, far more realistic. They are variously portrayed as hedonistic, materialistic, lost, and mothering. Their lusts are generally far more earthy than those of the ethereal Larry. They are also capable of far greater hatred, as a particular turn in the plot reveals.
*
It's tempting to accuse Maugham of a certain degree of misogyny, except that it would be more accurate to label him a misanthopist, and indeed he has been labelled so; the fact that Larry escapes his scorn is less a contradiction of this indictment than a reflection of Larry's insubstantiality - his actions and personality are hardly human, approaching more those of an archetypal saint figure.
*
The writing style is very readable, without ever becoming elevated and enjoyable for its own sake. This is in keeping with the book's wide popularity.
*
Personally, I was very surprised by the difference between the book's reputation and its reality. If you are intrigued by Elliott Templeton and Maugham himself, then this will be an interesting read, as much for what is not said as for what is; if, however, Larry is the lure, then much will remain elusive.
Rating:
Summary: Maugham's Best Work -- Must Read
Review: While some rate the quality of the religious or philisophical references of this book, that really isn't the soul of the story. This is a story of a young combat veteran for whom the superficial luxuries of the world no longer have value. He must decide if his life was worth saving and why. What he discovers isn't the "Meaning of Life" or any religious ecstasy -- in fact, he arrives closer to the beginning than he thinks. But he goes with an appreciation for life and lives. I tried to be a Somerset Maugham fan but for me, this is far and away his best work. The characters are reallistically shallow, or lost, or gritty -- as the case may be. I reread this every couple of years just to remind myself of what a good story really sounds like. -Mike
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining,meaningful,fun
Review: I read this book first as a teenager and was compelled by the philosophy. I liked the way the story patronizes true spirit and internal quest in life.
It is the story of Larry, who as a young man serves the army and loves a pretty butterfly but when his search for truth begins, his lover(Isabella) leaves him and marries a young businessman. Larry travels around the globe, working wherever he can and gathers interesting experiences and skills. Young people will identify themselves with Larry and might be inspired. The discussions between the author and Larry/Isabella are engaging. The writer justifies the story as a "happy story" by saying that in the end, everyone gets what one wanted - life or status or death.
Must read for young people confused in life or love.
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