The description of Larry on the the first page and on the last page of the novel are what we all strive to be. Everything written between those pages explains how Larry became that person so described. I know that is how I would like to be remembered. I also recommend the 1946 version of this movie with Tyrone Power as Larry. When I was a high school freshman I saw the movie for the first time on TV. I have viewed this movie...
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This is my favorite book of all time. I've read it several times and seen both movie versions. In fact, it was the unusual, but excellent 1984 Bill Murray portrayal of Larry which made this book known to me in the first place. Here is the story of several characters, some likable and some not, in the post World War I era. Larry, a happy, go-lucky twenty-something pilot (in the movie he's an ambulance driver) returns from...
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The Razor's Edge is an unusual amalgam -- three-quarters witty social commentary about American and European society, one-quarter Eastern philosophy -- bound together by Maugham's impeccable prose -- almost as though Henry James and Hermann Hesse had collaborated. The book contrasts the adventures of Larry, a seeker who travels widely in search of life's meaning, with that of his former fiancee, Isabelle, who sacrifices her...
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William Somerset Maugham is considered one of the best authors of the 20th century. After reading this book, I can understand why. His grasp of the human condition is simply phenomenal. He is one of those rare authors that can make his characters leap off the page and become living, breathing creatures. The introduction to this Penguin edition spends much time trying to place the fictional characters into the context of Maugham’s...
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I don't believe any other story has moved me quite the way this one has. Larry Darrell's single-minded quest for meaning is told by one of the true masters of prose, Englishman W. Somerset Maugham. Set mostly in upper-class Europe following the first World War, Larry contrasts sharply with his rich acquaintances who desperately seek meaning in their own lives, but never seem to know exactly what they are looking for. While...
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