Customer Reviews

England Made Me

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'England Made Me' is a relatively early novel in the illustrious writing career of Graham Greene, who was considered repeatedly for the Nobel Prize in Literature but ended up on a list of rejected greats that includes Joyce, Proust, Lawrence, and Maugham. Written during the outbreak of industrial globalization and trends that scattered British citizens throughout the world in pursuit of a good salary, 'Made Me' must have struck a nerve with readers in 1935 and has something of a prophetic voice today.

Just over 200 pages, Greene's novel follows the lives of Anthony Farrant and his twin sister, Kate, who share a deep affection for one another but have drifted geographically apart. Anthony has connived through one job, one country, one apartment, and one girlfriend after another; Kate, meanwhile, has enjoyed 'success' as the personal secretary and mistress of Erik Krogh, an industrial magnate based in Stockholm. Ever willing to help, Kate talks her lover into hiring Anthony as his bodyguard and 'watches over' the erratic sibling.

While emphasizing the petty ways of Anthony, Greene draws a bleak industrial landscape between the First and Second World Wars, with human decency and feelings of self-worth quickly eroding. In Greene's universe, all three main characters are cold and lonesome. Kate is certainly the more successful Farrant, but she has climbed her way to the executive offices through lust and a fair share of ruthlessness. Krogh is comparable in ways to Howard Hughes, a man who has everything, yet is constantly shadowed by the threat of failure and clueless on how to interact with others.

'England Made Me' is not only a social document that portraits a loss of national identity and individualism, but also a bizarre love story involving Kate, Krogh, and Anthony. Throughout the novel, Kate is torn between her love for Krogh and her 'sisterly' love for Tony, which grows in desperation and often borders on the incestuous. The Farrants' relationship is certainly one of the most unorthodox in world literature and leads to a shattering climax.

Well-made secondary characters bring energy to the novel, especially Minty, a fellow down-and-out Englishman who is a member of the Stockholm press, and Lucia Davidge, a vacationing girl whom Anthony falls for. Greene effectively gives us a tour of the Swedish capital, leaving us at several landmarks where the action takes place. 'England Made Me' has Greene's familiar style of journalistic narration, simple yet wonderfully alive. A Catholic viewpoint is again used in his storytelling, although not with the enrobing quality of his later work.

'England Made Me' is not one of Greene's better novels, as a good portion of the writing is cliched and certain points in the storyline appear forced in order for things to move along. But the inferior Greene will beat the superior work of other writers nine times out of ten and should be enjoyable to fans of 20th century British authors.

A novel about the black sheep of a British family, England Made Me is an indictment of the "solid morals" that English society held fast to in the early twentieth century, and an incisive look at what "doing the right thing" actually leads to.

I have read a lot of GG and consider myself an admirer, but this one was a real chore to get through. It honestly gave me a headache several times. The sister and brother Farrant are fairly compelling characters but the Swedish industrialist Krogh is a complete cipher-- also murky beyond comprehension are whatever financial shenanigans he is up to. The book has moments of clarity but large swatches (page after page really) were for me nearly incomprehensible. The story appears to be narrated from several points of view which adds to the confusion. Stick with his better known works unless you are determined to read everything he ever wrote.

Graham Greene is my favorite author, and I've read most of his novels, but for me, this was a real slog to get through. In fact, the only reason I finished reading it was to learn from his usual excellent use of similes and metaphors. To me the conflict was meager, the plot boring, and the characters not all that interesting. I kept waiting for a brilliant twist in the plot, or some thrill, but alas, I finished reading the book wishing I'd read something else instead.