Edwin M Basye's Blog - The ecclectic eccentric journaling of one man

I recently finished The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham. First published in 1944, it unfolds the lives of several interesting characters.  There was a movie made of it starring Bill Murray, but I have not yet seen it.

The key character of the book is Larry and the key chapter is a retelling of his trip to India in his search for the meaning of life. He starts this key chapter with this quote:

I feel it right to warn the reader that he can very well skip this chapter without losing the thread of such story as I have to tell, since for the most part it is nothing more than the account of a conversation I had with Larry. I should add, however, that except for this conversation, I should not have thought it worthwhile to write this book.

I thought this had a hilarious irony. I always enjoy reading what thinkers propose for the unanswerable questions. Not surprisingly, the "answers" in this book are not thoroughly satisfying, as they never are.  There are many quotable passages in this chapter regarding some of the ludicrous aspects of the Christian God, but rather than quoting them here, I'll let you enjoy them in the context of the entire story if you so choose to read this book.

Highly recommended!