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Auf Messers Schneide

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Auf Messers Schneide
Type
Novel
Language
German
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Wikipedia

The Razor's Edge is a 1944 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It tells the story of Larry Darrell, an American pilot traumatized by his experiences in World War I, who sets off in search of some transcendent meaning in his life. Maugham is the narrator whose narration takes the form of relating his conversations and reactions to the characters. He finds Larry both mystifying and compelling. The story begins through the eyes of Larry's friends and acquaintances as they witness his personality change after the war. His rejection of conventional life and search for meaningful experience allows him to thrive while the more materialistic characters suffer reversals of fortune.

The novel's title comes from a translation of a verse in the Katha Upanishad, paraphrased in the book's epigraph as: "The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard."

The book has twice been adapted into film; first in 1946 starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney, with Herbert Marshall as Maugham and Anne Baxter as Sophie, and then a 1984 adaptation starring Bill Murray.

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Editions

NameFormatISBNRelease Date
Auf Messers SchneidePaperback3-548-02201-41974
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Identifiers

LibraryThing Work
7947
Wikidata Work ID
Q759329

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Last Modified
2025-06-14