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heyhawk's review against another edition
4.0
http://www.danscanon.com/2020/09/the-captain-and-enemy-by-graham-greeene.html
radella_hardwick's review against another edition
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I feel bad not giving this book 5 stars as it's very effecting.
And the character-work is exquisite, showing us enough interaction to get us invested, while actually telling us very little of substance. In that respect, it reminded me strongly of A Perfect Spy by John le Carré.
And it is a truly glorious meditation on "what is love?" – romantic love and family love.
But cutting off the narrative without resolving the plot does rather undercut its quality as a novel. Also, the style of quasi-memoir without framing-device creates some weird transitional scene and really mucks with any sense of timeline.
I would recommend this book to anyone but I can't promise you'll find it satisfying.
And the character-work is exquisite, showing us enough interaction to get us invested, while actually telling us very little of substance. In that respect, it reminded me strongly of A Perfect Spy by John le Carré.
And it is a truly glorious meditation on "what is love?" – romantic love and family love.
But cutting off the narrative without resolving the plot does rather undercut its quality as a novel. Also, the style of quasi-memoir without framing-device creates some weird transitional scene and really mucks with any sense of timeline.
I would recommend this book to anyone but I can't promise you'll find it satisfying.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
idlebee23's review against another edition
4.0
This is my second Graham Greene book and I'm developing a literary crush. This book, like The End of the Affair, has plenty of plot, but it's also raises many meta questions. Who gets to decide something's true meaning? Can you lie if you've never known the truth?
idlebee23's review against another edition
4.0
This is my second Graham Greene book and I'm developing a literary crush. This book, like The End of the Affair, has plenty of plot, but it's also raises many meta questions. Who gets to decide something's true meaning? Can you lie if you've never known the truth?
chaydgc's review
3.0
Force of history triumphs over the individual. Lots of other ways to describe it, and Graham Greene plays the theme and wavers on ideology here as throughout his oeuvre. Formulaic certainly, and greatly to my taste. I ran through Dorothy Sayers much too fast, as a child. Something about modernity, evil, humour, indifference, class consciousness-- as well as a ripping good story that drives the narratives and allies their projects if only to me.
darwin8u's review
4.0
An under appreciated milky gem of a Greene novel for sure, but one that resonated with me. Greene is always a bit of a risk taker and this novel proves no different than many of his others. It is ambiguous, slightly absurd, and feels a tad like Conrad wrote Treasure Island as a Central American spy novel. As Greene's last novel, it incorporates aspects of both his more Catholic novels with his spy novels. To me C&E read as a fragmented meditation (read map) on love, kindness, truth, sacrifice and buried underneath it all - God.
lnatal's review
3.0
A classical espionage book written by Graham Greene.
3* The Third Man
4* The End of the Affair
4* Our Man in Havana
3* The Captain and the Enemy
TR The Quiet American
TR The Power and the Glory
TR Brighton Rock
TR Travels With My Aunt
TR The Tenth Man
TR Monsignor Quixote
TR The Honorary Consul
TR The Heart of the Matter
TR Orient Express
3* The Third Man
4* The End of the Affair
4* Our Man in Havana
3* The Captain and the Enemy
TR The Quiet American
TR The Power and the Glory
TR Brighton Rock
TR Travels With My Aunt
TR The Tenth Man
TR Monsignor Quixote
TR The Honorary Consul
TR The Heart of the Matter
TR Orient Express
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