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This month CM Lowry is talking to author Beatriz Seelaender about The Razor’s Edge by W.S. Maugham in ‘This Book I Read…’
Topics covered include:
- Beatriz shares the reasons why she loves this book:
- It’s very humorous
- It follows the story of a group of people over the years surrounding Maugham as the central character.
- The meta-fictional paradox – Maugham discloses that this isn’t really a novel as it’s based on real people he knows and true stories he has experienced.
- Beatriz shares a quote with us from Maugham’s introduction in which he explains the peculiar methodology he employed in writing this novel.
- Beatriz then shares with us some of the things about this book that really grabbed her:
- The meta-fictional aspect of the writing – He isn’t just an observer but actively involved in the dialogue
- The humour – Maugham writes about the characters appealing to fictional people created by themselves or says things like ‘she look at them all is if they were characters in a novel’. Maugham’s writing is very fanciful.
- It lives on the Razor’s edge between fiction and autobiography which is fascinating and begs the question ‘what are the properties of fictionality’
- CM Lowry asks the question ‘how we do know this is a novel and not a biography’ and they discuss the fact that Maugham’s life was very public and there has never been any real evidence that the people these characters are based on every really existed. Therefore it’s most likely that this is fiction, perhaps loosely based on some real life experiences
- Beatriz shares some of the issues & concerns she has with The Razor’s Edge
- It was written in 1944 so the descriptions of women and offensive language and racism of the time can be problematic
- Maugham’s character does attempt to transcend these prejudices though
- Beatriz’s least favourite character of all time is found in this book – Isabelle. She is completely unsympathetic and unforgiving of her friend Sophie who falls on hard times
- Beatriz recommends that anyone who enjoys reading The Razor’s Edge should also read Ashenden by W.S. Maugham, which is loosely based on his experiences as a spy in Europe during the 1st World War,
- Beatriz shares a couple of her latest works that people can purchase
- All According to Norm which is a novella about a an autistic boy who sets out to prove that the Canadian President Justin Trudeau is the biological son of Fidel Castro.
- The Austinites a novella about saving a house that was briefly lived in by Jane Austin and the importance of preserving history and culture.
Links to things we discussed:
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- The Razor’s Edge by W.S. Maugham
- I, Claudius by Robert Graves
- Pride & Prejudice & Zombies (Film)
- Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Ashenden by W.S. Maugham
- The Shepherds Crown by Terry Pratchett
- ISBN Coffee by Beyond Cataclysm
More about Beatriz
- Beatriz on X – @biaseelaender
- Beatriz’s Website – linktr.ee/biaseelaender
More about us
- CM Lowry on X – @cmlowryauthor
- CM Lowry’s website – All About Chris
- Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
- Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm
Music by CM Lowry. Editing by Dave Emmerson
