The Greatest Book Ever Written
The Razor's Edge is Somerset Maugham's masterpiece, although some would give that honor to Of Human Bondage. I first read this book when I was a child of thirteen . . . but I would not recommend it for the average thirteen-year-old. Eighteen, maybe. I am now 65. Larry Darrell is an incredibly finely drawn character. There are many in the book: Isabelle, of course, and above all Uncle Elliot. The character Sophie MacDonald is a work of genius. The woman who played her in the movie, I'm blanking on her name, won the Oscar for supporting actress. This book started me on a spiritual quest which has guided my life. DO SEE the original movie with elegant and intense Tyrone Power, the exquisite Gene Tierney, and snobbish yet loveable Clifton Webb as Uncle Elliot. You will never be the same.