Tag: Sierra Leone

Graham Greene – The Heart of the Matter | Review

July 10, 2015
Authors F-J (By Surname)Fiction

Title: The Heart of the Matter

Author: Graham Greene

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 182

Rating: 9/10

 

Graham Greene - The Heart of the Matter

Graham Greene – The Heart of the Matter

 

The Heart of the Matter is one of Graham Greene’s finest novels, and the first book of his that left a deep impact when I read it. Set in Sierra Leone in Africa, it follows the moral dilemma faced by a man called Henry Scobie – he’s an easy character to relate to, even if you’re a million miles away from the setting of Freetown.

It’s such a cracker that it’s been turned in to several films, and it’s received praise from some of Greene’s contemporaries like Anthony Burgess and Evelyn Waugh, the latter of which went as far as to agree that the Africa depicted in Greene’s novel is the same as the Africa that Waugh himself encountered in his travels. It’s this flair for bringing reality to life, to make the settings of his work seem even more real than its real-life counterpart, that this novel is really a testament to. Well-worth reading, so do so!

 

Graham Greene

Graham Greene

 

Click here to buy The Heart of the Matter.

Graham Greene – Journey Without Maps | Review

May 28, 2015
Authors F-J (By Surname)Non-Fiction

Title: Journey Without Maps

Author: Graham Greene

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 250

Rating: 7/10

 

Graham Greene - Journey Without Maps

Graham Greene – Journey Without Maps

 

Journey Without Maps is, quite frankly, a piece of travel writing that’s taken on historical significance, the true story of Graham Greene’s first ever journey outside of Europe, across the border of Sierra Leone and in to Africa. It was also first published in 1936, before even the outbreak of the Second World War – as you can imagine, white men were neither common nor welcome in Liberia and the neighbouring areas, and so Greene’s work makes for incredibly interesting reading.

Sure, it can be tedious at times, purely because it’s hard work to imagine what it was actually like to go on that journey of his, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting – it’s just heavy going, and not the type of book you can read without really thinking. That’s probably why it’s just as good for the casual reader as it is for the academic, who wants to learn more about Africa in the 30s. If you fit in either category then it’s definitely worth buying.

In fact, if anything, it’s just as exciting as any of his novels, as if it’s made somehow more real by the fact that Greene himself is the central character, as well as the narrator. Besides, the journey itself would be no longer possible, I’m sure of it – the world has moved on in the last eighty years, for better or worse.

 

Graham Greene

Graham Greene

 

Click here to buy Journey Without Maps.