Scan barcode
A review by letmesleep
A Sort Of Life by Graham Greene
3.0
There were a few good bits in this, but it was generally disappointing. It seemed just a thrown together account of what I'm sure was really a very interesting life. I got the impression that this book was one of those painful pledges made to his publishing company.
As someone else noted, the bit about action writing was interesting:
"Action can only be expressed by a subject, a verb and an object, perhaps a rhythm -- little else. Even an adjective slows the pace or tranquilizes the nerve... But I was too concerned with "the point of view" to be aware of simpler problems, to know that the sort of novel I was trying to write, unlike a poem, was not made with words but with movement, action, character. Discrimination in one's words is certainly required, but not love of one's words - that is a form of self-love, a fatal love... I was only saved by failure."
Yeah, so anyhow... fortunately I've got a number of Greene's works of fiction still to read. Fiction was obviously his thing.
As someone else noted, the bit about action writing was interesting:
"Action can only be expressed by a subject, a verb and an object, perhaps a rhythm -- little else. Even an adjective slows the pace or tranquilizes the nerve... But I was too concerned with "the point of view" to be aware of simpler problems, to know that the sort of novel I was trying to write, unlike a poem, was not made with words but with movement, action, character. Discrimination in one's words is certainly required, but not love of one's words - that is a form of self-love, a fatal love... I was only saved by failure."
Yeah, so anyhow... fortunately I've got a number of Greene's works of fiction still to read. Fiction was obviously his thing.