GRAHAM GREENE was the choice of author for our August meeting. Twice listed for the Nobel Prize for Literature, and with a prolific amount of written work published, Greene is regarded as one of the major novelists of the 20th century. A number of the group admitted to having never read a novel by Graham Greene, and so by belonging to our book club our knowledge has been expanded.
CONNIE - The Heart of the Matter. 1948. Set in a small town on the west coast of Africa during the early days of WW2, the Assistant Commissioner of Police, in a loveless marriage and annoyed at his failure to be promoted, borrows money. From here his world starts to unwind as he is faced with many ethical and moral choices, with blackmail and adultery just 2 of his problems. Connie didn't like any of the characters nor the treatment of the natives and the snobbery of the white settlers. However the writing was perfect and the descriptions of the village vivid.
JUDY A - The End of the Affair. 1951. The end of WW2, and for Maurice, his obsession with his married lover Sarah and intense jealousy of her husband has filled him with turmoil. A dramatic accident befalls Maurice during an air raid. Sarah finds him under rubble, thinks he's dead (or nearly) and makes a promise that if he survives she'll end the affair. He survives, Sarah sees this as a miracle and immediately finishes the affair which confuses Maurice as he doesn't know why it happened. Both characters become deeply unhappy and very troubled. Many complications and strange relationships follow.
ROSEMARY - Gun for Sale. 1936. Many film adaptations of this novel. Raven is an assassin on the run with a hostage. He's looking for who framed him. By strange co-incidence his hostage, Bev, likes him and initially helps him. Then she turns against him - is she an unwilling accomplice? The story swaps around the main 6 characters. Rosemary didn't mind the novel.
JULIA - A Sense of Reality. 1963. Four short stories which Julia quite enjoyed.
LESLEY - The Third Man. 1950. Written originally as a film script then rewritten as a novella. The movie became very well known with Orson Welles, Jason Cotten and Trevor Howard. A mystery/thriller, it is face paced and a quick read. Harry Lime, living in post WW2 Vienna ( city ravaged by the war) invites his long time friend Rollo Martins to visit. Upon Rollo's arrival, he discovers Harry has been killed in a car accident. Events lead Rollo to discover Harry's death was not an accident. A number of characters are introduced, each a possible suspect. As the story continues, Martins learns some very disturbing facts about Harry's life and his criminal dealings.
JUDY D - The Confidential Agent. 1951. Beautifully written, a thriller. 1939 and nations are in turmoil with war beginning. Storyline is exhausting as hero doesn't have an easy time, many plot twists occur. "D", formerly a professor, is sent by his government on a secret assignment, supposedly to buy coal. He becomes a man on the run, there's murders, doubts, threats.
KRIS - The Power and the Glory. 1940. Set in southern Mexico during 1930's the story is about a priest who is believed to be the last practising priest in Mexico. Known as the Whiskey Priest, he struggles with his own sense of unworthiness and sin. The country is trying to rid itself of the influence of the Catholic Church and the Priest is hunted through villages and plantations. An excellent writer and story teller but a dismal and bleak novel of poverty, desperation and fear. Kris was pleased to persevere with the story and found it interesting.
PAMELA - Our Man in Havana. 1948. Pamela thought the epigraph meant - the serious man will win in the end. Satirical novel about espionage. James, a vacuum cleaner salesman living in Havana is asked by British Intelligence to be a spy for them. James 'invents' agents (he's paid to recruit them), draws 'diagrams' (really just the inside workings of the cleaners) and says they're plans of hidden buildings in the mountains. People start to get killed, life becomes more serious. Well written and funny to the end.
VAL - Our Man in Havana. 1948. MI6 satire, James is seen as a great man in Havana for all his secret spying. Eventually he's found out to be a fraud, but is given an OBE to cover his tracks.
SHEILA. Didn't read much of her Graham Greene book, she couldn't continue but made the point that she loves Book Club. It offers a variety of reading material, good conversation and the opportunity to choose to read - or not - the author, topic etc of the month.
JOAN - Battlefield. 1934 . About the politics of death row appeal. Characters miserable so not recommended. Read 'The Quiet American' 1955. Set in Saigon a British correspondent - Fowler - views the breaking down of the colonised French and the increasing presence of American involvement in the country prior to Vietnam War. Love interests ever present. Characters were authentic with films made.
JO - Brighton Rock. 1938. Set in an attractive seaside town, behind the facade lurks a nest of criminal activity - gangs, corruption, poverty. The gang leader is a psychopath, other characters weird but Jo found it interesting.
Lesley
SEPTEMBER: We will be reading biographies and autobiographies of our own choice
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