The Graham Greene Thread

I didn't much like The End of the Affair, so I'll agree with "tedious," but I don't think he was in any way criticizing Catholicism. I think he just saw it as ignorant stumbling around by the characters that led, despite themselves, to faith.

Anyway, The Comedians and Brighton Rockare far-and-away my favorites!

The Quiet American is good. I don't think Greene's one that necessarily needs to be read in chronological order or anything.

I don't know if I'm clever for noticing this or if it's pretty obvious and commented on, but in The Third Man, Benjamin Dexter = Serious Author Graham Greene, who gives lectures on The State Of The English Novel, while Rollo Martins = the Graham Greene who writes "entertainments", right? Only he made it cowboy novels because espionage would have been a bridge too far in the wink wink meta stakes.

Also, this:

An elderly Austrian said "Is there any writer in England today of the stature of the late John Galsworthy?"

There was an outburst of angry twittering in which the names of Du Maurier, Priestley and someone called Layman were flung to and fro.

Layman... Layman... who is this?

A friend of mine was telling me just today that the film version of "Our Man in Havana" is finally available on DVD after lengthy wrangling with the Greene estate. I don't know what the problem was.

Alec Guinness as the spy. I'm there.

Don't expect Third Man level greatness, Beth, it's a competent little film but not too remarkable. Still with source material as good as that it's hard to go wrong (Our Man In Havana still probably my fave Greene novel.)