That most Catholic of novel archetypes, one in which an immensely flawed human, whose compassion is only matched by his dissolution, comes to find hisThat most Catholic of novel archetypes, one in which an immensely flawed human, whose compassion is only matched by his dissolution, comes to find his moment of solace in death. I wasn't quite as wowed as I was by Shusaku Endo's Silence -- dealing with a near-identical theme of a priest operating secretly on hostile ground -- but that's because Silence is one of the most perfect depictions of human faith I've been lucky enough to encounter. The Power and the Glory is much more squalid, dealing less with the angst brought on by the weight of one's own religious convictions, and more with the sheer mire of the whiskey priest's circumstances. Graham Greene seems to be in the slow process of being forgotten outside of Catholic circles, which is a damn shame. We need his humanism....more
Our Man in Havana is not the Graham Greene I'm used to-- there's less weighty moral ambiguity, more bitter satire-- and I tend to think that I like thOur Man in Havana is not the Graham Greene I'm used to-- there's less weighty moral ambiguity, more bitter satire-- and I tend to think that I like the other Graham Greene significantly more. But still, it was quite a fun novel, and there's a dinner party scene that so perfectly captures awkward dinner party conversation, albeit with the additional threat of being poisoned. Probably my least favorite Greene I've read thusfar, but very serviceable as Greene intended it, as an "entertainment."...more
This book is about a sad man named Fowler living in Southeast Asia trying to cope with some rather ugly realities about life as a pukka sahib. I was oThis book is about a sad man named Fowler living in Southeast Asia trying to cope with some rather ugly realities about life as a pukka sahib. I was once a sad man named Fowler living in Southeast Asia trying to cope with some rather ugly realities about life as a pukka sahib. Needless to say, I felt some moments of tremendous empathy.
Pyle, the titular American, is a true idealist who believes Americanist liberal democracy will bloom in the wake of colonialism. He didn't learn his lesson, and got his ass killed. 60 years later, Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld didn't learn their lessons either. In the post-Iraq era, perhaps this book is now more relevant than ever....more
I think I'm at the youngest possible age to understand what Greene was going for. He writes with a subtle and undeniably graceful understanding of humI think I'm at the youngest possible age to understand what Greene was going for. He writes with a subtle and undeniably graceful understanding of human relationships. Hee believed that he was writing with a necessarily spiritual dimension. I'm not sure. I would say, rather that he understood that there are things bigger than himself that he can't understand, and chose a humble, wisely observant stance. Perhaps that's Catholic... he does seem to have hella guilt.
Greene's method is a perfect manifestation of this humility. Initially, it seems that he writes with a sort of gray realism, but it contains a lightness and a warmth that's rare in modern fiction. Despite the depravity, violence, and general shittiness of human behavior, there are still a few tiny currents of hope pushing us onward....more
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