The Razor's Edge
Dec. 16th, 2017 10:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ecosophia
More reading...I found a copy of W. Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge in a used book store in Seekonk, Massachusetts -- I suspect Maugham would have had fun with that in an essay or a story. I hadn't read anything by him before, and am planning on reading much more of him from here on in.
That's partly because The Razor's Edge is a brilliant novel: witty, thoughtful, in places tragic, in places astonishingly funny -- the scene at Elliot Templeton's deathbed had me laughing so hard it took me some minutes before I could start reading again, for example. (I know, I know, you're not generally supposed to laugh at the scene where a character dies, but I made an exception here and so, dear reader, will you.) But there are two other things about The Razor's Edge that have me convinced I'm going to read it many times over.
The first -- well, you know all those rules about how you're supposed to write a novel? Maugham flings them down on the floor of a seedy Paris dive, has the band strike up a lively jazz number, and leads the entire cast of characters in a dance over the crumpled remains, and the result is utterly readable and convincing. It's written in the most improbable viewpoint I know of -- the viewpoint of W. Somerset Maugham himself. He's the viewpoint character in his own novel, and makes you believe that the people about whom he's writing are friends and acquaintances of his in the era between the wars. He's not central to the action; everything really important happens offstage, and he hears about it usually at third hand from one of the characters who wasn't there either; the incidents that drive the plot appear in the story not in the order that they happened, but mostly in the order in which Maugham claims to have heard about them, except when he sticks in a reminiscence completely out of sequence, because it happens to strike his fancy...
And yet it works. It's a lively, readable novel. It reminded me forcefully that a novel is ultimately just a sequence of words that tells a story, and exactly how those words tell that story is entirely up to the author. I'm going to be rethinking a lot of my basic presuppositions about how a novel can be written.
The second thing that makes me think I'll be going back to The Razor's Edge as often, perhaps, as I go back to Hermann Hesse, is that Maugham gives a brilliant snapshot of the first stirrings of a cultural phenomenon that seems finally to have ended in my own time: the awakening of American culture to the spiritual traditions of Asia. Strictly speaking, there were foreshadowings of that with the Transcendentalists, and then again by way of Theosophy, but it was between the two world wars that the first trickle of Americans began going to India to sit at the feet of gurus -- a trickle that eventually became a flood, and embraced many countries other than India. Larry Darrell, the central character of The Razor's Edge, is a fictional equivalent of one of those pioneers, the people who made it possible for yoga to become a common lifestyle option for bored suburbanites today.
That sounds unduly cynical, doesn't it? The thing is, that's the natural trajectory of such things. It was because a few American servicemen stationed in Okinawa talked a local sensei or two into teaching them karate that Asian martial arts became such an amazing cultural presence in the 1960s and 1970s, with all the Kwai Chang Cainery of fortune cookie mysticism and flashbacks to the Shaolin Temple shot through lenses smeared with vaseline that American pop culture slathered on them -- and then, in due time, settled back down into useful methods of fighting. America's great Journey to the East was an astonishing cultural phenomenon, one that deserves to be the subject of a narrative history or two, and it's something that changed this nation in a range of ways from the silly to the subtle to the profound. Some of its legacies are certainly permanent features of my thinking and my life -- and Maugham's story reminded me vividly of several times in my life when I turned Eastward with something like the usual blend of giddy romanticism and spiritual yearning.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-12-17 02:28 pm (UTC)Being that I got sucked into Eastern religion as well, and I now live among Easterners, there might be something I can relate to and hopefully laugh at in this novel. Western religion and esoterica might be interesting if it gets another thousand years of development post-Christianity. Christianity really put a damper on things.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-12-17 07:06 pm (UTC)Receeding fascination with E. mysticism
Date: 2017-12-19 02:58 pm (UTC)Re: Receding fascination with E. mysticism
Date: 2017-12-20 04:03 am (UTC)I think, for what it's worth, that a fair amount of good came out of our culture's Journey to the East, along with the pompous silliness and the body count. Another half century or so, to judge by historical equivalents, and we'll start to see modes of American mysticism that are partly inspired by Asian models but are solidly rooted in our own culture. But that will happen when it happens.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-12-20 01:44 pm (UTC)I hope you remember me from my comments on the ADR.
My mother gave me a copy of The Razors Edge when I was 16 years old. It transformed me! I’ve reread it many times.
I am an great fan of W. Sommerset Maugham and had often quoted him in my comments on the ADR.
Maugham avoids sentimentality and never sells out on his ending!
I highly recommend what he thought might be his last work and autobiography “The Summing Up”
He wrote it in his 70’s and lived another some 20 years during which he wrote “The Razors Edge”
I know you don’t watch movies, but for those who might want to take a shortcut to Maugham’s work, I highly recommend a fairly recent movie based on his book “The Painted Veil” starring Ed Norton and Naomi Watts.
On another note: we’ll- wow! Im delighted to discover that we are neighbors now. I live in Johnston, RI. I’m sure I’ll bump into you at the bus station at Kennedy Plaza or one of the local farmers markets or libraries.
I hope you wouldn’t mind if I ask to shake hands with one of my heros!?! And check out Cellar Stories Books on Mathewson St. downtown Prov. I think you’ll find it to be your kind of place!!!
All the best,
Sidd
(no subject)
Date: 2017-12-20 05:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-12-21 12:00 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-12-21 01:28 am (UTC)What is the thing that makes you keep going back to Hermann Hesse?
SMJ
(no subject)
Date: 2017-12-21 03:51 am (UTC)I'm a life-long Rhode Islander and Providence was my birthplace (along with my twin sister during the historic Hurricane of '54- "Carol" . . . so if there's anything you need to know about this quirky place, by all means reach out to me.
Another great place you may want to visit (if you haven't already) is the RISD Museum. It's a jewel -- one of the finest small museums in the country! It's never crowded, and I think the ancient Greek, Roman and Etruscan collections would especially captivate you. It's free on Sunday's. (I am a long-time RISD CE faculty member and have free access.) The RISD library has a fascinating archive which you may also want to check out.
But the big prize for an "intellectual dumpster diver" such as yourself is 1.) the Providence Public Library archives (which I recall you have already visited) 2.) The URI Library and 3.) The RIC library.
My brother literally stole his education from ALL the libraries in RI and has remarked to me that he is often the only person in many of the college libraries. In the summertime especially, he is amazed that they are air conditioning those huge libraries just for him. lol!
And another place to check out from Spring to late Fall is the flea market held every Sunday 7:30 qm till 2 pm at the Seekonk Speedway. Unbelievable finds that have not been combed through. Not a few meth head dealers who've cleaned out Grandma's attic and have no idea what the value of their stash is worth. It's the type of place where you might just snag an original copy of Poe's "Tamerlane" for $2.00 and be set for life- lol!
And for what it may be worth to you, my brother a very early Lovecraft fan once rented an apartment directly across the street from the Brown Observatory (on Observatory Ave.) and his roommate (and still friend) was S.T. Joshi, the renowned H.P. Lovecraft scholar. If you ever need an introduction to him he'd be glad to oblige. And Swan Point Cemetery (where Lovecraft is buried) is a delightful place to take a walk, especially in Autumn.
Sorry for the long armchair tour guide response. Just thrilled that your energy is nearby. A "Providential" move for you I'm sure.
Hope to spot you around sometime!
Sidd
Somerset Maugham
Date: 2017-12-21 11:51 am (UTC)favorites
Date: 2017-12-21 07:40 pm (UTC)It was fun to read about your first encounter with Maugham. Mine was in college in the early eighties. I happened to hear Bill Murray say he agreed to do a silly movie if he could also play Larry Darrell. Maugham and you are my favorite authors so it will be fun to see you take on first person singular (a Maugham short story colection title.) I remember well the deathbed scence, in fact, it helps me deal with an elderly uncle whom I couldn't disagree with more on topics of religion and politics, but whom I love dearly just the same.
Another commenter recommended The Fall of Edward Barnard. It and The Razor's Edge have had the most effect on my life though Rain and Of Human Bondage are up there too. My advice is start with the short stories. Jane is my personal favorite.
Brent Ragsdale - Tonganoxie KS
(no subject)
Date: 2017-12-21 08:19 pm (UTC)I'll probably be encountering your brother in due time -- the libraries here are a major draw. Many thanks for the other pointers as well -- and I'll look forward to seeing you in Cellar Stories one of these days!
(no subject)
Date: 2017-12-21 08:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-12-21 08:26 pm (UTC)Re: Somerset Maugham
Date: 2017-12-21 08:27 pm (UTC)Re: favorites
Date: 2017-12-21 08:28 pm (UTC)Re: Somerset Maugham
Date: 2017-12-22 03:57 pm (UTC)Agreed :)
The Razor's Edge - great read!
Date: 2017-12-22 06:30 pm (UTC)Alas, Somerset Maugham’s genius – though appreciated by a significant swath of the novel-reading public during his day – was frowned upon by the academics. He once lamented that he knew his place in the literary world: as the very best author of second-rate fiction. I hope you read – and enjoy many of his other works!
You are certainly bang-on regarding the arc of Eastern esoterism in the West (at least in North America): in my youth I wrongly thought that the door burst open wide by the Beatles et al in the 60s would permanently alter/enlighten our culture. No such luck. I look around and see over-marketed niche yoga, references to the kama sutra (the only “sutra” most Westerners have heard about - egads!) and little else. At least the words “guru” and “karma” have managed to hang on in our 21st century lexicon. Pretty pathetic, really. But everything must run its course and leave whatever mark society as a whole is ready to accept.
Re: The Razor's Edge - great read!
Date: 2017-12-23 12:34 am (UTC)For what it's worth, I think America's encounter with Asian spirituality did leave lasting traces, but it's going to take a while for those to be absorbed and naturalized. I figure there'll be another wave of it later in this century, and others further on.
Hermann Hesse
Date: 2017-12-23 09:35 am (UTC)Blessings to you and thanks for all that you do ...
Your friend ... Michael
“A soul that is ruined in the bud will frequently return to the springtime of its beginning and its promise-filled childhood, as though it could discover new hopes there and retie the broken threads of life.”
― Hermann Hesse, Beneath the Wheel
Re: Hermann Hesse
Date: 2017-12-23 05:25 pm (UTC)But I have, I think, everything of his that has ever been translated into English, and if I ever find the time to get a decent reading knowledge of German I plan on reading the rest.
One of my touchstones
Date: 2017-12-24 06:05 pm (UTC)If you have some free time, I thought that Bill Murray did an excellent job at an adaptation. The film was a roaring failure commercially, which in my mind gives it the "cred" needed.