“I have never begun a novel with more misgivings.” These are the words that W. Somerset Maugham begins his 1943 book The Razor's Edge. I have never read Maugham but I've always had a deep fascination with the “Lost Generation” between the world wars. I am fascinated by the idea of societies is existential crisis grappling with ultimate meaning. Different authors have tried to capture that feeling in different ways but each one tries to understand the ways in which humans can come to understand their place in the world in a time of such rapid changes and profound traumas.

Each character in The Razor's Edge is well-drawn and the author has a way of capturing moments in time, creating conversations that can say much in a short time. For the most part, I believe having the author as the explicit narrator of the text was a brilliant device. It is fascinating to see the Maugham of the novel pulling apart his characters and forcing them to answer difficult questions. The conceit is sometimes take to the point of incredulity. Does the author really need to account for how he came to understand what happened? But for the most part, there are some wonderful narrative possibilities. For example, how much of what he is writing really happened or is only drawn from his imagination?

My biggest complaint is that the novel often feels like a group characters in search of a narrative. I do not know much about the genesis of the book but I felt as if Maugham had a series of brilliant characters and the vague idea of the kind of story he wanted to tell and the book came together in the way that it was meant to do. I can see why many people would be turned off by its narrative but I would urge you to simply enjoy the characters and let them speak to you. Another small complaint is that I wonder how well Maugham captures the American spirit in his characters – but this could be my nationality getting in the way of my objective clarity. There were times I felt like his American characters were too American and often devolved into stereotypes but I will admit that this could have been precisely his aim.

I greatly enjoyed this book. I found myself highlighting passages or putting the book down to stop and think. There are times that I wonder whether I am merely an impressionable twenty-something who is himself seeking meaning and my place in the world. But what Maugham shows through his characters is that this quest takes many forms and happens over the course of one's life. There is something deep in side of me that calls me to take the type of journey that Larry, the novel's protagonist, decides to take in search of God. But for my part, I find myself aspiring more to the calling of the author who can tell such stories of the human condition with the deep affection that Maugham tells this story. I do not think the novel is meant to represent anything other than what it is – the story of some individual's quest for ultimate meaning in their lives.