Customer Reviews

GREENMANTLE

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Greenmantle", by John Buchan, is actually based on a remarkable, if little-known, aspect of German propaganda during World War I. It involved Kaiser Wilhelm declaring himself a convert to Islam, a leader of "jihad", as a tactic for winning the support of the Muslim territories under British control and thus fomenting an anti-British revolution. Richard Hannay, Buchan's intrepid hero from "The Thirty-Nine Steps", is the man entrusted to stop this plan from being carried out, and his adventure takes him from London, to Holland and Turkey and finally to the Russian border for a spectacular climax. Complaints have been made about Buchan's racist and jingo-imperialist biases, as the novel easily betrays the sentiments of a la "dominion over palm and pine." However, a fiction-writer may, under a certain poetic license, attack creeds, doctrines, persons and institutions with impunity; moreover, a writer must be seen as a product of his age. This racy, lively, energetic novel is best appreciated as an excellent work of light literature. The conclusion is an undeniably exciting confrontation, including the charge of Cossack cavalry, as Hannay engages in the final showdown between the two German villains, the gross Stumm and the evil beauty, Hilda von Einem.

...and a harmless read (recommended for train trips through particularly tedious or repetitive countryside, or long plane flights spent wedged into economy class). "Greenmantle" is another of Buchan's Richard Hannay novels (the same protagonist as in "The Thirty-Nine Steps"); in it Hannay must track and foil a plot by the Kaiser to foment Jihad. I confess to being particularly drawn to this book as, well, an example of WWI-era pulp. It is sufficiently plot-driven, and entertaining enough to while happily away a few hours. Decidedly fun.

You know, I really don't like war stories (although I do tend toward wartime authors) and I wouldn't have read this book if I hadn't been bored. But I did, and I've been thankful ever since. Yes, it contains racism, but it is simply the way people thought then. Yes it does tend to get technical, but John Buchan was doing the best thing a writer can do and "writing what he knew". And yes, the philo/psycological discusions can get old after a few readings, but I found them another interesting look at the thought life of wartime Europe. The characters are all well developed (I can't stand characters that all act the same), so well that I can't say who is my favorite (permit me a feminine little sigh, however, over the heartbreaking Sandy. But if I did that I'd have to giggle over Peter and argue about Blenkiron and hold my breath with Richard Hannay). The book does seem to start out slow, but keep on going, and don't skip a thing. I'll tell you a secret, though, despite all I just said, I really read this book for the last three pages! The thing is, you can't really "get" all the beauty and relief and grandur of it unless you read the rest, there's just something missing in it, believe me, I've tried.

This story is a strange one if you do not understand the world as it was during the confusing times of World War One. However, if you are reading this book simply for enjoyment, you picked a good one. It is a little rascist, but if only you consider the time it was written and the beliefs then, I don't think you can consider it a bad book. It is not proper to judge a book written in the early twentieth century by our current standards of political correctness. It is simply a good indicator of past views of various people. If you don't mind the little rascism this book has and remember that it was written when that was perfectly normal, you should enjoy it immensely.

After September 11 and the breathless wartalk of the US government I suddenly found myself thinking about good old Greenmantle. As the other reviewers say, it is undoubtedly imperialist and jingoistic (I can't begin to imagine how viciously Edward Said would trash it), but uncannily useful for reading the current political situation. The stunning climax (I've never read one better) suggests perfectly how the West intends to undermine Islamic extremism in a far more subtle way than we can imagine. I'm tempted to reveal the ending, but it's far to good to spoil. Read this!

This was the second time I read this story and must admit that it seemed longer, somehow, the second time around. It's good to see Richard Hannay pitted against the 'Hun', once more. This time with a band of faithful followers to upset the Germans' plans of set the Middle East aflame with a 'Jehad'. Parts of the book bog down in technicalities of the Great War effort, but then, the story is being told by a soldier fighting said war! Hannay's storytelling betrays his jingoistic belief in the British Empire and British fairness and holds himself proudly as the pre-Apartheid South African that he is! In all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend anyone else to read it, the prequel and the 3 sequels.

I loved John Buchan's adventures as a kid and read them all -- so I was curious to see how I'd react coming back to this one 40 years later.

It's still a "ripping good yarn" -- the author can definitely write and can tell a gripping tale. But the adult in me also rebelled against several aspects of the book, notably the casual racism, homophobia and antisemitism woven into the narrative. There is one unintentionally hilarious scene where our hero is brought to the home of the German villain -- a rotten bully if ever there was one. We are given to understand, through the description of the man's room, strewn with unmanly and "queer" bric-a-brac, that the German thug is also a follower of a "beastly" lifestyle -- and nothing could be more disgusting.

But Buchan admits also that he knows nothing of women and their world. His world is one inhabited by manly men, who enjoy sport and other manly endeavors -- without a hint of sexuality. Buchan's hero would rather endure a shelling from the enemy than an evening alone with a woman. The other villain of this book is the evil Hilda von Einem -- but it's not clear what makes her evil, other than the fact that she is not a man.

Buchan is some ways was an overgrown child. His view of World War One was childish. He talks about life in the trenches as a jolly good game and there is nothing of the sheer, bloody horror of the war. The hero -- the same Richard Hannay from "The 39 Steps" -- is sent on an obscure spying expedition to Germany and Turkey. He fulfills the British ideal of the dedicated amateur who beats the rotten professionals at their own game. And Hannay definitely regards his exploits as a game. He keeps referring to his mission as a game -- in which he can outplay the enemy because, damn it he's British and nobody beats the British.

This is a book written for kids. Adults can still enjoy it -- but they have to forget they have grown up.

Fast paced and intruiging. Set in a real historical situation which means you get a slice of the atmosphere around that period.

of the sort that cannot be written nowadays. (The modern equivalent would be seven times as long and would be a study in grey, as exciting as a slab of concrete.) Admittedly the book is racist. No, on second thought, "racist" is not at all the word. Buchan clearly thinks British culture is superior to other culture; but that's the sort of thing it's easy to live with in a book - and if he shows a lack of understanding of other cultures, well, a book of this kind needs villains, and it doesn't matter (for our purposes) if the villains never really existed. As for his view of Islam ... well, a writer is surely allowed to show contempt for doctrines, if not people; and, after all, he never does so in order to sell us a religion of his own. Despite the absurd things Hannay says he is clearly a man of intelligence - as is the author. This book is my introduction to both Hannay and Buchan. I hope to encounter them both again.

Greenmantle is one of the finest examples of Buchan's writing--if not the best, although Witch Wood is a contender. During World War 1, four men embark on a trip through wartime Europe and Germany to Constantinople. Their aim is to find a secret weapon: a nuclear ray? a new kind of aeroplane?--Well, I'll only say, something totally different.

The story is longer, more philosophical, and of far wider scope than its predecessor, The Thirty-Nine Steps. There are more characters, more locations, more pressure on our heroes. There are many memorable passages of writing--from Germany in winter to the first sight of the mountains in Turkey. The plot relies less on coincidence than The Thirty-Nine Steps, but gets criticised just as harshly for it. The only place I've ever found coincidences not to happen are in realistic fiction (or, they're bad coincidences).

Still, if you can accept the fact that this is a relatively optimistic wartime thriller (compared to some recent efforts) with plenty of adventure and suspense, you'll love this book.