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Title: The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham ISBN: 1-4000-3420-5 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 09 September, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.58 (97 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A liberating novel
Comment: Being an Indian, and being engaged in my own fashion, in the same quest as Larry Darrel, the book's main protagonist, I found this book, in short, helpful and life-affirming. Highly recommended.
As Maugham traverses decades and characters in an insightful, somewhat ironic style, he says what he has to say so effectively that the reader stops noticing the words and descriptions, and starts 'listening' to the story, forming his / her own pictures.
When Larry starts to 'loaf', and chooses his life's work as the study of life itself, to find the reasons behind misery and evil, I began the journey with him. All that he goes through, from life as a coal miner to that of a German farmhand, and the experiences of standing in one's clothes, with no belongings at all and as a result, feeling free and unbound, was for me a personal confirmation: Of beliefs deeply held, conclusions formed independently, of the utility and the meaning in following a path that 'everyone' has always said, is destructive. The characters that he meets and connects with on his great journey are sharply etched, and honest in their own respective ways. Even the author plays a part (different from a plain first person narrative) in the unfolding events, and surprisingly, doesn't take away from the book at all!
Finally, after Larry has met his Guru, and gone through a discipleship and training where he gets his answers, when he chooses his path for the remainder of his life, the values that come through in his choice: humility, strength of character, and the basic understanding and detachment from worldly (binding, trivial) pleasures, give hope.
The Razor's Edge is a single, real, believable account of a life worthwhile. For me personally, having my thoughts and deepest convictions echoed by someone who lived in the West and arrived at the answers through the "simple" tools of reason, honest living, and an indomitable will to go out in search of the answers, is priceless and immensely liberating.
The description of the basic ideas in Vedanta is excellent. The basic distinction with Western religions: That one doesn't have to take anything on faith but is free to question anything and everything honestly, is well brought out. Life can be experienced vicariously through books, and social conventions, but all real learning only takes place empirically, through DOING.
What also comes out is that each individual has to seek and find one's own answers, *earn* one's own answers in fact.Some help comes from 'outside' if one has earned it, or craves it.
A remarkable book, one that has increased my respect for Western civilization and thinking manyfold. To anyone who's seeking similar answers about life, I humbly recommend The Razor's Edge as a primer on life and philosophy. Two books that could provide some more incomplete understanding and some answers, and a point of departure, are 'The Tao of Physics' by Fritjof Capra, 'Small is Beautiful', by E M Schumacher. I say incomplete, because ultimately, we have to go out in search of answers ourselves.
Like Larry. And that's the value of this book.
Rating: 3
Summary: Worth a read, but not the best
Comment: It is difficult to say what this book is about. Most people describe it as centered around the spiritual growth of what you might call the protagonist, Larry. That it is, without a doubt. But I think if it is centered around Larry, he is a foundation, or a backbone, around which the rest of the book rotates. You'll note how much time Maugham spends describing other people. I think that the purpose of the book isn't so much to tell Larry's story as it is to explore how people react and compare to Larry, to see why they don't find enlightenment. You'll find an abundance of inspiration in this book, but for any actual guides to enlightenment I would recommend reading the books that Larry himself reads, rather than getting too excited over this one.
That said, the book has a tremendous amount of compassion for its characters, and Maugham treats the story with great enthusiasm and interest. I think the author's attitude itself (he being a character) is a spiritual point of view that would be easy to miss. But I cannot write a review without saying that the book is stylistically flawed. The characters seem very mechanical and two-dimensional: they represent their designated manner of living far too perfectly, I think, to have any dramatic appeal or to be identified with smoothly. It's a lot like an Ayn Rand novel in that way. The dialogue, too, seems a bit stylized, and the descriptive passages can get formulaic in a bad way. But still the author's talent shines through in several passages, and there is plenty to think about. So don't miss this one, but don't expect a miracle.
Rating: 5
Summary: Maugham's Best Work -- Must Read
Comment: 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
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Title: Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham ISBN: 055321392X Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 June, 1991 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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Title: Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham ISBN: 0140185976 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: March, 1993 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title:The Razor's Edge ASIN: B000069HYF Publisher: Columbia Tristar Hom Pub. Date: 20 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $21.71 |
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Title: The Great Exotic Novels and Short Stories of Somerset Maugham by W. Somerset Maugham ISBN: 0786708131 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: 30 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham ISBN: 0375725024 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 05 December, 2000 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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