W. Somerset Maugham's "The Razor's Edge"

 

I came to read W. Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge in a 'round about way. I had recently seen a meme on Facebook involving a TV program from the 1960's - The Ghost & Mrs. Muir. I have a vague recollection of that program. My mother would watch it from time to time and seeing this meme led me to look into the 1947 film upon which the program was based.

I was able to locate the film online and found it to be a rather charming movie. The film starred Gene Tierney and while I knew her name, I was, for the most part unfamiliar with her work. The wikipedia article on her provided me with a list of her better films. The first one I picked was The Razor's Edge. I made a mental note that the film was based on a book by Maugham. I've enjoyed the books of his that I had read and was intrigued. The movie starred Tierney, Tyrone Power, John Payne and Anne Baxter. After watching the film, I knew I'd have to read the novel.

There are differences between the novel and the film. That not unusual in the film industry. As much as I enjoyed the film, I loved the novel more. We get a better idea of the protagonist's spiritual awakening and there is an "adult" treatment of sexuality which could not be brought to the screen in 1946.

Reading the novel, I'm reminded of the work of Hermann Hesse and I don't understand why the novel hasn't reached the cult status of Hesse's work.