《刀锋》是毛姆70岁时发表的作品，小说主人公拉里是参加过第一次世界大战的美国青年飞行员。复原后，他被人们当作英雄，有漂亮的未婚妻，也有亲友为他提供的远大前程的工作，而他却选择逃避这“美好生活”。他的“游手好闲”令周围所有人不解。原来战争中他的战友为救拉里而牺牲，朋友之死使他受到强烈的震撼，死亡使拉里对生命有了独特体验。他的自我意识开始觉醒，他开始追问生命的意义，人存在的意义。本书为英文全本，领略小说魅力的同时提升英语阅读水平。

作者简介

威廉·萨默塞特·毛姆，英国小说家、戏剧家。他原本学医，后弃医专事文学创作。毛姆小说的标志就是冷静、客观、深刻地剖析与解读人性的弱点，以及人世间的人情冷暖、苦与恶、尔自我诈、道貌岸然。毛姆被公认为20世纪在全世界范围内流行较广、较受欢迎的英国作家之一，被誉为“会讲故事的作家”。

精彩书摘

　　《英国文学卷：刀锋（英文全本）》：
　　He was for one thing what the French call serviable, a word for which, so far as I know, there is no exact equivalent in English. The dictionary tells me that serviceable in the sense of helpful, obliging, and kind is archaic. That is just what Elliott was. He was generous, and though early in his career he had doubtless showered flowers, candy, and presents on his acquaintance from an ulterior motive, he continued to do so when it was no longer necessary. It caused him pleasure to give. He was hospitable. His chef was as good as any in Paris and you could be sure at his table of having set before you the earliest delicacies of the season. His wine proved the excellence of his judgment. It is true that his guests were chosen for their social importance rather than because they were good company, but he took care to invite at least one or two for their powers of entertainment, so that his parties were almost always amusing. People laughed at him behind his back and called him a filthy snob, but nevertheless accepted his invitations with alacrity. His French was fluent and correct and less accent perfect. He had taken great pains to adopt the manner of speech as it is spoken in England and you had to have a very sensitive ear to catch now and then an American intonation. He was a good talker if only you could keep him off the subject of dukes and duchesses, but even about them, now that his position was unassailable, he allowed himself, especially when you were alone with him, to be amusing. He had a pleasantly malicious tongue and there was no scandal about these exalted personages that did not reach his ears. From him I learnt who was the father of the Princess X's last child and who was the mistress of the Marquis de Y. I don't believe even Marcel Proust knew more of the inner life of the aristocracy than Elliott Templeton.
　　When I was in Paris we used often to lunch together, sometimes at his apartment and sometimes at a restaurant. I like to wander about the antiquity shops, occasionally to buy but more often to look, and Elliott was always enchanted to go with me. He had knowledge and a real love of beautiful objects. I think he knew every shop of the kind in Paris and was on familiar terms with the proprietor. He adored haggling and when we started out would say to me:
　　'If there's anything you want don't try to buy it yourself. Just give me a hint and let me do the rest.'
　　He would be delighted when he had. got for me something I fancied for half the asking price. It was a treat to watch him bargain. He would argue, cajole, lose his temper, appeal to the seller's better nature, ridicule him, point out the defects of the object in question, threaten never to cross his threshold again, sigh, shrug his shoulders, admonish, start for the door in frowning anger, and when finally he had won his point shake lus head sadly as though he accepted defeat with
　　resignation. Then he would whisper to me in English.
　　'Take it with you. It would be cheap at double the money.'
　　Elliott was a zealous Catholic. He had not lived long in Paris before he met an abbe who was celebrated for his success in bringing infidels and heretics back to the fold. He was a great diner-out and a noted wit. He confined his ministrations to the rich and the aristocratic. It was inevitable that Elliott should be attracted by a man who, though of humble origins, was a welcome guest in the most exclusive houses, and he confided to a wealthy American lady who was one of the abbe's recent converts that, though his family had always been Episcopalian.
　　……

英国文学卷：刀锋（英文全本） [The Razor's Edge] 下载 mobi epub pdf txt 电子书格式