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Our Man in Port-au-Prince

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A new book has come out on Graham Greene, one of my favorite novelists, examining his time in Haiti and Central America.  These "adventures" became the seeds of his classic novels, The Comedians, Our Man in Havana and The Power and the Glory.  He brushed shoulders with "Papa Doc" Duvalier and other tyrants, but used his inimitable black humor to characterize them.  My father was working in Haiti and the Dominican Republic as a geologist during this time and was a Graham Greene fan himself, which is why this book has special resonance for me.

Comments

  1. avrdsNovember 25, 2012 at 4:12 AM

    I've never read The Comedians. Another for the pile.

    I loved the End of the Affair. And the movie Our Man in Havana was great.

    ReplyDelete
  2. James FergusonNovember 28, 2012 at 2:41 PM

    I was hoping for a google version of The Comedians but you can pick up a first edition at abebooks pretty cheap. I guess it wasn't one of his best sellers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. James FergusonNovember 28, 2012 at 2:43 PM

    I liked the movie version of End of the Affair too,

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31oVg226DHM

    ReplyDelete
  4. JAbelNovember 29, 2012 at 9:46 AM

    I always thought that casting Ernie Kovacs as Segura was a bit of a stretch in Our Man.The movie was good but did not capture the spirit of the novel.I do admit the chess game where the loser of each move has to drink a shot is one of my favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  5. James FergusonNovember 29, 2012 at 4:02 PM

    I hadn't realized they made The Comedians into a Liz and Dick vehicle,

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEMH_drTWSA

    ReplyDelete
  6. TripplerNovember 30, 2012 at 8:47 PM

    I decided to read Greene's "The Quiet American" via audio book. Right wingers hate this book and a quick preview of it will easily show why.

    ReplyDelete
  7. James FergusonDecember 3, 2012 at 7:15 AM

    Watched The Comedians last night. It didn't translate too well to the big screen. The romance between Dick and Liz seemed secondary. Alec Guinness was the only one to give the movie any buoyancy, although it was fun to see a young James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson.

    ReplyDelete
  8. TripplerDecember 4, 2012 at 6:17 AM

    Gintaras ~ Am I ever glad you discussed GG. Just finished "Quiet American" and am still stunned by it. Had people only paid attention to it rather than allow themselves to be blinded by Mccarthyite BS we could have prevented that damn war in Vietnam.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TripplerDecember 4, 2012 at 6:38 AM

      Suddenly feel inspired to read "Honorary Consul" - will start it (audio book) in a couple of days from now ...

      Delete
  9. James FergusonDecember 4, 2012 at 8:27 AM

    I'm looking forward to Seeds of Fiction. Greene was a great writer.

    ReplyDelete

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