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The Heart of the Matter
 
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The Heart of the Matter (Paperback)

by Graham Greene (Author), James Wood (Introduction)
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (7 Oct 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099478420
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099478423
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 89,386 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #33 in  Books > Fiction > 20th Century Classics > Greene, Graham

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Product Description

Review
"A superb storyteller with a gift for provoking controversy."
--"New York Times"
"Greene had the sharpest eyes for trouble, the finest nose for human weaknesses, and was pitilessly honest in his observations . . . For experience of a whole century he was the man within."
--Norman Sherry, "Independent"

Product Description
Scobie, a police officer serving in a war-time West African state, is distrusted, being scrupulously honest and immune to bribery. But then he falls in love, and in doing so he is forced to betray everything he believes in, with drastic and tragic consequences.

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The Heart of the Matter
68% buy the item featured on this page:
The Heart of the Matter 4.4 out of 5 stars (13)
£5.99
The End of the Affair (Vintage Classics)
10% buy
The End of the Affair (Vintage Classics) 4.4 out of 5 stars (25)
£4.79
Our Man in Havana (Vintage Classics)
8% buy
Our Man in Havana (Vintage Classics) 4.7 out of 5 stars (18)
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Brighton Rock
7% buy
Brighton Rock 4.1 out of 5 stars (26)
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
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3 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting exploration of the birth of corruption, 11 April 2001
By mzyszs@nottingham.ac.uk (London, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Heart of the Matter (Vintage classics) (Paperback)
The brittle and sparse nature of Greene's writing does surprisingly well at conjuring up the heat, repression and the inner workings of law enforcement in Africa. It draws the reader into the mind of the perfectly moralistic and "right" police officer Scobie, so strongly that the reader encounters their own moral tug of war, with the boundaries between right and wrong becoming clouded with circumstance and passion. The writing, subtly and cynically, leads the reader to an intensity of indecision and frustration at the ensuing events and emotional ruin desribed. It is a gripping story, which thrives on its interwoven sub-polts and humane descriptions.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A chronicle of man's essential loneliness, 15 Oct 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Heart of the Matter (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics) (Paperback)
William Golding called Graham Greene the ultimate chronicler of the the angst of the twentieth century human. Or something like that. 'The heart of the matter' really is that: an exploration of what lies at the heart of many of us. Scobie, bound by his honesty and sense of duty, falls in love with results which prove catastrophic. OK - that sounds a cliche, but it is the results which Greene concentrates on. He takes us through an odyssey of loneliness, guilt, terror and melancholy, presenting us with truly profound conversations between God and his creatures. The finest of his novels? Quite possibly. His reflections and comments will endure for as long as mankind is able to live.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Love, morality and Catholicism in Africa, 7 Feb 2003
By "lexi_wades" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Heart of the Matter (Vintage classics) (Paperback)
It is the details of THOTM that stand out long after the novel has been finished- the search for war-time diamonds by sifting tons of flour on cargo ships, the sacred stamp collecting book grasped by Helen, one of the survivors of an escapee transport. Greene weaves these insights into a story of moral right and wrong, different types of love and the powers that be (whether army, police or God).
The main character, Scobie's, final loss is offset by his wife's buffoon of an admirer, Wilson, and Greene proves himself adept at both comedy and tragedy. But the main "feel" of the book is Scobie's battle between his own true feelings of love and natural morality versus the hierarchy of his police job, the events of war and his Catholic belief. Scobie's Catholicism could be exchanged for almost any religious belief and still have the same effect but the Catholic idea that all life is sacrosanct adds pathos to the climax of THOTM.
Greene grabs the reader's attention early on by ridiculing Wilson but gradually Scobie becomes a more sympathetic character and our interest in the book lies with him and Helen. Greene, however, was never happy with this novel saying- "The scales to me seem too heavily weighted, the plot overloaded, the religious scruples of Scobie too extreme" (Ways Of Escape). Nevertheless, THOTM remains one of Greene's most popular works along with The Third Man and The End Of The Affair and continues to haunt and amuse those who read it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Struggle of a man with his emtional responsibilities
Quite an interesting read, though not Greene's best. The central character as so often is a Catholic struggling with his conscience, obligations towards his fellow man and woman... Read more
Published 4 months ago by John Hopper

5.0 out of 5 stars Worthy of a claim to gratness
Over forty years ago a new English teacher at my school answered a question asked by an eager student. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Philip Spires

5.0 out of 5 stars Chronicle of a struggle within
This is a magnificent book. It starts quite ordinarily enough and takes its time to get going but the wait is worth it. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Adam Graham Malster

5.0 out of 5 stars Real matter at Heart!
About three weeks ago I picked up `The Heart of the Matter' - Greene's novel of 1948 set in West Africa during the Second World War. Read more
Published 12 months ago by A.K.Farrar

5.0 out of 5 stars Morality's Conflicts
Another of his books where his Catholicism is very strongly on show. It is an excellent book telling of a colonial policeman, passed over for promotion and thereby unable to help... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Ibrahim Ali

3.0 out of 5 stars Disapointing
After reading The Quiet American I was expecting something in the same vein. I found myself getting bored with a novel badly constructed and at some time chaotic. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Roger

5.0 out of 5 stars Greene's Masterpiece
Generally recognised as Greene's masterpiece, the book follows Major Scobie is his tiring quest for righteousness in a climate of corruption, lies, and deceit. Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2007 by D. Sim

4.0 out of 5 stars An anguished story of personal and spiritual confusion
Major Henri Scobie is deputy-commissioner of police in a war-torn state in West Africa. A highly principled officer, he is forced to borrow money to send his despairing wife... Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2007 by Philippe Horak

4.0 out of 5 stars Pity is the Password
'"Point me out the happy man and I will point you out either extreme egotism, evil- or else an absolute ignorance. Read more
Published on 20 May 2004 by Omar Sabbagh

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book, but......
The development of Scobie's character is moving, sympathetic and beautiful. My only problem was that in having neither knowledge nor understanding of the Catholic church, I found... Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2001

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