great. “distracted by so many conflicting interests, so lost in the world’s confusion, so wishful of good, so cocksure on the outside, so diffident within, so kind, so hard, so trustful, and so cagey, so mean and so generous, which is the people of the United States” ( )

Read this as a shared read this month. It was a reread for me, I first read it sometime in my college years. My memory is that its was the first "literature" that I read without being told I had to read it. I liked it then, but I had no memory of reading it, as I read it now. Maugham is the narrator and he is describing the lives of his friends right after WWI, their family struggles, their financial struggles during the Great Depression. A lot of it is focused on Larry and his disillusionment with life and his search for meaning. A large section is Maugham's conversation with Larry about his time in India with Buddhist monks and his spiritual awakening. Its interesting, it seems that this section is the whole reason and point of the book (otherwise its just "Friends" in the Roaring 20's :) ), but Maugham makes a point that the reader can skip this whole section if they wanted to. I enjoyed this read quite a lot and I'm glad the group picked it as a group read.

Quotes:
"You make me tired. Do you think I sacrificed myself to let Larry fall into the hands of a raging nymphomaniac?" "How did you sacrifice yourself?" "I gave Larry up for the one and only reason that I didn't want to stand in his way." "Come off it, Isabel. You gave him up for a square-cut diamond and a sable coat."

One day I said to him: "You, who are so liberal, who know the world, who've read so much, science, philosophy, literature - do you in your heart of hearts believe in reincarnation?" His whole face changed. It became the face of a visionary. "My dear friend," he said, "if I didn't believe in it life would have no meaning for me.", "And do you believe in it, Larry?" I asked. "that's a very difficult question to answer. I don't think its possible for us Occidentals to believe in it as implicitly as these Orientals do. It's in their blood and bones. With us it can only be an opinion. I neither believe in it nor disbelieve in it." ( )

The Razor's Edge is a 1944 novel by W. Somerset Maugham and is considered to be the most accessible of his books. It tells the story of Larry Darrell, an American pilot traumatized by his experiences in World War I along some of the people who had an impact on Larry’s life, including his fiancee Isabel and her uncle Elliot, a snobbish expat American who cannot imagine any other way of life but that of following European high society.

Larry sets off in search of a transcendent meaning to life and although he invites Isabel to join him, she, needing to choose between her love of Larry or her need for a life of wealth and privilege, breaks off their engagement. One unique feature of the story is that it is narrated by a character who happens to be the author, W. Somerset Maugham. Larry Darrell spends the book travelling and searching for life’s meaning and intermittently passing his observations on to Maugham who then interprets these concepts of war, death, life, marriage, and profession onto the pages.

I found The Razor’s Edge an interesting read. It’s philosophical theme of finding one’s true purpose in order to live a meaningful life certainly made this reader reflective. Of course it is obvious that one has to find out for himself what the meaning of life is as it is different for everyone. I believe that by exposing his characters inner desires, whether it be stability, spirituality or simply working and caring for others that Maugham was trying to point out that the way to peace and happiness is one’s ability to accept and respect other people’s choices. ( )

I read this in Italy some years back. I don't remember anything about it, but I think I liked it. And Larry Darrell is an unintentionally hilarious name. ( )

I found this book tremendously enjoyable. My prior impression of Somerset Maugham was that he was a good short story writer whose novels are looked down upon for being a bit plot-driven and a bit stylistically simple. I was thrilled to discover that neither of those (imagined?) criticisms is valid. I think Maugham is very good at all elements of the novel, without being excellent at any of them. The characterisation is mostly good, and when it leans a little bit toward cliche it's in a way that's still sympathetic. The prose is crystal clear, with just enough authorial voice to engage the reader. A lot happens in the book, but none of it is unrealistic and much of it is illustrative rather than integral to the story.

It helps that this book falls into just about my favourite genre of art, which doesn't so much ask the big questions as ask what would happen if we took the big questions seriously. The Good Place and I Heart Huckabees are two examples of this genre from other media, while books like [b:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|386162|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)|Douglas Adams|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559986152l/386162._SX50_.jpg|3078186] series play with the same ideas.

This is a tricky book to recommend, because I expect going into it with low expectations and no idea what it's about will greatly enhance the experience. Nevertheless, if you're considering reading it, do. ( )