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A review by mr_wford
The Comedians by Graham Greene
5.0
No, it's not about Comedians. It refers to the comedian aspect of all of us. The face that we present and the strangeness of the lives we create.
When, on a steamer en route to Haiti, three men meet, their paths stick closely together through the dramas that enfold. Messrs Smith, Brown, Jones cover all the bases: Smith is a positive soul, a former American presidential candidate who thinks of little but improving the general condition of the world and has come to Haiti with a mind to improve things there, but also with a mind ignorant of the current state of the country. Brown is a European living in Haiti who, while he doesn't mean anyone any harm, is a cynical man who is willing to try and help others to an extent, but doesn't really want to be bothered. He is returning after a trip to the US in which he failed to find a buyer for his hotel and now wants to return to his life of waiting for the government to be overthrown. And Jones? "Major" Jones? A Man of Mystery, a friendly and genial man who hints of everything but tells nothing (well, nothing that is certainly true, at least) and is only looking out for his own interests, which he has come pursuing, in a mysterious fashion.
The Haiti that they are approaching is the one in which Papa Doc Duvalier has just been "voted" President for life and the nation has recently moved from a tourist haven to a police state and has fallen into a state of poverty and violence ruled by paranoia, fear, duplicitness and the sinister Tonton Macoute...
When they arrive, Brown's empty hotel becomes the center of a variety of dramas. Mister Smith and his wife have come in the hopes of setting up a vegetarian center, Jones is arrested, and Brown is troubled by his long-standing affair with the wife of an ambassador. Mister Brown becomes involved in the middle of everything going on and his disinterested, yet pivotal attentions (as the only "local" of the group), are the crux of the story and make for a very engaging story indeed! It involves the chilling and untouchable, sunglassed Tonton, a whore house, chilling escapes, corpse theft, lots of rum drinking and all sorts of nastiness!
I found the writing to be great, the characters are very involving and the story is quite entertaining, playing out as a comedy that isn't at all funny. It is also a quick read.
When, on a steamer en route to Haiti, three men meet, their paths stick closely together through the dramas that enfold. Messrs Smith, Brown, Jones cover all the bases: Smith is a positive soul, a former American presidential candidate who thinks of little but improving the general condition of the world and has come to Haiti with a mind to improve things there, but also with a mind ignorant of the current state of the country. Brown is a European living in Haiti who, while he doesn't mean anyone any harm, is a cynical man who is willing to try and help others to an extent, but doesn't really want to be bothered. He is returning after a trip to the US in which he failed to find a buyer for his hotel and now wants to return to his life of waiting for the government to be overthrown. And Jones? "Major" Jones? A Man of Mystery, a friendly and genial man who hints of everything but tells nothing (well, nothing that is certainly true, at least) and is only looking out for his own interests, which he has come pursuing, in a mysterious fashion.
The Haiti that they are approaching is the one in which Papa Doc Duvalier has just been "voted" President for life and the nation has recently moved from a tourist haven to a police state and has fallen into a state of poverty and violence ruled by paranoia, fear, duplicitness and the sinister Tonton Macoute...
When they arrive, Brown's empty hotel becomes the center of a variety of dramas. Mister Smith and his wife have come in the hopes of setting up a vegetarian center, Jones is arrested, and Brown is troubled by his long-standing affair with the wife of an ambassador. Mister Brown becomes involved in the middle of everything going on and his disinterested, yet pivotal attentions (as the only "local" of the group), are the crux of the story and make for a very engaging story indeed! It involves the chilling and untouchable, sunglassed Tonton, a whore house, chilling escapes, corpse theft, lots of rum drinking and all sorts of nastiness!
I found the writing to be great, the characters are very involving and the story is quite entertaining, playing out as a comedy that isn't at all funny. It is also a quick read.