This version of the book has been reviewed in English(168) by readers.
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What are readers saying about The Razor's Edge?
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A reader posted a review at 2009-11-12 11:02:25.
(Language: English)
 
Incredible book. Fairly good movie rental w/ Bill Murray.
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Arturo posted a review at 2009-10-13 02:15:42.
(Language: English)
Love it! Made me be interested in seeing other cultures x.x;
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Anna posted a review at 2009-10-01 16:21:52.
(Language: English)
Brilliant story of an unusual man, set against the background of ordinary peoples unability to understand how someone can, seemingly, sacrifice everything wordly to strive for a life of truth.
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TheDon posted a review at 2009-09-26 21:25:20.
(Language: English)
one of my top three favs.
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Viviana posted a review at 2009-07-11 11:08:18.
(Language: English)
I liked the subject of the book and the style of the writer, a compelling and adicting prose that flows naturally. Altough it is not a masterpiece, and it even has some flaws in the structure and rythm of the novel, it is basically a good read that touches on some interesting topics and even makes you pause and think...
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Sourav Is posted a review at 2009-06-21 11:17:07.
(Language: English)
"In later ages sages of India in recognition of human infirmity admitted that salvation may be won by the way of love by the way of works, but they never denied that the noblest way ,though the hardest is the way of knowledge,for its instrument is the most precious faculty of man,his reason " from the book.
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Hala posted a review at 2009-06-18 23:05:03.
(Language: English)
I liked it mainly because of the atmosphere; England and France and part in the US from around 1918 to the 40s. Very lush ambiance. But I always felt like i was reading a novel, the characters never came to life for me. And the pseudo-philosophic (and very long) narratives of the main male character rather bored me. Maybe I'm not sophisticated enough!
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Christopher posted a review at 2009-06-13 23:47:17.
(Language: English)
For the life of an expat, it doesn't get much better than The Razor's Edge.
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Tom posted a review at 2009-06-08 17:38:32.
(Language: English)
Narrated by Maugham as himself, this is a tale of five Americans from Illinois who in the end all get what he or she wanted. The story is how each of their lives shaped their desires and an assessment in the end of what is worth desiring. Edge was published during World War II when Maugham took refuge in America after the Nazis took over France where he lived most of his life. Maugham realized the structure of the book was unusual: it is his retelling of what these characters told him about their and the others’ lives. There is not a lot of “action” and a fair amount of philosophizing. For the most part Maugham is a fairly neutral observer. As he tells one character, “My dear, I’m a very immoral person,” I answered. “When I’m really fond of anyone, through I deplore his wrongdoing it doesn’t make me less fond of him.” Maugham’s “immorality” was much criticized at the time, especially the explicit frankness by his female characters concerning their sexual needs. The central character is Larry whose life was changed when a fellow pilot was fatally wounded while he was saving Larry’s life during World War I. It is Larry’s resulting lifelong search that is the meat of the book. Presumably much of Larry’s philosophizing mirrors Maugham’s own view of life. Eventually Larry finds something in India (Spoiler Alert): "I believe God is in me or nowhere . . . . Men are on different levels of spiritual development, and so the imagination of India has evolved the manifestations of the Absolute that are known as Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, and by a hundred other names. . . . The multitudinous gods of India are but expedients to lead to the realization that the self is one with the supreme self. . . . . I’ve always felt that there was something pathetic in the founders of religion who made it a condition of salvation that you should believe in them. It’s as if they needed your faith to have faith in themselves. . . . Advaita doesn’t ask you to take anything on trust; it asks only that you should have a passionate craving to know Reality; it states that you can experience God as surely as you can experience joy or pain." The Razor’s Edge is not for those seeking a lot of action, but it does challenge the reader to assess his own life, beliefs, and desires. The title comes from the quote from the Katha-Upanishad that begins the novel: "The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard."
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Kipperly posted a review at 2009-05-24 23:31:33.
(Language: English)
A classic. I love Maugham. This book was such an interesting depiction of life and attitudes of Europeans during WWI and after. Usual Maugham introspection through the point of view of his main character.
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