Our Man In Havana
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'As comical, satirical, atmospherical an"entertainment" as he has given us' - Daily Telegraph. 'No serious writer of this century has more thoroughly invaded and shaped the public imagination than did Graham Greene' - Time. 'He had a sharp nose for trouble and injustice. In Our Man In Havana - a witty send-up of an agent's life - it was Cuba before Castro' - Financial Times.
--This text refers to the
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Book Description
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS
--This text refers to the
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 46 people found the following review helpful
Format: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
Format: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.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Great cold war "spy" book. I loved it. Written over 50 years ago it is still funny and just so well written. I was expecting a light spy spoof, but this book is just so much more. At just over 200 pages it shows that good writers dont need 800+ pages to develop characters or tension. Highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Our Man review
Excellent book and a great insight to pre Castro Cuba. Also interesting to see how well Mr. Greene predicted the eventual fall of the Batista government. Read more
Published 1 month ago by David
Well worth a read
If it were not for his spendthrift daughter, Wormold may have bumbled along in Cuba until the rise of Castro would have forced his emigration back to his native soil, but his... Read more
Published 4 months ago by kraney51
better than strangelove but 'Introduced by Hitchens' is not going to...
The amount that 'An Introduction by Christopher Hitchens'is not a selling point can not be made clearer by me. Read more
Published 8 months ago by D. J. Andrews
An entertaining and insightful book
I had never read Graham Greene before but had heard many things about him and therefore had pretty high expectations. Read more
Published 9 months ago by aus_books
Havana... on the cusp of Castro
Was Graham Greene perceptive? My guess is that it was fairly evident that the Batista regime would fall and, so, Greene was on fairly safe ground. Read more
Published 15 months ago by G. D. Busby
pot luck
the service was quick but I guess you always take pot luck with second hand tapes, this one was very poor.
Published 15 months ago by Patricia Roberts
Quite simply......
Brilliant. This is the most enjoyable book I have read in quite some time. Superb. Nothing else to say, really.
Published 18 months ago by Green fields
Good But Not Greene's Greatest
I found it very interesting reading, on my rather old battered copy of this book, that Graham Greene himself rated `Our Man in Havana' as not a novel but as an entertainment. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Simon Savidge Reads
interesting read!
a great book which leads us through the life of the likeable Mr Wormold, with a fine balance of humour. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Zed2008
Entertaining
Not a lot I can say about this book that hasn't been already. A light-hearted one for Greene, but still manages to confront some difficult issues. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Gav Collins
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