I attempted to read a book...

I was looking at my beat up collection of old dime novels when I came across this supposed gem. A pocket books copy of "The Razor's Edge," by W. Somerset Maugham. I attempted to put a link in there but only managed to mess up my fonts. 

I did attempt to read this book. I will admit that most of my reading time is either late at night or in the bathroom as I have a 7 year-old only child who likes to spend as much time as possible with her father. I am typing this right now laying in bed with her. She was having difficulty going to sleep and needed some security.

We were reading "The Lion's Paw" earlier in the evening. I may have put a wee bit to much dramatic flair to Ben's encounter with the alligator. I will admit to also changing the story line to the alligator catching up to Ben as he frantically rowed down the creek. She figured out there was a deviation from the story line when the alligator's jaws closed round the boat splintering into a million chunks of twisted wreckage, Ben's frail body ground between the jaws of the gasping leviathan until his head popped off his mangled body like a cork from a bottle, bouncing off the broken boards like a ripe pumpkin, the narrative was interrupted by the usual frustrated "DADeeeee," followed by, that's not how the story goes... I know you changed it." Not sure what gave me away. I thought it was much more exciting this way. Would have ended the sailing adventure a tad prematurely however.

But, I digress.

I was unable to wade through even the beginning of The Razor's Edge. The dense prose, the whole Eastern, pre-beatnick, finding oneself BS just got to me. The noble fighter pilot, suffering from the great war eschews fame and fortune to wander and find true meaning in life sounds much better when you are a dumb-ass college student. 

I think I enjoyed "The Lion's Paw," a bit more. Actually having trouble reading one chapter at a time. No wonder it has been out of print for years it is actually a good book...