
The paradox of Graham Greene - pepys
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-paradox-of-graham-greene-searching-for-peace-in-the-world-s-warzones
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moomin
I mean, if you want to know about the inner workings of Graham Greene's life,
you're probably better off just reading his novels (the dividing line between
his serious novels and his entertainments isn't as clear-cut as he made out).

Some personal favourites:

England Made Me: Interestingly enough for a novel written in 1935, about
multinationals.

Brighton Rock: A vicious little tale of a small-town thug.

The Power and The Glory: A very, very catholic novel, but also a cracking
thriller.

The End of the Affair: Another very catholic novel, but also very different.

The Quiet American: Hard to express exactly how good this one is. Vietnam,
spies, and a huge indictment of "decent people".

Monsignor Quixote: Life after fascism, and a ridiculous priest who may, in
fact, be a saint.

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dcminter
I went to Greene's old school (where his father had been headmaster).

It's interesting how much stuff from the school pops up in his novels - from
the school motto in "Monsignor Quixote" to the route walked from the school in
"The Captain and the Enemy".

Minor anecdote: He visited the school once, and I remember seeing him stop at
a corner and turn to look directly at me. Only in retrospect do I realise that
he may have been looking across the decades at me as he might have been
himself (the architecture and uniform hadn't changed much).

If you're looking for a light read then I recommend "Our Man in Havana" as a
taster of Greene. It's amusing and less imbued with the claustrophobia of his
more serious novels.

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bencollier49
Oh, hi there, so did I.

I never got around to reading Greene, despite the connection, and now I feel
as though it might be an interesting exercise.

Certainly the biography in this piece makes me interested in him; I can see
aspects of myself in him. Unrelated to the school, of course.

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dcminter
Definitely worth a shot - you should find the early parts of "The Captain and
The Enemy" strangely familiar.

I do find the suffocating catholic guilt themes a bit depressing (read "The
Ministry of Fear" or "Brighton Rock" for prime examples), but they're
extraordinary nonetheless.

(Edit) As you probably know, "Greenes" House and "The Greene Field" were named
for his father.

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Nursie
Am sad to report that at some point in the 90s that field got astroturfed :(

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kinghtown
Nice read and definitely piqued my interest in reading the biography. Though,
I’ve only read The Comedians by Greene (which was pretty good. Strong
Casablanca fatalistic vibe set in Haiti.)

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bloak
Does anyone reading this have a copy of either of the "repudiated" novels,
"The name of action" and "Rumour at nightfall"?

