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drskaninchen's review against another edition
4.0
After reading "the Power and the Glory", I read this book. I had no idea there was a connection between the two (except the author of course). The difficulty was that I constantly was under the impression of reading fiction. It is in some ways similar to "the Power and the Glory". The book was very well written and interresting.
The problem I had with it was the racism. I know from another book "the Human Factor" that Graham Greene changed his opinion about race radically. This is why I could forgive him for that.
The problem I had with it was the racism. I know from another book "the Human Factor" that Graham Greene changed his opinion about race radically. This is why I could forgive him for that.
maryfrances1313's review
5.0
When I read Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory I was a little wary because all I knew going in was that Greene ended his life as a lapsed, agnostic Catholic and that the book was about a whisky priest. I ended up loving the book as a book and I know that it will end up being a book I reread periodically. Yet, I wonder how much of my reading was colored by the little bit that I knew about Greene.
I picked up The Lawless Roads to read this year without knowing that it was a nonfiction account of Greene’s travels through Mexico before he wrote the Power and the Glory. I don’t know if I have ever read that sort of paring from an author - the novel and then the travels that informed the novel. Notable characters and landscapes from Greene’s travels end up in TPATG and that was fun to recognize. I think I will read TPATG differently after reading The Lawless Roads because I will have more context of the political environment and geography. And I won’t have the same doubts about Greene under the surface because I now know how he thought and felt about Catholicism at this point in his life.
This is not a book that you have to read in order to read TPATG well, but if you feel like following a rabbit trail this is a worthy one. Greene also mentions several books that he read during his Mexico trip and his theory about what sort of books you should travel with, so those name drops will provide more potential rabbit trails.
I picked up The Lawless Roads to read this year without knowing that it was a nonfiction account of Greene’s travels through Mexico before he wrote the Power and the Glory. I don’t know if I have ever read that sort of paring from an author - the novel and then the travels that informed the novel. Notable characters and landscapes from Greene’s travels end up in TPATG and that was fun to recognize. I think I will read TPATG differently after reading The Lawless Roads because I will have more context of the political environment and geography. And I won’t have the same doubts about Greene under the surface because I now know how he thought and felt about Catholicism at this point in his life.
This is not a book that you have to read in order to read TPATG well, but if you feel like following a rabbit trail this is a worthy one. Greene also mentions several books that he read during his Mexico trip and his theory about what sort of books you should travel with, so those name drops will provide more potential rabbit trails.
beth_has_books's review against another edition
3.0
It was interesting. I learned a lot about what was happening politically in Mexico at that time, the living conditions, a few of the states, and the differences between the lives of the indigenous people compared to those of Spanish descent. It was also interesting as a snapshot of how things were just before WWII kicked off, for example how he writes about his journey home on a German ship which is dropping Mexican volunteers at Lisbon.
It seems like Greene had a very uncomfortable time out there. He describes a lot of physical discomforts. He is not very interested in "wild natural beauty" so he mentions some beautiful views but does not enthuse about them like how many travel writers would do. He describes lots of people he met and he liked a few of them, but mostly they sound like he either found them annoying, or they were against him as a "gringo", or he did not speak the same language as them. I think he'd have got more out of the trip if he'd put in more effort to learn Spanish before he went.
His judgments on people seem quite random and he is quite prejudiced. For example he makes racist generalizations and writes differently about men compared to women. I had assumed he was quite young when he wrote it, but it looks like he was actually in his thirties.
The main focus of the book was about the persecution of Catholicism in Mexico. It was interesting to read the range of how the people in different areas reacted to it. I am not sure how accurate it was though. He is obviously biased as a strong Catholic himself, and he admits in the book that he misread some situations because he learned differently from events which happened afterwards.
It seems like Greene had a very uncomfortable time out there. He describes a lot of physical discomforts. He is not very interested in "wild natural beauty" so he mentions some beautiful views but does not enthuse about them like how many travel writers would do. He describes lots of people he met and he liked a few of them, but mostly they sound like he either found them annoying, or they were against him as a "gringo", or he did not speak the same language as them. I think he'd have got more out of the trip if he'd put in more effort to learn Spanish before he went.
His judgments on people seem quite random and he is quite prejudiced. For example he makes racist generalizations and writes differently about men compared to women. I had assumed he was quite young when he wrote it, but it looks like he was actually in his thirties.
The main focus of the book was about the persecution of Catholicism in Mexico. It was interesting to read the range of how the people in different areas reacted to it. I am not sure how accurate it was though. He is obviously biased as a strong Catholic himself, and he admits in the book that he misread some situations because he learned differently from events which happened afterwards.
tereflg's review
2.0
Did I like it? Yes. It portrayed a bunch of singular aspects of a greater culture without making me feel like it was narrowed or watered down, and the narrative was refreshing. Did I love it? No. It dug unnecessarily deep on a lot of aspects that could be glossed over because they're really not that deep.
jackwwang's review against another edition
3.0
Lovely little travelogue of Greene's journey southward in Mexico from the US border to Chiapas. His visit was shortly after the brutal government conflict against the Catholic Church in the Cristero war. Greene's Mexico here is a dangerous, lawless, brutish one. He's contempt is scarcely concealed, and often problematic attitudes towards race, culture, colonialism (all very much products of the time) shine through his journal entry-like chapters.
Looking forward to reading Power and the Glory, the novel that this was a draft for.
Looking forward to reading Power and the Glory, the novel that this was a draft for.
eely225's review against another edition
5.0
I only read this book because I wanted to understand the background to [b:The Power and the Glory|3690|The Power and the Glory|Graham Greene|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388210459s/3690.jpg|1036817] before I read it. What I found was one of the most brisk, evocative travel memoirs I've read.
Now, some of the criticisms I've seen are valid. He doesn't talk much about the land itself, mostly focused on small interactions with people he met, how much he hates riding mules, and his distaste for Mexican food. He also comes across as pretty judgmental and elitist in many of his evaluations of the people he meets.
The reason that doesn't drag the book down is because that is not all he's doing. Yes, he doesn't focus on the travel, but that wasn't the story he wanted to write. He hoped to talk about suppression of the Catholic church, and he clearly took every opportunity available. But he was only there for a few weeks, and he discovered that most people didn't want to let a foreigner deeply into their lives and struggles just so he could write an article in the UK. So instead, he was honest about his feelings. He made an effort to learn and took away what impressions he could.
One of many things I liked, though, is that he doesn't hold too tightly to his own impressions. Throughout the book, he will go on for some time about a conclusion he's come to... then immediately contradict himself, explaining that later evidence proved him wrong or that he was just angry at the time because he lost his glasses. I appreciate that he refuses to whitewash the bitterness of his honesty from the book, while still acknowledging throughout that just because he was being honest doesn't mean he was right. This is the experience of traveling to a foreign land, isn't it? Intrigue along with revulsion, anger along with wonder. If he just said what a wonderful time he had with everyone he met, we might have an uplifting book, but not an honest one. He's okay with showing his ugliness.
Ultimately, it's the organization of the book that propelled me through it so quickly. Each chapter is centered on a location in his journey, then further subdivided into anecdotes, usually centered on a particular person he meets along the way. One of Greene's greatest strengths is his descriptive prowess, building truly evocative and memorable images in a few short words. In this volume, he has the opportunity to be at his best in this regard. Letting his language wash over you makes the book hard to put down. I would recommend it broadly.
Now, some of the criticisms I've seen are valid. He doesn't talk much about the land itself, mostly focused on small interactions with people he met, how much he hates riding mules, and his distaste for Mexican food. He also comes across as pretty judgmental and elitist in many of his evaluations of the people he meets.
The reason that doesn't drag the book down is because that is not all he's doing. Yes, he doesn't focus on the travel, but that wasn't the story he wanted to write. He hoped to talk about suppression of the Catholic church, and he clearly took every opportunity available. But he was only there for a few weeks, and he discovered that most people didn't want to let a foreigner deeply into their lives and struggles just so he could write an article in the UK. So instead, he was honest about his feelings. He made an effort to learn and took away what impressions he could.
One of many things I liked, though, is that he doesn't hold too tightly to his own impressions. Throughout the book, he will go on for some time about a conclusion he's come to... then immediately contradict himself, explaining that later evidence proved him wrong or that he was just angry at the time because he lost his glasses. I appreciate that he refuses to whitewash the bitterness of his honesty from the book, while still acknowledging throughout that just because he was being honest doesn't mean he was right. This is the experience of traveling to a foreign land, isn't it? Intrigue along with revulsion, anger along with wonder. If he just said what a wonderful time he had with everyone he met, we might have an uplifting book, but not an honest one. He's okay with showing his ugliness.
Ultimately, it's the organization of the book that propelled me through it so quickly. Each chapter is centered on a location in his journey, then further subdivided into anecdotes, usually centered on a particular person he meets along the way. One of Greene's greatest strengths is his descriptive prowess, building truly evocative and memorable images in a few short words. In this volume, he has the opportunity to be at his best in this regard. Letting his language wash over you makes the book hard to put down. I would recommend it broadly.
pierreikonnikov's review
2.0
This wasn't so bad as to put me off Graham Greene; he can clearly write. The question that I could not ask- and that made me fall out of interest in the book after 100 pages- is why on earth did he write it? A travel book cannot be written by someone who isn't in love with something about the place they are travelling, it simply doesn't work. All Greene sees in Mexico is bad food (which is just baffling), inconsequential Indians (and his racism is barely hidden), and bad Catholicism. He is deeply antagonistic towards almost everything he comes across, right from the outset, but not in an amusing or interesting way: there is a complete reluctance to engage with Mexico, almost a revulsion, which is just not what one looks for in a travel book at all. Bizarre. Not recommended.
smartipants8's review against another edition
4.0
There was something comforting about this book- the disgust and anger that Greene, the traveler felt as he want through Mexico. I have often felt this way as I travel but feel ashamed of it. Reading his loathing and discomfort made me laugh and feel better about that dark side of myself. I admire his bravery in the journey and the writing.
lenni's review against another edition
2.0
I haven't read anything else by Greene and feel that is perhaps a bad first impression. The Lawless Roads was evidently written on commission to report on the state of Catholicism in Mexico after it had been outlawed...so not your normal Greene travelogue. However, I did relate to disliking a country based purely on the difficulty of travel and being cold, tired, and/or sick. I also appreciated his observation that dark books are not appropriate for reading while travelling and loved his description of reading ladies' magazines instead. I too read only the 'peace' parts of War and Peace while travelling through Peru.
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