Review of: Maughm, W. Somerset. The Razor’s Edge.

             Larry Darrell’s experiences during World War I caused him profound confusion over the meaning of life and the arrogant thinking of Western-centeredness. As the main character of W. Somerset Maugham’s novel, The Razor’s Edge, Darrell becomes part of the “lost generation” which Ernest Hemingway fictionalized in his writings. Instead of the hedonism and fascination with death that filled Hemingway’s characters (and that author himself), Maugham tells a story about a post-war Chicago privileged son’s quest for knowledge and purpose.

            Darrell breaks his engagement with the lusty and wealthy Isabel so he can “loaf” around the cities and libraries of the world. From working the coal fields in northern Europe, Larry finds himself later in a Buddhist community in British India. He had tried hard to find answers from others, mostly from their books, but now Darrell was sent to a deserted cabin in the forest at the foot of the imposing mountains in South-Central Asia. In this wilderness the meaning of his life reveals itself to Darrell as he contemplated the universe. The hero in search of a faith which works for him finds it by inner knowledge, self-control, and balance.

            Returning to Paris, Darrell finds friends from his youth, the tragic Sophie and the spoiled Isabel. Darrell tries to impart his knowledge to bring peace to their disordered lives while at the same time telling the narrator, Maugham, that he would like to renounce his inherited fortune. When asked what he would do, Darrell says he wants to drive a taxi in New York City once he finishes “loafing.” While with his friends, Darrell attempts to battle their hedonism and their focus on the spiritual death that is their lives. When done “loafing,” Darrell writes a book about what he has learned. While everyone around him fights their monsters, Darrell has peace and enlightenment.

            Maugham’s hero typifies the things everyone in our time must face in life. Serious questions surrounding humankind’s existence often surface during the times of world or personal tragedy and upheaval. The moral of the novel, does not lie in Darrell’s embrace of an eastern religion and rejection of Western-centeredness. On the contrary, the moral may be that man’s search for meaning often follows from what we all seek, deliberately or unknowingly: a faith that works for us.