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jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
(4.5) I've given Graham Greene two tries, one I somewhat appreciated (The Power and the Glory), one I did not (The Quiet American). This was the best of the three by far. Listed as a "thriller", it's more accurately what CrimeReads.com dubbed "diplomatic noir." The lead character is a cynic like many of Greene's characters but unlike previous works, he's not serving in a purely symbolic role so there's a depth here that give the circumstances true stakes, as well as make Greene's typical rumination on religion and morality work.
eely225's review against another edition
4.0
When you're reading your twelfth Graham Greene novel, you start to notice patterns.
Well, really, if you haven't started noticing long before the twelfth one, I'd be surprised. Many of his recurring elements are here: the Englishmen abroad who fit in neither overseas nor at home, the Cold War pressures supporting totalitarianism and revolution, the ambivalent Catholics musing about theological nuances, the non-celibate priest, the emotionally distant affair with a married woman, the impossibility of communication between local and foreigner, and the list goes on.
Greene has his elements and by this time in his career, he knows the kinds of stories he wants to write. What the seasoned Greene reader looks for now is how he manipulates his familiar elements. For example, while the "priest out of favor with the church" is a recurring element, this is the first time that character has taken up arms and been the conflicted murderer himself. Additionally, the reflections on what sounds like Marcionism is new for Greene's theological novels.
Similarly, while Greene has featured authors before, he has never poked fun at them quite the way he does with Savaadra. The funny bit here is that a little knowledge of Greene makes it clear that he's really making fun of himself as he taunts the author for writing 500 words a day after breakfast, for inserting the same characters in new-but-not-really-new environments, and for being out of touch with the modern novel. There is a new mournfulness as Greene seems to see himself as increasingly out of touch with trends (all his most famous work was behind him by this point in his life), but still insistent that he has something to say worth saying.
The book is most similar to my favorite novel of his, The Quiet American. The love triangle is similar, but Greene seems more interested in the internal life of the female figure in this book. While in that first novel, the message was one of the impossibility of real communication and understanding between lovers, the question here is about how communication can evolve over time as we learn to accept the things about other people we would prefer to ignore. It's not an overwhelming shift and Greene still has some oversights of which kind of people are capable of real communication (if you don't speak English or Spanish, no character seems to consider you properly human), he wants to shift away from the Mysterious Other element he's used before.
I liked the time shifts early, and I liked the narrative shifts, but Plarr is the dominant voice. It's unfortunate because he's also the least compelling. I think this could have moved along better if the voice, or even the focus, had shifted somewhat more often. As it is, a character defined by cynicism can only pull you in so deep.
At this point, I can't read these books in isolation. After his early work, the novels seem to be so interwoven, not least by his distinct narrative voice. But this is certainly one of the better ones, and, thankfully, he's still capable of surprising his readers.
Well, really, if you haven't started noticing long before the twelfth one, I'd be surprised. Many of his recurring elements are here: the Englishmen abroad who fit in neither overseas nor at home, the Cold War pressures supporting totalitarianism and revolution, the ambivalent Catholics musing about theological nuances, the non-celibate priest, the emotionally distant affair with a married woman, the impossibility of communication between local and foreigner, and the list goes on.
Greene has his elements and by this time in his career, he knows the kinds of stories he wants to write. What the seasoned Greene reader looks for now is how he manipulates his familiar elements. For example, while the "priest out of favor with the church" is a recurring element, this is the first time that character has taken up arms and been the conflicted murderer himself. Additionally, the reflections on what sounds like Marcionism is new for Greene's theological novels.
Similarly, while Greene has featured authors before, he has never poked fun at them quite the way he does with Savaadra. The funny bit here is that a little knowledge of Greene makes it clear that he's really making fun of himself as he taunts the author for writing 500 words a day after breakfast, for inserting the same characters in new-but-not-really-new environments, and for being out of touch with the modern novel. There is a new mournfulness as Greene seems to see himself as increasingly out of touch with trends (all his most famous work was behind him by this point in his life), but still insistent that he has something to say worth saying.
The book is most similar to my favorite novel of his, The Quiet American. The love triangle is similar, but Greene seems more interested in the internal life of the female figure in this book. While in that first novel, the message was one of the impossibility of real communication and understanding between lovers, the question here is about how communication can evolve over time as we learn to accept the things about other people we would prefer to ignore. It's not an overwhelming shift and Greene still has some oversights of which kind of people are capable of real communication (if you don't speak English or Spanish, no character seems to consider you properly human), he wants to shift away from the Mysterious Other element he's used before.
I liked the time shifts early, and I liked the narrative shifts, but Plarr is the dominant voice. It's unfortunate because he's also the least compelling. I think this could have moved along better if the voice, or even the focus, had shifted somewhat more often. As it is, a character defined by cynicism can only pull you in so deep.
At this point, I can't read these books in isolation. After his early work, the novels seem to be so interwoven, not least by his distinct narrative voice. But this is certainly one of the better ones, and, thankfully, he's still capable of surprising his readers.
buddhafish's review against another edition
4.0
50th book of 2021.
A gift from my dear friend in Mumbai. Another beautifully written and gripping novel by Greene. And what characters here! This is my 11th Greene, and is certainly in the upper-tier. I stand by the fact that his greatest novels are The End of the Affair and The Quiet American. Full review to come, again; I have so many reviews to write once I'm home, it'll be a day's work for me.
A gift from my dear friend in Mumbai. Another beautifully written and gripping novel by Greene. And what characters here! This is my 11th Greene, and is certainly in the upper-tier. I stand by the fact that his greatest novels are The End of the Affair and The Quiet American. Full review to come, again; I have so many reviews to write once I'm home, it'll be a day's work for me.
sammystarbuck's review against another edition
3.0
Not one of Greene's better stories, but very well written as usual.
jazin95's review against another edition
4.0
For a crime thriller, I found this a good read. The story is easy to follow, and has a good deal of humour. It raises many questions of corruption and unfairness of the Catholic Church in the poorest of South American communities. With such in-depth topics of poverty, the story brings humour in the right way. With the mix of comedy and tragedy, it feels more realistic than most idealist classics. Ultimately a great read.
hosseinmoazzeni's review against another edition
5.0
از آنهایی بود که فهمیدمش. مثل دوستی که سراغت میآید و حرفهایی نامرتبط و پراکنده میزند که هیچ ربطی به موضوع اصلی ای که ذهنش را مشغول کرده، ندارد. حتی ممکن است حرفهایش تمام شود و واژه کم بیاورد و با این حال با تمام وجود میفهمیاش. من و گراهام گرین هم همینطوریم. گنگ می گوید و گاهی واژه کم می آورد، ولی میفهمم در دلش چه میگذرد.
پ.ن.: خواندن کتابهای گراهام گرین، شبیه داستایفسکیخواندن است. شخصیتهای رادیکال، اتفاقات عجیب و غریب، صفحات نفسگیری که بی آنکه منتظرشان باشی غافلگیرت میکنند و به همان سرعت خاتمه مییابند و بیشتر از همه جدال آدمها... همان جدال همیشگی شک و ایمان ...
پ.ن.: خواندن کتابهای گراهام گرین، شبیه داستایفسکیخواندن است. شخصیتهای رادیکال، اتفاقات عجیب و غریب، صفحات نفسگیری که بی آنکه منتظرشان باشی غافلگیرت میکنند و به همان سرعت خاتمه مییابند و بیشتر از همه جدال آدمها... همان جدال همیشگی شک و ایمان ...
hayesstw's review against another edition
4.0
Having read [b:Nostromo|115476|Nostromo|Joseph Conrad|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328865264s/115476.jpg|678519] earlier in the year, I was struck by some of the similarities, even though they are about periods two generations apart, but both deal with expatriate groups in South America, and revolutionary activity.
There are also some similarities with [a:Graham Greene|2533|Graham Greene|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1254688603p2/2533.jpg]'s early book, [b:The power and the glory|3690|The Power and the Glory|Graham Greene|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388210459s/3690.jpg|1036817], with a renegade priest, and the strength of a kind of residual Catholicism, which seems to be a recurring theme for Greene. At the time he was writing the book I was reading [b:The rebel priest|9198853|Requiem for a rebel priest|Paulino Lim Jr.|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1375540956s/9198853.jpg|14078384] by [a:Wim Hornman|1180366|Wim Hornman|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], and I wondered if Greene had read that one too, since its subject, Camilo Torres, is mentioned in [b:The Honorary Consul|292455|The Honorary Consul|Graham Greene|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1430316526s/292455.jpg|1912277].*
The book has a very authentic feel to it, with the behaviour of police, revolutionaries, and those accidentally caught up in events being well documented.
It's not possible to say too much about the book without spoilers, so I'll leave it at that.
* GoodReads seems to have linked to the wrong book, with a different title. Not sure how to get it to link to the right one. Try the Dutch version [b:De rebel|25227339|De Rebel|Wim Hornman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1427430476s/25227339.jpg|2715324] and then search for other editions there.
There are also some similarities with [a:Graham Greene|2533|Graham Greene|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1254688603p2/2533.jpg]'s early book, [b:The power and the glory|3690|The Power and the Glory|Graham Greene|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388210459s/3690.jpg|1036817], with a renegade priest, and the strength of a kind of residual Catholicism, which seems to be a recurring theme for Greene. At the time he was writing the book I was reading [b:The rebel priest|9198853|Requiem for a rebel priest|Paulino Lim Jr.|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1375540956s/9198853.jpg|14078384] by [a:Wim Hornman|1180366|Wim Hornman|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], and I wondered if Greene had read that one too, since its subject, Camilo Torres, is mentioned in [b:The Honorary Consul|292455|The Honorary Consul|Graham Greene|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1430316526s/292455.jpg|1912277].*
The book has a very authentic feel to it, with the behaviour of police, revolutionaries, and those accidentally caught up in events being well documented.
It's not possible to say too much about the book without spoilers, so I'll leave it at that.
* GoodReads seems to have linked to the wrong book, with a different title. Not sure how to get it to link to the right one. Try the Dutch version [b:De rebel|25227339|De Rebel|Wim Hornman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1427430476s/25227339.jpg|2715324] and then search for other editions there.
ladyjane95's review against another edition
4.0
For a crime thriller, I found this a good read. The story is easy to follow, and has a good deal of humour. It raises many questions of corruption and unfairness of the Catholic Church in the poorest of South American communities. With such in-depth topics of poverty, the story brings humour in the right way. With the mix of comedy and tragedy, it feels more realistic than most idealist classics. Ultimately a great read.
febeyer's review against another edition
5.0
An atheist doctor? A former priest with wavering faith? An exotic, isolated setting with whiskey sodden British expats? Check all these. In “The Honorary Consul” the local characters are as vivid as the expat Brits, something not always the case with Greene. (Although, I think he did a good job in his African novels of not assuming to know what the African characters were thinking.) Two of the three Englishmen here aren’t really expats at all. Born in Paraguay to a British father and local mother, Doctor Plarr is our atheist. Born in Argentina to British parents, Charlie Fortnam is the honorary British consul in a small town on the Paraná river in Northeast Argentina. The only other Brit in town is Doctor Humphries, a grumpy teacher of literature whose background we are not sure of, but he was probably born in England. I found it true even in the early 21st century that Anglo-Argentinians held fast to a 'colonial era' English accent and customs, like five o’clock gin and tonics, not maintained among British descendants in my part of the world. So the idea of a locally born Englishman not quite fitting in that Greene introduces rings true.
The setting seems to be based on Formosa (I've got that wrong it was Corrientes a bit further south), capital of the oppressively hot Formosa province - a million miles away from the cosmopolitan capital Buenos Aires, where Doctor Plarr’s Paraguayan mother grows fat on dulce de leche. I don’t know how long Greene was in Argentina, the novel is dedicated to Victoria Ocampo, an Argentine writer he stayed with. He refers vaguely to the political troubles in Argentina in the early 70s, the period just before the return of Perón. (Quickly followed by his death, his wife taking over and the subsequent military dictatorship.) Over the Paraná river is Paraguay - under control of the American backed dictator, General Stroessner. In a muddle up Charlie gets kidnapped by Paraguayan rebels hoping for an exchange of prisoners; the American Ambassador was the real target. The British government isn’t eager to get involved, Charlie is a sixty year old ‘honorary’ consul and alcoholic - worse still he has recently married Clara, a young prostitute - not a becoming image at all. He lives by growing maté and importing cars and then selling them on - flaunting the diplomatic rights he doesn't actually have.
The intellectual conversations at Clara’s (former) brothel between Plarr and local writer Doctor Saavedra are amusing - and Saavedra comes off as a joke, a man obsessed with machismo - until we see that he lives in poverty and Plarr gives him grudging respect for devoting his life to literature. Greene’s idea of Argentine machismo is accurate in its knife fights, but also seems mixed up with the Mexican version which is more pervasive than the Argentine one.
The kidnappers are known to Plarr, who is involved because his British father is a political prisoner in Paraguay. Plarr lacks the faith and personal morality of the head kidnapper, his ex-classmate former priest Rivas, but is a doctor committed to the poor - he resembles Dr. Colin the atheist doctor treating lepers in Greene’s “A Burnt Out Case”. In both novels Greene seems to be debating with himself the merits of the man of faith and the practical man who tries to save lives rather than souls. The saving of souls is a much more tortuous business because it raises the possibility of personal damnation? The pace never drops off much in this book - it didn’t get bogged down in Catholic theology and moral debate (although there is certainly a sufficient amount of these). There is a fair deal of humour too. I was just in the right mood for this novel - so a subjective five stars.
The setting seems to be based on Formosa (I've got that wrong it was Corrientes a bit further south), capital of the oppressively hot Formosa province - a million miles away from the cosmopolitan capital Buenos Aires, where Doctor Plarr’s Paraguayan mother grows fat on dulce de leche. I don’t know how long Greene was in Argentina, the novel is dedicated to Victoria Ocampo, an Argentine writer he stayed with. He refers vaguely to the political troubles in Argentina in the early 70s, the period just before the return of Perón. (Quickly followed by his death, his wife taking over
The intellectual conversations at Clara’s (former) brothel between Plarr and local writer Doctor Saavedra are amusing - and Saavedra comes off as a joke, a man obsessed with machismo - until we see that he lives in poverty and Plarr gives him grudging respect for devoting his life to literature. Greene’s idea of Argentine machismo is accurate in its knife fights, but also seems mixed up with the Mexican version which is more pervasive than the Argentine one.
The kidnappers are known to Plarr, who is involved because his British father is a political prisoner in Paraguay. Plarr lacks the faith and personal morality of the head kidnapper, his ex-classmate former priest Rivas, but is a doctor committed to the poor - he resembles Dr. Colin the atheist doctor treating lepers in Greene’s “A Burnt Out Case”. In both novels Greene seems to be debating with himself the merits of the man of faith and the practical man who tries to save lives rather than souls. The saving of souls is a much more tortuous business because it raises the possibility of personal damnation? The pace never drops off much in this book - it didn’t get bogged down in Catholic theology and moral debate (although there is certainly a sufficient amount of these). There is a fair deal of humour too. I was just in the right mood for this novel - so a subjective five stars.