The Razor Edge is a narrative in
first person by the author himself. In fact, the author himself is one of the
characters of the book. It talks about the author’s observations about his American
friends whom he befriends on a trip to the America. Back in his native land, he
talks about his friends who leave America. While most of them come to France,
one breaks the boundaries and travels east as far as India. The narration talks about how the author comes
into acquaintance with each of the characters and how his relationship with
them grows during the years.
Set during the years between the
First and Second World War, the book describes the French Society. It also
describes how people adapt to various situations. But for one character, the
narration is quite smooth. This one character, Larry, is the odd man out and
who remains apart from others yet is one among them.
Like any other classic, I thought
the book will not have any hidden twist. But the author surprises by creating a
small mystery and its solution towards the end. The book had almost a chapter
referring to India and it made an interesting read, though the author does
provide a disclaimer that it is not necessary to be read.
The lines
“But as I was finishing this
book, uneasily conscious that must leave my reader in the air and seeing no way
to avoid it, I looked back with my mind’s eye on my long narrative to see if
there was any way on which I could devise a more satisfactory ending; and to my
intense surprise it dawned upon me that without in the least intending to I had
written nothing more or less than a success story.”
provided me with a sense of completion
in what would have been an abrupt ending to the beautiful flow of words.
For me, the book was certainly
not to be swallowed, but to be chewed to enjoy the full juice of the words and
to be digested in parts.
No comments:
Post a Comment