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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Enjoyable Read - and something to think about.., July 24, 2005
This is an uncomplicated tale of cold war espionage told with elegant simplicity by Greene. It follows the fortunes of Maurice Castle, a British ex-diplomat working in the African section of the foreign office. When a leak is traced to within Castle's small team, his past is drawn into focus and his ordered life comes into contact with sinister players. Greene, who is economical in his storytelling keeps the cast of characters tight. Although the book is clearly dated, its simplicity allows it to remain compelling to a contemporary audience. The plot is simplistic, and this isn't one of Greene's better known novels however this is a great example of good storytelling. Thematically, the novel concerns the nature of loyalty and the presence of wrongdoing on both sides of the cold war equation. This is in some ways more interesting now more than thirty years on, as the sins of the cold war era become increasingly well understood.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Think you want to be a spy? Read this first., January 26, 2000
This book presents a very believable portrait of espionage during the cold war. No guns, no gadgets, no glamour. Just a drab monotonous life infused with constant paranoia and ending in tragedy. Quite a contrast to Our Man In Havana, although the main characters share much of the same insecurities (as most Greene characters seem to). The hero is a completely sympathetic character who loves his wife and child and hates the cruelty that the world has shown his wife and will surely show his child. And although he has become jaded and old he idealistically decides to punish the West for its racism by spying for the East (ironic considering the level of racism in the East). In the end he looses what he had, he looses what he loved, and he gains nothing. This was the first Graham Greene novel that I read, in high school, 15 years ago. It hooked me and I have read most of his other works since then. Many other authors have created stupid banal characters living the seedy life, but only Greene (in my limited reading) has created human, complex, intelligent characters.....living the seedy life.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spy Story Masterpiece, July 19, 2000
By A Customer
The New York Times called this the best espionage novel ever. I agree wholeheartedly. In fact, this is one of the best novels I've ever read, period. A great strength of this book is that you really care about the protaganist. He's very much your average, decent guy with a wife, step-kid and dog. He puts in his hours at the office each day, then goes home to them every night, just as millions of us do. There are no fancy gadgets or outlandish threats to the solar system in this story. Thus, the drama, centering on believable characters, is all the more palpable. Once the story takes off you can feel the tension and anticipation buidling up all around you.The plot is both simple and ingenious. British intelligence suspects a mole is passing info on sourthern Africa to the Soviets and moves to eliminate the suspect, leading to a great plot twist. Throw in what is for my money some of the best dialogue ever put on paper (e.g. the hilarious conversation about malteazers candy) and the result is an absolute classic. I've read several of Greene's novels including the renowned The Heart of the Matter, and The Human Factor tops my list. If you crave a novel that you just can't put down, this is surely it.
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