The Confidential Agent (1939) is the final work of fiction by Graham Greene that I have read. After this I plan to read his autobiographies, however, this is what Green considered one of his entertainments, written for money. Even when Green writes for money the result is a literary spy novel about D., a confidential agent from an unnamed country (I suspect it is Spain) to buy coal from neutral England in the midst of a civil war. D. is a former lecturer in French literature who is known for having found an early transcript of the The Song of Roland, which Greene uses to allude to heroics and D.'s task. He also has suffered in the civil war by having spent time in jail and having lost his wife in the war. D. is undercut by enemy agents and falls in love with a younger woman who helps him with his mission. It is not among his best works, but it is an entertaining short novel nonetheless.
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January 06, 2013
The Confidential Agent
The Confidential Agent (1939) is the final work of fiction by Graham Greene that I have read. After this I plan to read his autobiographies, however, this is what Green considered one of his entertainments, written for money. Even when Green writes for money the result is a literary spy novel about D., a confidential agent from an unnamed country (I suspect it is Spain) to buy coal from neutral England in the midst of a civil war. D. is a former lecturer in French literature who is known for having found an early transcript of the The Song of Roland, which Greene uses to allude to heroics and D.'s task. He also has suffered in the civil war by having spent time in jail and having lost his wife in the war. D. is undercut by enemy agents and falls in love with a younger woman who helps him with his mission. It is not among his best works, but it is an entertaining short novel nonetheless.
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Wow - one I've actually read. I seem to remember enjoying this many years ago (although I can't remember when or where).
Posted by: Edward | January 24, 2013 at 09:05 PM
If I didn't blog about books I am sure I would have the same problem.
Posted by: MC | January 25, 2013 at 12:16 AM