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Back in the dark days of the mid-�80s, I read somewhere that Bill Murray was going to be in a movie called The Razor’s Edge, and that it was based on a book. Since this was long before the days where you could check IMDB to see what the movie was going to be about, I figured the book had to be hilarious since Murray was starring in it. So I found the book at the library and started reading. I was pretty shocked to find that it was a serious story about a guy who goes looking for the meaning of life. I was even more shocked that I loved it. And even though the movie version flopped and caused Murray to drop out of film making for years, I still want to say thanks to Bill because if it wasn’t for the movie, I probably never would have read this.

Maugham engages in a bit of meta-fiction by incorporating himself into a story he claims at the beginning was true. (I guess there’s been a fair amount of debate on if it actually was based on fact, but I’m content to consider it fiction.) Maugham is friends with Elliot Templeton, an American born snob whose passion is for European high society. Maugham meets Templeton’s relatives while on a trip to Chicago, including Elliot’s niece, Isabel. Isabel is engaged to Larry Darrell. (Feel free to insert your own jokes about “Hi, I’m Larry. This is my brother Darrell, and my other brother Darell.�) Larry was a World War I pilot who is driving Isabel’s family crazy with his continued refusal to get a job and start grabbing some of that postwar prosperity that the rest of America is cashing in on.

Over the course of the next two decades, Maugham will learn the story of Larry and Isabel from updates by Elliot and chance encounters with the people involved. Larry and Isabel break their engagement, and Larry travels the world, taking different jobs and doing extensive research on varying subjects without explaining why. Eventually, Maugham learns that the war gave Larry a burning desire to explore the nature of existence and eventually leads him to India where he‘d try to find enlightenment.

Re-reading this, a couple of things struck me about why it appeals to me. The first is the character of Larry. The idea of a character profoundly changed by war isn’t anything new, but Larry comes across as distinct and unique. He isn’t bitter or angry. He isn’t seeking solace in booze or sex or turning into a raging nihilist. Larry comes across as a curious person who was genuinely puzzled about the nature of death and evil, and decides to look for his own answers. His ability to withstand the overwhelming peer pressure to follow his friends into jobs shows his will to follow his own path, but Larry isn’t looking down his nose at anyone. He doesn’t judge others and is content to live his own life in the way he’s chosen. As another character describes Larry, he’s a very religious man who doesn’t believe in God, and that’s a really great character to read about.

The other thing I like is the structure of the novel. Telling the story over a period of years, sometimes as second hand stories told to Maugham was a way to make you curious about Larry and his quest, and Maugham’s talent makes the other characters and subplots come alive.