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Title: The Honorary Consul : A Novel by Graham Greene ISBN: 0-684-87125-4 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 11 September, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (6 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: God and Love in the Mind of an Apathetic Man
Comment: Graham Greene presents the story of a half-English medical doctor, Eduardo Plarr, living in a backwater town in Argentina. The title derives from Plarr's relationship with the Honorary Consul, Charley Fortnum, and his adulterous relationship with Fortnum's former-prostitute wife. This work of literature is very well written and has the taste of art.
Greene's writing expresses the subtlety of his characters - apathetic men who go through life not having been impressed with much. Greene's theme is love and how or whether it is expressed between men and women, and also how it is expressed (if expressed at all) between man and God. Graham puts into the thoughts of Dr. Plarr:
"'Love' was a claim which he wouldn't meet, a responsibility he would refuse to accept, a demand ... So many times his mother had used the word when he was a child; it was like the threat of an armed robber. 'Put up your hands or else ...' Something was always asked in return: obedience, an apology, a kiss which one had no desire to give." And again:
"That stupid banal word love. It's never meant anything to me. Like the word God."
Thus, Greene puts these "larger than ourselves" themes on the backs of his self-absorbed characters. The result is masterful. If you are looking to read classic literature - the kind of literature that actually requires the reader to think and ponder the implications of the print - then this book is for you. Highly recommended.
Rating: 2
Summary: Dull, listless, sad
Comment: This is what happens when great authors go to seed. It seems like a cruel mockery of a Greene novel, parading the same old themes around, corrupted more than ever by an unjustified excess liberalism. There isn't a single living character here, and even though the prose is generally competent, I think it has to be buried in consideration of the man's memory.
Rating: 4
Summary: Great characters
Comment: This is a well-written story combining the elements of a political/spy novel with those of a Greek tragedy. Set in Argentina, Greene tells the tale of a botched political kidnapping which provides the context for an interesting character study. The ineptitude of Greene's kidnappers and their gradual self-destruction, to me, symbolized the disarray and tumult in the lives of each character. Greene's interesting cast of characters includes a chameleon-like prostitute who tailors her personality to accommodate the varying expectations and inadequacies of her clients, a fallen priest who cannot seem to shed his former skin, a marginalized novelist who is crippled by his pride, an emotionless doctor whose heart is as sterile as his instruments, and an inconsequential "honorary" consul who fails at everything except loving. This novel is by no means cheery, but I came away from it with an important reminder that life is lived in vain if lived without having loved--even if that love is unrequited.
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Title: The Human Factor by GRAHAM GREENE ISBN: 0679409920 Publisher: Everyman's Library Pub. Date: 10 March, 1992 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: The Comedians (Twentieth Century Classics) by Graham Greene ISBN: 0140184945 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: November, 1991 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Loser Takes All (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) by Graham Greene ISBN: 0140185429 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: May, 1993 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Ministry of Fear by Graham Greene ISBN: 0140185364 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: March, 1993 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Our Man in Havana: An Entertainment (Twentieth Century Classics) by Graham Greene ISBN: 0140184937 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: September, 1991 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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