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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Greene's most hilarious and most mordant entertainment.,
By
This review is from: Our Man in Havana: An Entertainment (Paperback)
Gleefully combining the raucous humor of absurdity with slyly subtle wordplay and caustic satire, Greene entertains on every level, skewering British intelligence-gathering services during the Cold War. Setting the novel in the flamboyant atmosphere of pre-revolutionary Havana, where virtually anything can be had at a price, Greene establishes his contrasts and ironies early, creating a hilarious set piece which satirizes both the British government's never-satisfied desire for secrets about foreign political movements and their belief that the most banal of activities constitute threats to national security. Ex-patriot James Wormold is a mild-mannered, marginal businessman and vacuum cleaner salesman, whose spoiled teenage daughter sees herself as part of the equestrian and country club set. Approached by MI6 in a public restroom, Wormold finds himself unwillingly recruited to be "our man in Havana," a role which will reward him handsomely for information and allow him some much-needed financial breathing room. Encouraged to recruit other agents to provide more information (and earn even more money), he chooses names at random from the country club membership list and fabricates personas for them, featuring them in fictionalized little dramas which he churns out and forwards to his "handlers." Always careful to fulfill their expectations exactly, Wormold becomes a more and more important "spy," his stories become more creative, his "enemies" find him and his "agents" to be dangerous, and his friends and the real people whose names were used as fictional agents begin to turn up dead. Skewering British intelligence for being such willing dupes of a vacuum cleaner salesman who never wanted to be an agent in the first place, Greene betrays both his familiarity with the inner workings of the intelligence service, of which he was once a member, and his rejection of Cold War politics. In a conclusion which will satisfy everyone who has ever become impatient with political maneuvering, Greene carries the absurdities of power to their limits, orchestrating a grand finale which shows British politicians at their most venal--and most ridiculous. Ascerbic in its humor and delightfully refreshing in its choice of "hero," this novel is Greene at his very best. Mary Whipple
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely superb,
By A Customer
This review is from: Our Man in Havana (Vintage Classics) (Paperback)
A marvellous story about a vacuum cleaner salesman caught up in the world of espionage, purely to buy his daughter a pony for her birthday. The characters are so real that you feel that you know them personally, and the style of writing employed by Graham Greene is an example of what can be done with the English language in the hands of a truly great writer. The chapter in which the British secret service peruse the sketches sent from Havana by Wormold is one of the funniest I have ever read.
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blows all current writing out of the water,
This review is from: Our Man in Havana (Vintage Classics) (Paperback)
Greene is warm, honest, genuine and a pleasure to read. His books lack the superficiality, clumsy effort or eagerness to please of so many current best-sellers. Timeless, human and well able to stand the test of time. The characters are believable and exude a real warmth despite, or maybe because of, their complexities. The books enable you to float through the pages as effortlessly as breathing. I'm a recent convert to Greene as a result of the recent repackaging/relaunch via Amazon. There's no turning back. Read and enjoy and keep on going through the whole collection. I certainly will!
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