For other uses of The Razor's Edge see The Razor's Edge (disambiguation)
| The Razor's Edge | |
 1946 hardcover edition promoting the first film adaptation |
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| Author | W. Somerset Maugham |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Publication date | 1944 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 314 pp (Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 1-4000-3420-5 |
The Razor's Edge is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham written in 1944. William Somerset Maugham, CH ( January 25 1874 &ndash December 16 1965) was an English Playwright, The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view The Doubleday Publishing Group is the fifth largest Book Publishing company in the world A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a Book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with Cloth Paperback, softback, or softcover describe and refer to a Book by the nature of its binding. A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story William Somerset Maugham, CH ( January 25 1874 &ndash December 16 1965) was an English Playwright, Its epigraph reads, "The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard. In Literature, an epigraph is a phrase Quotation, or Poem that is set at the beginning of a document or component " —Katha-Upanishad. The Kaṭha Upanishad is one of the older Mukhya "primary" Upanishads commented upon by Shankara.
The Razor's Edge tells the story of an American, Larry Darrell, who, traumatized by his experiences as a fighter pilot in World War I, decides to search for some transcendant meaning in his life. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The novel tells its story through the eyes of Larry's friends and acquaintances as they witness his personality change after the War. His rejection of conventional life and search for meaningful experience allows him to thrive while the more materialistic characters suffer reversals of fortune. The book was twice adapted into film, first in 1946 starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney, and then a modern adaptation 1984 version starring Bill Murray, with Tibet replacing India as the place of Larry's enlightenment. The Razor's Edge is the first film version of W Somerset Maugham 's 1944 novel. Tyrone Edmund Power Jr (May 5 1914 – November 15 1958 usually credited simply as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as " Ty Power " was an Gene Tierney ( November 19, 1920 – November 6, 1991) was an American film and stage actress. The Razor's Edge is the second film version of W Somerset Maugham 's 1944 novel. For the British actor see Billy Murray (actor. William James "Bill" Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an Definitions of Tibet See also Definitions of Tibet Name In English The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European
Contents |
Plot
Maugham inserts himself as a minor character, a writer who drifts in and out of the lives of the major players. Larry's lifestyle is contrasted throughout the book with that of his fiancée's uncle, Elliott Templeton, an American expatriate living in Paris and a shallow and unrepentant yet generous snob.
Wounded and traumatized by the death of a comrade in the War, Larry returns to Lake Forest, Illinois and his fiancée, Isabel, only to announce that he does not plan to work and instead will "loaf" on his small inheritance. Lake Forest is a city known for its affluence located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE-ROMEOS*************** He wants to delay their marriage and refuses to take up a job as a stockbroker offered to him by the father of his friend Gray, Henry Maturin. Meanwhile, Larry's childhood friend, Sophie, settles into a happy marriage, only later tragically losing her husband and baby in a car accident.
Larry moves to Paris and immerses himself in study and bohemian life. After two years of this "loafing", Isabel visits and Larry asks her to join his life of wandering and searching, living in Paris and traveling with little money. She cannot accept his vision of life and breaks their engagement to go back to Chicago. There she marries the millionaire Gray, who provides her a rich family life.
Larry has significant spiritual adventures in India and comes back to the City of Light. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city What he actually found there and what he finally concluded are held back from the reader for a considerable time, and in a scene late in the book, Maugham discusses India and spirituality with Larry in a café long into the evening. Spirituality, in a narrow sense concerns itself with matters of the Spirit, a concept closely tied to religious belief and Faith, a transcendent reality
The 1929 Stock Market crash has ruined Gray, and he and Isabel are invited to live in Uncle Elliott's grand Parisian house. The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the ’29 Crash, the Crash of 1929, the Great Crash of 1929, the Great Crash of October 1929 Gray is bed-ridden with agonizing migraines due to a general nervous collapse. Migraine is a neurological Syndrome characterized by altered bodily experiences painful headaches and nausea Larry is able to help him using an Indian form of hypnosis. Hypnosis is often thought to be a wakeful state of focused attention and heightened suggestibility with diminished peripheral awareness Sophie has also drifted to the French capital, where her friends find her reduced to alcohol, opium, and promiscuity -- empty and dangerous liaisons that seem to help her to bury her pain. Opium is a Narcotic formed from the Latex (ie sap released by lacerating (or "scoring" the immature seed pods of opium poppies ( Larry first sets out to save her and then decides to marry her, something that won't be tolerated by Isabel, who is still in love with him.
Isabel invites Sophie out on the pretext of shopping for a wedding dress. She arranges to leave Sophie alone with a bottle of Żubrówka, and Sophie, tempted, falls off the wagon, and disappears from Paris. Żubrówka ( also known in English as Bison Grass Vodka) is a brand of dry Herb - flavoured Vodka distilled from Rye, 40% At this point Maugham the narrator comes back on the scene to tell what happens and to play amateur detective. He runs into Sophie in Toulon, where he finds her on the arm of a sailor who is "dumb but beautiful". Toulon ( Provençal Occitan: Tolon in classical norm or Touloun in Mistralian norm is a city in southern France and a large Sophie is past redemption and admits to Maugham that she's not worthy of Larry. "When it came to the point, I couldn't see myself being Mary Magdalen to his Jesus Christ. Saint Mary Magdalen or Mary Magdalene is described both in the canonical New Testament and in the New Testament apocrypha, as a devoted Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) " Maugham learns later that Sophie has been murdered, her throat cut.
Meanwhile in Antibes, Elliott Templeton, who has compulsively throughout his life sought out aristocratic society, is on his deathbed. Antibes ( Provençal Occitan: Antíbol in classical norm or Antibo in Mistralian norm is a resort town in the Alpes-Maritimes None of his titled friends come to see him but he ignores his loss. "I have always moved in the best society in Europe, and I have no doubt that I shall move in the best society in heaven. "
Isabel inherits his fortune, but genuinely grieves for her uncle. Maugham confronts her about Sophie, having figured out Isabel's role in Sophie's downfall. Isabel's only punishment will be that she will never get Larry, who has decided to return to America and live as a common working man. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the He is uninterested in the rich and glamorous world that Isabel will move in. Maugham ends his narrative by suggesting that all the characters got what they wanted in the end: "Elliott social eminence; Isabel an assured position; . . . Sophie death; and Larry happiness".
Influences and Critical Reception
Maugham, like Hermann Hesse, was remarkably prescient in 1944, anticipating an embrace of Eastern culture by Americans and Europeans almost a decade before the Beats were to popularize it. Hermann Hesse (ˈhɛʀman ˈhɛsə ( 2 July, 1877 — 9 August, 1962) was a German - Swiss poet novelist and painter The term Eastern world refers very broadly to the various Cultures social structures and philosophical systems of " the East " Maugham himself visited an ashram in India in 1938[1][2]. An Ashram in ancient India was a Hindu hermitage where sages lived in Peace and tranquility amidst Nature. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Maugham's suggestion that he "invented nothing" was a source of annoyance for Christopher Isherwood, who helped him translate a verse from the Upanishads for the novel's epigraph. Christopher Isherwood ( August 26, 1904 &ndash January 4, 1986) was an Anglo-American Novelist. The Upanishads ( Devanagari: उपनिषद् IAST: upaniṣad also spelled "Upanisad" are Hindu scriptures that constitute the core teachings Many thought Isherwood, who had built his own literary reputation by then and was studying Indian philosophy, was the basis for the book's hero[3]. The term Indian philosophy (Sanskrit Darshanas) may refer to any of several traditions of philosophical thought that originated in the Indian subcontinent Isherwood went so far as to write Time magazine denying this speculation. Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and
Though many might think Larry is an early Beatnik, the book speaks more to the romanticism attached to expatriate and bohemian living in European capitals. Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Larry does odd jobs just to get by as he scribbles away on a scholarly tome, telling the narrator it doesn't matter if few people read his finished work. Rather than wandering for "kicks" like Kerouac, Larry is driven by his quest for knowledge. Jack Kerouac ( March 12 1922 &ndash October 21 1969) was an American Novelist, Writer, Poet, and When Isabel visits him in Paris and rejects his destitute lifestyle, Larry chooses café life and pursuit of wisdom over middle-class security. As his Hindu mentor tells him, there are three paths to enlightenment - knowledge, service, and prayer. Larry chooses the path of knowledge, and ultimately does attain some level of enlightenment.
As with so many other works by Maugham, the book has been popular with readers, but less so with critics. Gore Vidal complained in an essay for The New York Review of Books in 1990 that Maugham's narrator is "heavy, garrulous and awkward"[4]. Gore Vidal (born October 3 1925 ˌgɔər vɪˈdɑːl or /vɪˈdæl/ is an American Novelist, Screenwriter, Playwright, The New York Review of Books (or NYREV or NYRB) is a semimonthly Magazine on Literature, Culture, and current Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Edmund Wilson excoriated Maugham's prose in general,[5] and V. S. Naipaul parodied Maugham's novel in his own Half a Life. Edmund Wilson ( May 8, 1895 &ndash June 12 1972) was an American Writer and Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul Kt, TC (born August 17, 1932 in Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago) better known Half a Life is a 2001 Novel by Nobel laureate V S Naipaul published by Alfred A
References
- ^ Talk 550. 15th October, 1938. Talks with Ramana Maharshi. Inner Directions Press. ISBN-13: 978-1878019004
- ^ http://www.davidgodman.org/rteach/smaugham.shtml 'Somerset Maugham and The Razor's Edge'. The Mountain Path, 1988, pp. 239-45.
- ^ 'Fable of Beasts & Men'. Time Magazine. Nov. 05, 1945.
- ^ Gore Vidal. 'Maugham's Half & Half'. The New York Review of Books. Volume 37, Number 1 · February 1, 1990.
- ^ Edmund Wilson. 'Somerset Maugham and an Antidote' New Yorker. XXII, 8 June, 96-9
External links
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