Tag: Travels With My Aunt

Graham Greene – Travels With My Aunt | Review

Title:Travels With My Aunt

Author: Graham Greene

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 262

Rating: 9/10

 

Graham Greene - Travels With My Aunt

Graham Greene – Travels With My Aunt

 

Travels With My Aunt is one of my favourites of all of Graham Greene’s entertainments, the story of a retired bank manager who goes travelling with his Aunt Augusta, after meeting her at his mother’s funeral. And while she might be in her seventies, she sure knows how to have fun, dragging him from Brighton and Paris to Istanbul and Paraguay and mingling with everyone from hippies to secret agents and war criminals.

There’s a lot going on throughout the novel to keep you entertained, but really this is a triumph of characterisation rather than of plot, and much of the dialogue is simply sublime. The novel itself has an overall feeling of light-heartedness, making it a joy to read compared to some of Greene’s darker, more serious work – in fact, I think it stands up well to many of the modern mass-produced paperbacks that seem to be crowding the market, these days. I certainly know which one I’d prefer to read!

Whether you’ve read Greene’s work before or whether you’re new to him, I’d highly recommend giving this book some of your time – it might not quite change your life, but at the very least it’ll cheer you up and leave a smile on your face, and at the end of the day, a book that does that is fine by me. So what are you waiting for? Get reading it, and let me know what you think!

 

Graham Greene

Graham Greene

 

Click here to buy Travels With My Aunt.


Graham Greene – Brighton Rock | Review

Title: Brighton Rock

Author: Graham Greene

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 269

Rating: 8/10

 

Graham Greene - Brighton Rock

Graham Greene – Brighton Rock

 

Brighton Rock is probably Graham Greene’s most well-known novel, and it’s well-known for a good reason – it’s one of his better works, although I feel like I say that every time I read one of his books. It’s also one of several novels which were adapted for the silver screen.

The classic tale follows a gangster called Pinkie, the anti-hero who’s more of a criminal. He’s kind of like Holden Caulfield, only a little more sinister, a man who runs a mob at the tender age of seventeen. Interestingly, it’s also a self-referential piece of work – the murder of the previous boss occurs in A Gun for Sale, one of Greene’s earlier novels, and that allows Pinkie to take over the mob in the first place.

Pinkie himself is a fascinating character, and while you might not be able to relate to his way of life, you’ll be able to relate to the human needs and urges that lie beneath his rocky personality. The supporting characters aren’t as memorable, but I suspect that that’s deliberate, to highlight Pinkie for readers.

Brighton Rock is far from Greene’s strongest novel, and I’d recommend checking out some of his entertainments, like Travels with my Aunt, as well as his more serious work like The Heart of the Matter. Brighton Rock can wait, but make sure that you get round to it in the end – it’d be a shame to miss out, and perhaps you’ll see what the fuss is all about.

 

Graham Greene

Graham Greene

 

Click here to buy Brighton Rock.