What do you think?
Rate this book
This Gun for Hire
Murder didn't mean much to Raven. It was just a new job. He had to be careful and use his brain; it was not a question of hatred. The Minister had to be killed, and Raven had been hired to do it. Graham Greene, high priest of spy fiction, has created a world of cross and double-cross against a background of the coming war in Europe. His world, like the gambits cobbled together by his protagonists, is starkly real in its creation, an achievement that owes much to Greene's own experience in Britain's Secret Service.
Audio CD
First published January 1, 1936
196 people are currently reading
3421 people want to read
About the author
Graham Greene
803 books6,143 followersHenry Graham Greene was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century.
Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a reputation early in his lifetime as a major writer, both of serious Catholic novels, and of thrillers (or "entertainments" as he termed them). He was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. Through 67 years of writing, which included over 25 novels, he explored the conflicting moral and political issues of the modern world. The Power and the Glory won the 1941 Hawthornden Prize and The Heart of the Matter won the 1948 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Best of the James Tait Black. Greene was awarded the 1968 Shakespeare Prize and the 1981 Jerusalem Prize. Several of his stories have been filmed, some more than once, and he collaborated with filmmaker Carol Reed on The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949).
He converted to Catholicism in 1926 after meeting his future wife, Vivienne Dayrell-Browning. Later in life he took to calling himself a "Catholic agnostic". He died in 1991, aged 86, of leukemia, and was buried in Corseaux cemetery in Switzerland. William Golding called Greene "the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man's consciousness and anxiety".
Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a reputation early in his lifetime as a major writer, both of serious Catholic novels, and of thrillers (or "entertainments" as he termed them). He was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. Through 67 years of writing, which included over 25 novels, he explored the conflicting moral and political issues of the modern world. The Power and the Glory won the 1941 Hawthornden Prize and The Heart of the Matter won the 1948 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Best of the James Tait Black. Greene was awarded the 1968 Shakespeare Prize and the 1981 Jerusalem Prize. Several of his stories have been filmed, some more than once, and he collaborated with filmmaker Carol Reed on The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949).
He converted to Catholicism in 1926 after meeting his future wife, Vivienne Dayrell-Browning. Later in life he took to calling himself a "Catholic agnostic". He died in 1991, aged 86, of leukemia, and was buried in Corseaux cemetery in Switzerland. William Golding called Greene "the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man's consciousness and anxiety".
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 385 reviews
October 28, 2016
Good old fashion crime noir that still holds up today to the test of time.
This was my second Graham Greene and it was better than the first (The Man Within...which is unfair to judge him by. It was his first book and even he said it was poop.) I shouldn't have waited twenty years between the two!
This Gun For Hire is actually A Gun For Sale, but whatever the title it has all the noiry hallmarks that defined the era, formed the Hollywood version of crime noir and thus spread the good word back to the people en masse. Hell, I even read this stark thriller in black and white!
Okay. The plot. A hired killer gets double-crossed and goes after the guy that stiffed him, all while being chased by the coppers. A woman accidentally gets swept up in it. A little Stockholm syndrome later and now she's fully involved.
But the book is farther reaching than that. War profiteers come into it. Moral ambiguity abounds. Plenty of bad people get theirs in unexpected ways. It's all very surprisingly satisfying actually!
This was my second Graham Greene and it was better than the first (The Man Within...which is unfair to judge him by. It was his first book and even he said it was poop.) I shouldn't have waited twenty years between the two!
This Gun For Hire is actually A Gun For Sale, but whatever the title it has all the noiry hallmarks that defined the era, formed the Hollywood version of crime noir and thus spread the good word back to the people en masse. Hell, I even read this stark thriller in black and white!
Okay. The plot. A hired killer gets double-crossed and goes after the guy that stiffed him, all while being chased by the coppers. A woman accidentally gets swept up in it. A little Stockholm syndrome later and now she's fully involved.
But the book is farther reaching than that. War profiteers come into it. Moral ambiguity abounds. Plenty of bad people get theirs in unexpected ways. It's all very surprisingly satisfying actually!
August 19, 2025
I tried a couple of Greene’s more literary novels when I was a teenager, but was too young to appreciate them. The only book of his I had fully read before was The Third Man, which like this book, was one of his “entertainments”. This is one of his earlier novels, published in 1936.
I had mixed feelings about this book. I listened to an audio version, but couldn’t find the correct edition on here.
“If a man’s born ugly, he doesn’t stand a chance. It begins at school, it begins before that.”
For me one of the strongest aspects of the novel was the character of Raven, a professional assassin, who was born with a harelip. Having such a recognisable facial feature is a distinct drawback in his profession, and he is careful to eliminate any witnesses when he is on a “job”. Brought up in a children’s home where there were plenty of beatings but little else, he has spent his life deprived of companionship, warmth and affection. Like the person who’s not invited to the party and who says “I wouldn’t have gone anyway”, he has convinced himself he doesn’t need the things he has never experienced. It says something for Greene’s writing that the reader can sympathise, to an extent, with a character who is a cold-blooded killer.
The novel maintains a good pace, and I thought there were a number of genuinely tense scenes, especially in the first half. As the book moved on though, the word “Buchanesque” kept coming more into my mind. Like the Buchan novels, the plot is held together with improbable coincidences (admittedly not the whoppers that you would encounter in a Buchan novel) and I thought there was one rather large hole in the plot. The main underlying story also had distinct echoes of Buchan, although Greene’s writing does give it a harder and more realistic edge than Buchan’s novels, which were deliberately written to stay just on the right side of parody.
A big spoiler follows, to be avoided if you are thinking of reading the book.
I liked the ending.
I was going to read “Brighton Rock” after this, but I’ll scratch that now. I might though try some of Greene’s postwar novels.
I had mixed feelings about this book. I listened to an audio version, but couldn’t find the correct edition on here.
“If a man’s born ugly, he doesn’t stand a chance. It begins at school, it begins before that.”
For me one of the strongest aspects of the novel was the character of Raven, a professional assassin, who was born with a harelip. Having such a recognisable facial feature is a distinct drawback in his profession, and he is careful to eliminate any witnesses when he is on a “job”. Brought up in a children’s home where there were plenty of beatings but little else, he has spent his life deprived of companionship, warmth and affection. Like the person who’s not invited to the party and who says “I wouldn’t have gone anyway”, he has convinced himself he doesn’t need the things he has never experienced. It says something for Greene’s writing that the reader can sympathise, to an extent, with a character who is a cold-blooded killer.
The novel maintains a good pace, and I thought there were a number of genuinely tense scenes, especially in the first half. As the book moved on though, the word “Buchanesque” kept coming more into my mind. Like the Buchan novels, the plot is held together with improbable coincidences (admittedly not the whoppers that you would encounter in a Buchan novel) and I thought there was one rather large hole in the plot. The main underlying story also had distinct echoes of Buchan, although Greene’s writing does give it a harder and more realistic edge than Buchan’s novels, which were deliberately written to stay just on the right side of parody.
A big spoiler follows, to be avoided if you are thinking of reading the book.
I liked the ending.
I was going to read “Brighton Rock” after this, but I’ll scratch that now. I might though try some of Greene’s postwar novels.
May 20, 2023
This book was a thrilling read. I finished it in a few days. Very sharp writing and a great plot with storylines that merge seemlessly into each other.
August 14, 2012
When a hare-lipped assassin named Raven is paid for a job with stolen cash, he becomes wanted for robbery and goes on the run with a hostage named Anne.
I was not a tremendous fan of This Gun for Hire. The book read like it had an identity crisis of sorts, like it didn't know whether it wanted to be a straight up thriller or literary fiction. I don't feel like it did either particularly well.
The premise is great. I love the idea of a hitman double crossed by getting paid with stolen cash the police had serial numbers for and then looking for vengeance. Raven is very interesting protagonist, an ugly man in an ugly world. I liked the characters of Anne and Raven quite a bit and had high hopes at the start. The book just never really grabbed me. The explorations of the characters bogged down the thrilling bits to the point where I was doing housework instead of reading.
That's about all I have to say. I got a pretty meh feeling from this book and was glad when it was over. Two stars. It was not without its moments.
I was not a tremendous fan of This Gun for Hire. The book read like it had an identity crisis of sorts, like it didn't know whether it wanted to be a straight up thriller or literary fiction. I don't feel like it did either particularly well.
The premise is great. I love the idea of a hitman double crossed by getting paid with stolen cash the police had serial numbers for and then looking for vengeance. Raven is very interesting protagonist, an ugly man in an ugly world. I liked the characters of Anne and Raven quite a bit and had high hopes at the start. The book just never really grabbed me. The explorations of the characters bogged down the thrilling bits to the point where I was doing housework instead of reading.
That's about all I have to say. I got a pretty meh feeling from this book and was glad when it was over. Two stars. It was not without its moments.
October 23, 2018
Quando un libro racconta due storie invece di una sola
Amo Graham Greene e possiedo molti dei suoi libri, oltre ai due Meridiani che contengono tutte le sue opere, ma quando mi aggiro tra le bancarelle dell'usato e mi capita di trovare una vecchia edizione dei suoi romanzi non resisto alla tentazione di portarmela a casa. Ognuno ha le sue manie.
Una pistola in vendita è un gran bel giallo, con una trama ben congegnata e un protagonista indimenticabile, a cui Greene ha saputo conferire uno spessore umano che ben difficilmente si incontra nella letteratura di genere.
Trovato su una bancarella dell’usato, me lo sono portato a casa e quando l’ho aperto ho trovato questa dedica:
8/8/1967
Alla Mamma, senza la cui affettuosa assistenza sarei stato assistito dall’infermiera carina.
Carlo
Era l’agosto del 1967. Probabilmente Carlo ascoltava spesso questa canzone nuova di zecca
https://youtu.be/dsxtImDVMig
Naturalmente il libro ha un posto speciale nella mia libreria
Amo Graham Greene e possiedo molti dei suoi libri, oltre ai due Meridiani che contengono tutte le sue opere, ma quando mi aggiro tra le bancarelle dell'usato e mi capita di trovare una vecchia edizione dei suoi romanzi non resisto alla tentazione di portarmela a casa. Ognuno ha le sue manie.
Una pistola in vendita è un gran bel giallo, con una trama ben congegnata e un protagonista indimenticabile, a cui Greene ha saputo conferire uno spessore umano che ben difficilmente si incontra nella letteratura di genere.
Trovato su una bancarella dell’usato, me lo sono portato a casa e quando l’ho aperto ho trovato questa dedica:
8/8/1967
Alla Mamma, senza la cui affettuosa assistenza sarei stato assistito dall’infermiera carina.
Carlo
Era l’agosto del 1967. Probabilmente Carlo ascoltava spesso questa canzone nuova di zecca
https://youtu.be/dsxtImDVMig
Naturalmente il libro ha un posto speciale nella mia libreria
February 28, 2013
There's just something incredible about the writing of Graham Greene. I don't hesitate to make the claim that he is quite possibly the greatest writer in the English language during the 20th century.
A Gun For Sale is a deceptively simple story of a double crossed assassin out for revenge but Greene was a skillful analyst of the human condition and so the real meat of the novel comes from the conflicts of his characters; both external and internal cause equal amounts of pain, discomfort and in smaller doses, pleasure.
The book was the basis for the impressive 1942 classic noir This Gun For Hire, starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake and co-written by the great noir author W. R. Burnett, this film is full of quality although naturally the action was moved from the North of England to America. There's a rather fun bit that features mistaken identity due to a gas-mask drill. I've not seen anything like it before or since and naturally there's a completely uncalled for scene featuring Veronica Lake singing a song quite badly whilst dressed as a leather clad fisherman.
The other great pleasure of this novel is the use of location and the manner in which Greene evokes the choking fog and the grey light of a miserable Northern England, it's a little cliche in film circles to say things like the location is the star but in literature only a truly great writer can make that so with just a few seemingly offhand phrases.
A Gun For Sale is a deceptively simple story of a double crossed assassin out for revenge but Greene was a skillful analyst of the human condition and so the real meat of the novel comes from the conflicts of his characters; both external and internal cause equal amounts of pain, discomfort and in smaller doses, pleasure.
The book was the basis for the impressive 1942 classic noir This Gun For Hire, starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake and co-written by the great noir author W. R. Burnett, this film is full of quality although naturally the action was moved from the North of England to America. There's a rather fun bit that features mistaken identity due to a gas-mask drill. I've not seen anything like it before or since and naturally there's a completely uncalled for scene featuring Veronica Lake singing a song quite badly whilst dressed as a leather clad fisherman.
The other great pleasure of this novel is the use of location and the manner in which Greene evokes the choking fog and the grey light of a miserable Northern England, it's a little cliche in film circles to say things like the location is the star but in literature only a truly great writer can make that so with just a few seemingly offhand phrases.
December 31, 2021
A Gun for Sale is a man on the run story from Graham Greene, set during wartime. Raven, an assassin with a harelip carries out the murder of a diplomat which triggers a war like situation. But when the men who ordered the killing cheat him on the agreed money, Raven decides to take revenge. Hot on the pursuit of the man who owes him money, Raven attracts the sympathies of a woman whose boyfriend, a policeman is trying to hunt Raven down.
It is obvious that Greene's sympathies are with the unloved, lonely and ugly Raven. He seems to favor this revengeful and ignored assassin over the bloodthirsty masses and policemen who are preparing for war.
The book has great evocation of wartime sentiments and the vigilante fantasies of the masses who are ready to sacrifice individual liberties in their quest for a feeling of victory. The book also features some lovely scenes from small town England - "A small lit village came up beside his window and sailed away like a pleasure steamer hung with lanterns ....."
It is obvious that Greene's sympathies are with the unloved, lonely and ugly Raven. He seems to favor this revengeful and ignored assassin over the bloodthirsty masses and policemen who are preparing for war.
The book has great evocation of wartime sentiments and the vigilante fantasies of the masses who are ready to sacrifice individual liberties in their quest for a feeling of victory. The book also features some lovely scenes from small town England - "A small lit village came up beside his window and sailed away like a pleasure steamer hung with lanterns ....."
August 14, 2023
If you're going to pay off a stone-cold killer with counterfeit notes, making it light work for the detectives tracking him once he spends the first of it, then don't expect him to simply take it lightly and go into hiding and forget all about the double-crossing scum bag who set him up. The harelipped assassin, Raven, does indeed go on the run, but with the help of a young woman, Anne - who has her own agenda other than sympathy, Raven uses his professional code of ethics to hunt down the shady figures who dished out the order for him to kill a socialist minister.
This is Greene in 1936, and it's quite a run-of-the-mill thriller reading it today. It's got a dash of Hitchcockian suspense, and a light dusting of Simenon, and while entertaining, swiftly paced and quite dark, it lacks the deeper moral compass and seriousness of his best work. It actually has parts which were quite ludicrous now that I think of it. One thing I guess you could say that makes it slightly better than a simple crime tale, is the foreseeable dilemma of WWII that is lurking in the background. It might be my least favourite Greene novel - this being my ninth, but that's not because it's one of his early ones. He'd next write Brighton Rock, which is still one of my favourites of all time.
December 26, 2015
Όγδοο βιβλίο του Γκράχαμ Γκριν που διαβάζω και για μια ακόμη φορά δηλώνω μαγεμένος και ξετρελαμένος από την γραφή του συγγραφέα και την μοναδική του ικανότητα να περιγράφει τα συναισθήματα και τις σκέψεις των χαρακτήρων, κάνοντας τον αναγνώστη να γίνει ένα με τα προβλήματά και τις ανησυχίες τους.
Η πλάκα είναι ότι το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο υποτίθεται το έγραψε για να ψυχαγωγήσει τον αναγνώστη με μια απλή αστυνομική νουάρ ιστορία και όχι να τον προβληματίσει όπως με τα υπόλοιπα σοβαρά έργα του. Και όμως, πρόκειται για ένα σοβαρότατο αστυνομικό νουάρ, με μπόλικους προβληματισμούς για την κοινωνία, την πολιτική και τις ανθρώπινες σχέσεις, αιχμηρό και με βαθύτερα νοήματα. Πρωταγωνιστής είναι ο Ράβεν, ένας λαγώχειλος δολοφόνος, που σκοτώνει τον Υπουργό Στρατιωτικών Υ��οθέσεων, μια ενέργεια που μπορεί να οδηγήσει στον πόλεμο. Το θέμα είναι ότι αυτοί που ζήτησαν τις υπηρεσίες του, τον πρόδωσαν πληρώνοντας τον με κλεμμένα και σημειωμένα χαρτονομίσματα, με αποτέλεσμα να τον κυνηγάνε οι αστυνομικές αρχές. Ο Ράβεν θα προσπαθήσει να ξεφύγει από τον αστυνομικό κλοιό και παράλληλα να βρει αυτούς που τον πρόδωσαν. Θα μπλέξει όμως με μια κοπελίτσα και έναν επίμονο αστυνομικό...
Την ιστορία την γράφει ο Γκράχαμ Γκριν, οπότε δεν πρόκειται για μια απλή αστυνομική ιστορία με προδοσίες, βία και φόνους, αλλά για κάτι παραπάνω. Η πλοκή είναι ενδιαφέρουσα και προσεγμένη, με τις κατάλληλες δόσεις μυστηρίου, αγωνίας και βίας. Την διαφορά στο βιβλίο την κάνει η εξαιρετική ανάλυση των βασικών χαρακτήρων και των σχέσεων μεταξύ τους, αλλά ειδικότερα του δολοφόνου πρωταγωνιστή, του Ράβεν, τα βασανιστικά παιδικά χρόνια και η λαγωχειλία του οποίου τον οδήγησαν σε μια άθλια, μοναχική ζωή. Οφείλω να παραδεχτώ ότι τον συμπάθησα ως ένα σημείο, παρά τα όσα έκανε. Επίσης εξαιρετικές είναι οι περιγραφές της εποχής εκείνης και της πόλης στα Βόρεια της Αγγλίας όπου διαδραματίστηκε το μεγαλύτερο μέρος της ιστορίας. Πραγματικά η γραφή του Γκριν είναι το κάτι άλλο, διεισδυτική, αιχμηρή, και με υπόγεια ειρωνεία. Τέλος, η ατμόσφαιρα αποτελεί τον ορισμό του νουάρ, πιο ασπρόμαυρη δεν γίνεται!
Σαν βιβλίο δεν είναι τόσο γνωστό όσο άλλα του συγγραφέα, θεωρώ όμως ότι πρόκειται για ένα εξαιρετικό αστυνομικό νουάρ, με κοινωνικοπολιτικούς προβληματισμούς, που θα ικανοποιήσει τόσο του λάτρεις του συγγραφέα όσο και τους λάτρεις του είδους. Το βιβλίο γράφτηκε πριν ογδόντα χρόνια αλλά δεν δείχνει καθόλου γερασμένο.
Υ.Γ. Έτυχε να διαβάσω την μετάφραση των εκδόσεων ΒΙΠΕΡ, η οποία μου φάνηκε ικανοποιητικότατη για τα χρόνια της, αν και με λίγα (αλλά μάλλον ασήμαντα) θεματάκια επιμέλειας. Το βιβλίο κυκλοφορεί και από τις εκδόσεις Νεφέλη, με τον τίτλο "Ένα όπλο για πούλημα".
Η πλάκα είναι ότι το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο υποτίθεται το έγραψε για να ψυχαγωγήσει τον αναγνώστη με μια απλή αστυνομική νουάρ ιστορία και όχι να τον προβληματίσει όπως με τα υπόλοιπα σοβαρά έργα του. Και όμως, πρόκειται για ένα σοβαρότατο αστυνομικό νουάρ, με μπόλικους προβληματισμούς για την κοινωνία, την πολιτική και τις ανθρώπινες σχέσεις, αιχμηρό και με βαθύτερα νοήματα. Πρωταγωνιστής είναι ο Ράβεν, ένας λαγώχειλος δολοφόνος, που σκοτώνει τον Υπουργό Στρατιωτικών Υ��οθέσεων, μια ενέργεια που μπορεί να οδηγήσει στον πόλεμο. Το θέμα είναι ότι αυτοί που ζήτησαν τις υπηρεσίες του, τον πρόδωσαν πληρώνοντας τον με κλεμμένα και σημειωμένα χαρτονομίσματα, με αποτέλεσμα να τον κυνηγάνε οι αστυνομικές αρχές. Ο Ράβεν θα προσπαθήσει να ξεφύγει από τον αστυνομικό κλοιό και παράλληλα να βρει αυτούς που τον πρόδωσαν. Θα μπλέξει όμως με μια κοπελίτσα και έναν επίμονο αστυνομικό...
Την ιστορία την γράφει ο Γκράχαμ Γκριν, οπότε δεν πρόκειται για μια απλή αστυνομική ιστορία με προδοσίες, βία και φόνους, αλλά για κάτι παραπάνω. Η πλοκή είναι ενδιαφέρουσα και προσεγμένη, με τις κατάλληλες δόσεις μυστηρίου, αγωνίας και βίας. Την διαφορά στο βιβλίο την κάνει η εξαιρετική ανάλυση των βασικών χαρακτήρων και των σχέσεων μεταξύ τους, αλλά ειδικότερα του δολοφόνου πρωταγωνιστή, του Ράβεν, τα βασανιστικά παιδικά χρόνια και η λαγωχειλία του οποίου τον οδήγησαν σε μια άθλια, μοναχική ζωή. Οφείλω να παραδεχτώ ότι τον συμπάθησα ως ένα σημείο, παρά τα όσα έκανε. Επίσης εξαιρετικές είναι οι περιγραφές της εποχής εκείνης και της πόλης στα Βόρεια της Αγγλίας όπου διαδραματίστηκε το μεγαλύτερο μέρος της ιστορίας. Πραγματικά η γραφή του Γκριν είναι το κάτι άλλο, διεισδυτική, αιχμηρή, και με υπόγεια ειρωνεία. Τέλος, η ατμόσφαιρα αποτελεί τον ορισμό του νουάρ, πιο ασπρόμαυρη δεν γίνεται!
Σαν βιβλίο δεν είναι τόσο γνωστό όσο άλλα του συγγραφέα, θεωρώ όμως ότι πρόκειται για ένα εξαιρετικό αστυνομικό νουάρ, με κοινωνικοπολιτικούς προβληματισμούς, που θα ικανοποιήσει τόσο του λάτρεις του συγγραφέα όσο και τους λάτρεις του είδους. Το βιβλίο γράφτηκε πριν ογδόντα χρόνια αλλά δεν δείχνει καθόλου γερασμένο.
Υ.Γ. Έτυχε να διαβάσω την μετάφραση των εκδόσεων ΒΙΠΕΡ, η οποία μου φάνηκε ικανοποιητικότατη για τα χρόνια της, αν και με λίγα (αλλά μάλλον ασήμαντα) θεματάκια επιμέλειας. Το βιβλίο κυκλοφορεί και από τις εκδόσεις Νεφέλη, με τον τίτλο "Ένα όπλο για πούλημα".
January 14, 2024
Detective of the purest kind. Good, smooth story, with some deeper layer, but no real high flyer! Written in a very cinematic way.
April 2, 2025
دیوید لاج: جهان داستانی گراهام گرین بیش از آنکه آماده انقلاب باشدآمادهء اضمحلال است.
1. شاید بتوان جهان داستانی گراهام گرین را به دو شق تقسیم کرد:
(جان کلام، عالیجناب کیشوت، قدرت و جلال) داستانهایی که به طور ویژه و مستقیم با مسئله دین و رستگاری درگیر هستند
داستانهایی که شکل و شمایل پلیسی - سیاسی دارند و به مسائل اجتماعی میپردازند (مامور معتمد، مامور ما در هاوانا، سایهء گریزان)
رمان سایه گریزان متعلق به شق دوم است.
به همین خاطر با اثری کاملا نمایشی روبرو هستیم که اندیشه های شخصیت ها چندان عمقی نمی یابد و این اندیشه ها اصلا مستقیم بیان نمیشوند. کنش های فیزیکی و ستیز و گریز پررنگ است و تفنگ چخوف چندین بار شلیک میکند! با این همه چیزی که مایهء این کشمکش های بین فردی میشود مسئلهء بسیار مهمی است: قتل یک شخصیت صلح طلب!
راون، شخصیت اصلی رمان در اولین صحنه این پیرمرد صلح طلب سوسیالیست را میکشد (گرین در عالیجناب کیشوت هم نشان میدهد به سوسیالیسم برای بهبود اوضاع جهان کم و بیش خوش بین است) بدون این که شناختی از او داشته باشد. گریز او از همین لحظه آغاز میشود و او که کودکی ناخوشایندی در دارالتادیب گذرانده حالا تبدیل به سایهء گریزان از دست جامعه و پلیس میشود.
2. مثل رمان های مامور معتمد و جان کلام اینجا هم پای عشق در میان است. عشق ممنوع یک قاتل جامعه گریز به دخترکی سبکسر که از قضا نامزدش پلیس است: ماتر، همان پلیسی که راون را تعقیب میکند.
این گونه روابط برساخته را ظاهرا باید به عنوان قواعد ژانر پلیسی پذیرفت. همانگونه که متعجب نمیشویم وقتی در همان قطاری که هرکول پوآرو از بغداد به سمت اروپا میرود یک قتل دسته جمعی رخ میدهد.
3.نقد اصحاب کلیسا و متدینین رسمی، نقد اشرافی گری انگلیسی مآب و نقد سرمایه داری از مهم ترین موتیف های این اثر هستند که بعضا در آثار دیگر گرین هم مشهودند.
1. شاید بتوان جهان داستانی گراهام گرین را به دو شق تقسیم کرد:
(جان کلام، عالیجناب کیشوت، قدرت و جلال) داستانهایی که به طور ویژه و مستقیم با مسئله دین و رستگاری درگیر هستند
داستانهایی که شکل و شمایل پلیسی - سیاسی دارند و به مسائل اجتماعی میپردازند (مامور معتمد، مامور ما در هاوانا، سایهء گریزان)
رمان سایه گریزان متعلق به شق دوم است.
به همین خاطر با اثری کاملا نمایشی روبرو هستیم که اندیشه های شخصیت ها چندان عمقی نمی یابد و این اندیشه ها اصلا مستقیم بیان نمیشوند. کنش های فیزیکی و ستیز و گریز پررنگ است و تفنگ چخوف چندین بار شلیک میکند! با این همه چیزی که مایهء این کشمکش های بین فردی میشود مسئلهء بسیار مهمی است: قتل یک شخصیت صلح طلب!
راون، شخصیت اصلی رمان در اولین صحنه این پیرمرد صلح طلب سوسیالیست را میکشد (گرین در عالیجناب کیشوت هم نشان میدهد به سوسیالیسم برای بهبود اوضاع جهان کم و بیش خوش بین است) بدون این که شناختی از او داشته باشد. گریز او از همین لحظه آغاز میشود و او که کودکی ناخوشایندی در دارالتادیب گذرانده حالا تبدیل به سایهء گریزان از دست جامعه و پلیس میشود.
2. مثل رمان های مامور معتمد و جان کلام اینجا هم پای عشق در میان است. عشق ممنوع یک قاتل جامعه گریز به دخترکی سبکسر که از قضا نامزدش پلیس است: ماتر، همان پلیسی که راون را تعقیب میکند.
این گونه روابط برساخته را ظاهرا باید به عنوان قواعد ژانر پلیسی پذیرفت. همانگونه که متعجب نمیشویم وقتی در همان قطاری که هرکول پوآرو از بغداد به سمت اروپا میرود یک قتل دسته جمعی رخ میدهد.
3.نقد اصحاب کلیسا و متدینین رسمی، نقد اشرافی گری انگلیسی مآب و نقد سرمایه داری از مهم ترین موتیف های این اثر هستند که بعضا در آثار دیگر گرین هم مشهودند.
January 5, 2020
2020 reread: I am upping my rating to 5* at this time.
--------------------------
2013 review:
4 1/2 stars...maybe even 5 stars after I have had a chance to mull it over a bit. I devoured this thriller in one gulp because I couldn't put it down. As in Brighton Rock, Greene has written a brilliant portrait of an anti-hero. Raven is (in my opinion) less of a psychopath and so I had more feeling of sympathy for him. I liked the way the story moved from Raven to Anne (the innocent girl caught up in the story) to Mather (the policeman hunting Raven and coincidentally engaged to Anne).
Greene's writing is wonderfully evocative and not a word is wasted or in excess. While I enjoyed his satires, his prose really shines in these thriller/crime novels.
--------------------------
2013 review:
4 1/2 stars...maybe even 5 stars after I have had a chance to mull it over a bit. I devoured this thriller in one gulp because I couldn't put it down. As in Brighton Rock, Greene has written a brilliant portrait of an anti-hero. Raven is (in my opinion) less of a psychopath and so I had more feeling of sympathy for him. I liked the way the story moved from Raven to Anne (the innocent girl caught up in the story) to Mather (the policeman hunting Raven and coincidentally engaged to Anne).
Greene's writing is wonderfully evocative and not a word is wasted or in excess. While I enjoyed his satires, his prose really shines in these thriller/crime novels.
September 7, 2021
Not one of Graham Green's best stories. Raven is an English assassin that is hired to kill a government minister in a Czechoslovakia which provoke a European war.
It had a great premise a hitman double crossed. But the story was a little far fetched especially Anne's survival with her meeting with Mr Davis who truly was a loathsome character.
I liked the bit with the young doctors hunting down people without gas masks during an air raid drill. But Raven for me was a bit one dimensional and an early Pinkie from Brighton Rock.
It had a great premise a hitman double crossed. But the story was a little far fetched especially Anne's survival with her meeting with Mr Davis who truly was a loathsome character.
I liked the bit with the young doctors hunting down people without gas masks during an air raid drill. But Raven for me was a bit one dimensional and an early Pinkie from Brighton Rock.
August 24, 2021
3.5 stars
I picked up A Gun for Sale /This Gun for Hire in the 1980s, drawn by a killer opening line:
Murder didn't mean much to Raven.
But then I never got around to reading the book. Until this week.
This is a tight, entertaining crime noir from 1936. I think I even read it in black and white.
Raven is a disfigured hitman hired to assassinate an unnamed Minister of War, action designed to spark war in Europe and boost the armaments industry. But he's paid in stolen notes for his work and as he begins to spend them, a massive manhunt is launched at the same time as Raven moves to avenge himself for the double-cross. Into this mix enters a whip-smart, idealistic chorus girl (aka, 'the skirt') who is almost engaged to a police officer who requires a promotion and a raise before they can be married.
I was stunned that there was this much attention focused on stolen notes but that turns out to be a part of the intrigue. The simple premise becomes more interesting as the hitman becomes a sympathetic character.
The time period was also a key element that I expect I would not have appreciated if I had read this book decades ago. Europe, as the rest of the world, was still struggling through the Great Depression in 1936. And as the world teeters on the verge of another war, the drama's climax unfolds in time with a chemical gas drill. Very cinematic.
Ultimately, a decent distraction in a pandemic.
I picked up A Gun for Sale /This Gun for Hire in the 1980s, drawn by a killer opening line:
Murder didn't mean much to Raven.
But then I never got around to reading the book. Until this week.
This is a tight, entertaining crime noir from 1936. I think I even read it in black and white.
Raven is a disfigured hitman hired to assassinate an unnamed Minister of War, action designed to spark war in Europe and boost the armaments industry. But he's paid in stolen notes for his work and as he begins to spend them, a massive manhunt is launched at the same time as Raven moves to avenge himself for the double-cross. Into this mix enters a whip-smart, idealistic chorus girl (aka, 'the skirt') who is almost engaged to a police officer who requires a promotion and a raise before they can be married.
I was stunned that there was this much attention focused on stolen notes but that turns out to be a part of the intrigue. The simple premise becomes more interesting as the hitman becomes a sympathetic character.
The time period was also a key element that I expect I would not have appreciated if I had read this book decades ago. Europe, as the rest of the world, was still struggling through the Great Depression in 1936. And as the world teeters on the verge of another war, the drama's climax unfolds in time with a chemical gas drill. Very cinematic.
Ultimately, a decent distraction in a pandemic.
September 17, 2018
راون شخصیت قاتل داستان ب شدت قابل ترحم بود ادمی با یک گذشته غم انگیز، مردی رو میکشه بدون اینکه از پشت پرده سیاسی این قتل آگاه باشه؛ نمیشه گفت فوق العاده است اما داستان پلیسی روانی هستش که مخاطب رو تا اخر با خودش همراه میکنه. راون بیشتر از اون که یک قاتل به حساب بیاد یک فریب خورده ی شکست خوردست.
May 13, 2017
3.5 stars
Since some 50 years ago in Thailand, a horrible Thai word translated from "gunman," that is, มือปืน (meaning a hired killer who uses his handgun/firearm to kill a target victim) has been widely appeared in news reports and informal conversations. When I first read its synopsis, I didn't want to read this novel because I don't admire those guys as such; however, there are a few exceptions like the two great American gunfighters like Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday who famously defended themselves and subdued those outlaws in the name of justice and security of suffering people.
Ironically, the title itself and the story are a bit different because its readers would not find any gun for sale anywhere. I think Mr Greene has decided on something illegally mysterious and deadly regarding the title; moreover, "A Gunman for Hire" won't do, it's obviously explicit; interestingly, the US title "This Gun For Hire" was first used in June 1936 followed by the UK title "A Gun For Sale" in July 1936 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Gun_f...]. One of the reasons is that the story involves a man called Raven hired by Cholmondeley (miraculously pronounced Chumley, only two from its obvious four syllables!) who has been employed by the Jewish steel tycoon, Sir Marcus, to kill an old War Minister by an automatic. Eventually, he knows he is betrayed since Cholmondeley (Mr Davis) has paid him only two hundred phoney pounds while "It was worth more than half a million to him" (p. 161). Enraged by being double-crossed, he has no choice but be on the run from the police including police detective Mather, Anne's fiance and Saunders, his protege colleague. So Raven has become the hunter, having Anne as the shield in the midst of fragile friendship, who finally takes his revenge on Mr Davis and Sir Marcus; he himself is gunned down by Saunders.
Interestingly, I wonder why Raven keeps saying "I'm educated" [p. 11 (2), 42 (1), p. 44 (1), 93 (1), 116 (1), 117 (1)] or indirectly - he was educated [p. 85 (2), 87 (1)] totaling ten times while talking to people or being narrated, probably due to his want of formal education I think it is his habitual way in comforting or encouraging himself due to his seemingly obvious inferiority.
As a thriller, we would still find some humorous scenes, for example:
... He put his arm tentatively round Ruby's waist and squeeze her, then loosened hastily as an electrician came along. 'You're a clever girl, ' Mr Davis said, 'you ought to have a part. I bet you've got a good voice.'
'Me a voice? I've got as much voice as a peahen.'
'Give me a little kiss.'
'Of course I will.' They kissed rather wetly. 'What do I call you?' Ruby asked. ... (p. 152)
This extracted paragraph is perfect since it denotes someone whose innocent appearance is worth suspecting:
The High Street was curiously empty except that there were more police about than usual; he had quite forgotten the gas practice. No one attempted to interfere with Mr Davis, his face was well known to all the force, though none of them could have said what Mr Davis's occupation was. ... Up the street from the Tanneries a medical student in a gas-mask was approaching. (p. 153)
We keep reading around four pages till we reach this part:
... Mr Davis shivered slightly and turned on his electric fire. The man in the gas-mask spoke and again the muffled coarse voice pricked at Mr Davis's memory. 'Are you scared of something?'
'There's madman loose in the town,' Mr Davis said. ... (p. 157)
Out of the blue, the name of the killer is exposed as we can see from the following.
... He (Mr Davis) was no longer in a hurry, he wasn't busy anymore. he wanted companionship. He said, 'You aren't in any hurry. take that thing off, it must be stuffy, and have a glass of port.'
...
The muffled voice said, 'The money ...'
...
'Come away from there,' Raven said. 'You've locked the door.'
... (p. 158)
My point is that from the context, the killer still wears the gas-mask and he hasn't taken it off; therefore, it's illogically to reveal his name.
There is one more thing I think such a word wouldn't do when I read this paragraph:
'You're mad,' Sir Marcus whispered. He was too old to be frightened; the revolver represented no greater danger to him than a false step in getting into his chair, a slip in his bath. ... (p. 161)
One of the reasons is that, after rereading before and after this cited page, the words mentioned as the weapon used by Raven I've found are 'automatic,' 'gun' and 'pistol', in other words, no revolver is mentioned or found as a revolver anywhere so it might have been a slip of the pen.
In brief, this novel is worth spending our time provided that we take Raven as a fictive character, an unexemplary assassin whose dangerous ideas and deeds should be taken into account with care and wisdom, in other words, justice will finally conquer.
Since some 50 years ago in Thailand, a horrible Thai word translated from "gunman," that is, มือปืน (meaning a hired killer who uses his handgun/firearm to kill a target victim) has been widely appeared in news reports and informal conversations. When I first read its synopsis, I didn't want to read this novel because I don't admire those guys as such; however, there are a few exceptions like the two great American gunfighters like Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday who famously defended themselves and subdued those outlaws in the name of justice and security of suffering people.
Ironically, the title itself and the story are a bit different because its readers would not find any gun for sale anywhere. I think Mr Greene has decided on something illegally mysterious and deadly regarding the title; moreover, "A Gunman for Hire" won't do, it's obviously explicit; interestingly, the US title "This Gun For Hire" was first used in June 1936 followed by the UK title "A Gun For Sale" in July 1936 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Gun_f...]. One of the reasons is that the story involves a man called Raven hired by Cholmondeley (miraculously pronounced Chumley, only two from its obvious four syllables!) who has been employed by the Jewish steel tycoon, Sir Marcus, to kill an old War Minister by an automatic. Eventually, he knows he is betrayed since Cholmondeley (Mr Davis) has paid him only two hundred phoney pounds while "It was worth more than half a million to him" (p. 161). Enraged by being double-crossed, he has no choice but be on the run from the police including police detective Mather, Anne's fiance and Saunders, his protege colleague. So Raven has become the hunter, having Anne as the shield in the midst of fragile friendship, who finally takes his revenge on Mr Davis and Sir Marcus; he himself is gunned down by Saunders.
Interestingly, I wonder why Raven keeps saying "I'm educated" [p. 11 (2), 42 (1), p. 44 (1), 93 (1), 116 (1), 117 (1)] or indirectly - he was educated [p. 85 (2), 87 (1)] totaling ten times while talking to people or being narrated, probably due to his want of formal education I think it is his habitual way in comforting or encouraging himself due to his seemingly obvious inferiority.
As a thriller, we would still find some humorous scenes, for example:
... He put his arm tentatively round Ruby's waist and squeeze her, then loosened hastily as an electrician came along. 'You're a clever girl, ' Mr Davis said, 'you ought to have a part. I bet you've got a good voice.'
'Me a voice? I've got as much voice as a peahen.'
'Give me a little kiss.'
'Of course I will.' They kissed rather wetly. 'What do I call you?' Ruby asked. ... (p. 152)
This extracted paragraph is perfect since it denotes someone whose innocent appearance is worth suspecting:
The High Street was curiously empty except that there were more police about than usual; he had quite forgotten the gas practice. No one attempted to interfere with Mr Davis, his face was well known to all the force, though none of them could have said what Mr Davis's occupation was. ... Up the street from the Tanneries a medical student in a gas-mask was approaching. (p. 153)
We keep reading around four pages till we reach this part:
... Mr Davis shivered slightly and turned on his electric fire. The man in the gas-mask spoke and again the muffled coarse voice pricked at Mr Davis's memory. 'Are you scared of something?'
'There's madman loose in the town,' Mr Davis said. ... (p. 157)
Out of the blue, the name of the killer is exposed as we can see from the following.
... He (Mr Davis) was no longer in a hurry, he wasn't busy anymore. he wanted companionship. He said, 'You aren't in any hurry. take that thing off, it must be stuffy, and have a glass of port.'
...
The muffled voice said, 'The money ...'
...
'Come away from there,' Raven said. 'You've locked the door.'
... (p. 158)
My point is that from the context, the killer still wears the gas-mask and he hasn't taken it off; therefore, it's illogically to reveal his name.
There is one more thing I think such a word wouldn't do when I read this paragraph:
'You're mad,' Sir Marcus whispered. He was too old to be frightened; the revolver represented no greater danger to him than a false step in getting into his chair, a slip in his bath. ... (p. 161)
One of the reasons is that, after rereading before and after this cited page, the words mentioned as the weapon used by Raven I've found are 'automatic,' 'gun' and 'pistol', in other words, no revolver is mentioned or found as a revolver anywhere so it might have been a slip of the pen.
In brief, this novel is worth spending our time provided that we take Raven as a fictive character, an unexemplary assassin whose dangerous ideas and deeds should be taken into account with care and wisdom, in other words, justice will finally conquer.
September 10, 2023
The anti-hero Raven is made memorable by his hair-lip, sometimes just one small detail makes a novel successful. The plot is better than other Greene entertainments I've read recently, those being 'The Confidential Agent' and 'England Made Me'. The narrative is full of foreboding of the war to come, and so captures the zeitgeist of the 1930s.
The movie version transfers the action from England to California. Ellen, who helps Raven, is working undercover for a senator in the movie. This strengthens the plot as in the book Anne (Ellen) didn't have any good reason to help him. Well, she thought helping him would stop the war, but I didn't buy this. Because they didn't want to mess with handsome actor Alan Ladd's face, there is no hair-lip in the movie and this takes away Raven's most important feature. The Eddie Muller intro on TCM's Noir Alley to the movie is worth watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyvGO...
F.E. Beyer is the author of Buenos Aires Triad
The movie version transfers the action from England to California. Ellen, who helps Raven, is working undercover for a senator in the movie. This strengthens the plot as in the book Anne (Ellen) didn't have any good reason to help him. Well, she thought helping him would stop the war, but I didn't buy this. Because they didn't want to mess with handsome actor Alan Ladd's face, there is no hair-lip in the movie and this takes away Raven's most important feature. The Eddie Muller intro on TCM's Noir Alley to the movie is worth watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyvGO...
F.E. Beyer is the author of Buenos Aires Triad
June 25, 2018
بازی های پنهان سیاست گذاران در پیش از جنگ
March 2, 2013
A Gun for Sale and This Gun for Hire are the same book originally published in 1936. I looked but could not find why it was published under two separate names and am relatively sure different dates. The library book I read was This Gun for Hire. I haven’t read that the books are different in any way with each word being identical.
[image error]
First Edition Cover
Raven, by the way, is a lovely last name for a villain/hero. The name conjures up brooding, dark, dank, dismal and Edgar Allen Poe for some reason. And it’s his God given (well by his wonderful mother who really, really cares for him, snicker, snicker. And his dad is only famous in Raven’s household for being publicly hanged.
Poor dear Raven, who’s a paid assassin with a harelip; a dead giveaway for his chosen profession. He does his job, does it well and then gets swindled so off he goes to find the swindler and rightfully so, in my opinion. Damn, poor hairlipped Raven and then gets ripped off. What's with that? Who’s behind this caper, this rip-off? Raven is going to hunt down thatbastard pig.
Ahhh, here comes the bright-eyed bushy tailed already fallen in love, Anne. Her true love, a Scotland Yard detective, Mather, just happens to be on the tail of an unknown and unscrupulous bad fellow who is passing counterfeit pounds (We’re in England, folks.) Hey, wait a minute, could it be, could it be Raven who was swindled? You betcha, as our well-read two year Alaskan ex-governor would say.
[image error]
Thanks to Travis Nicholson for Photo
Oh, my, then they all collide in relatively small (smaller than London) town hours away from London by train and there the action really heats up with Anne making a conscious decision which alters the life of Raven. And no, she doesn’t find him repulsive which, of course, endears her to him. The first person ever who he can trust and does not find him replusive.
Greene’s writing is superb in my opinion. For whatever reason, it seems to me the earlier writers of mysteries, the only comparison I can make in genres, write with crisp and clear sentences. In my opinion, it’s not just American writers, such as Raymond Chandler either. The memo apparently crossed ‘the pond’ as the Brits say, or we Americans say or somebody says (not me though, I hate those trite terms); that clear, simple writing is what the people wanted to read I suppose. That may be just one reason why I'm reading a book 77 years old and enjoying it.
I love mysteries as all my friends know and Graham Greene is considered a master, a classic mystery writer, therefore my jolly (jolly being one of few Brit slang terms I know) choice to read at least one Graham Greene. It’s just brill (Brit slang: awesome.) It will definitely be a knock up (Brit slang: wake up) for you.
Here’s a pat on my back (pat, pat for at least trying to learn some British and Aussie slang since I have about an equal number of Goodreads friends in the U.K. and Australia that I have in the U.S. (and certainly down my street.)
Good reading, friends, I’m knackered. I’m sure I’ll be corrected on my use of slang but at least my buddies will that know I’m trying.
[image error]
First Edition Cover
Raven, by the way, is a lovely last name for a villain/hero. The name conjures up brooding, dark, dank, dismal and Edgar Allen Poe for some reason. And it’s his God given (well by his wonderful mother who really, really cares for him, snicker, snicker. And his dad is only famous in Raven’s household for being publicly hanged.
Poor dear Raven, who’s a paid assassin with a harelip; a dead giveaway for his chosen profession. He does his job, does it well and then gets swindled so off he goes to find the swindler and rightfully so, in my opinion. Damn, poor hairlipped Raven and then gets ripped off. What's with that? Who’s behind this caper, this rip-off? Raven is going to hunt down that
Ahhh, here comes the bright-eyed bushy tailed already fallen in love, Anne. Her true love, a Scotland Yard detective, Mather, just happens to be on the tail of an unknown and unscrupulous bad fellow who is passing counterfeit pounds (We’re in England, folks.) Hey, wait a minute, could it be, could it be Raven who was swindled? You betcha, as our well-read two year Alaskan ex-governor would say.
[image error]
Thanks to Travis Nicholson for Photo
Oh, my, then they all collide in relatively small (smaller than London) town hours away from London by train and there the action really heats up with Anne making a conscious decision which alters the life of Raven. And no, she doesn’t find him repulsive which, of course, endears her to him. The first person ever who he can trust and does not find him replusive.
Greene’s writing is superb in my opinion. For whatever reason, it seems to me the earlier writers of mysteries, the only comparison I can make in genres, write with crisp and clear sentences. In my opinion, it’s not just American writers, such as Raymond Chandler either. The memo apparently crossed ‘the pond’ as the Brits say, or we Americans say or somebody says (not me though, I hate those trite terms); that clear, simple writing is what the people wanted to read I suppose. That may be just one reason why I'm reading a book 77 years old and enjoying it.
I love mysteries as all my friends know and Graham Greene is considered a master, a classic mystery writer, therefore my jolly (jolly being one of few Brit slang terms I know) choice to read at least one Graham Greene. It’s just brill (Brit slang: awesome.) It will definitely be a knock up (Brit slang: wake up) for you.
Here’s a pat on my back (pat, pat for at least trying to learn some British and Aussie slang since I have about an equal number of Goodreads friends in the U.K. and Australia that I have in the U.S. (and certainly down my street.)
Good reading, friends, I’m knackered. I’m sure I’ll be corrected on my use of slang but at least my buddies will that know I’m trying.
September 18, 2021
aka This Gun for Hire
Review of the William Heinemann hardcover "Uniform Edition" reissue (1947) of the William Heinemann original (1936)
[3.5 rounded up]
I chanced to watch an online posting of the film This Gun for Hire (1942) dir. Frank Tuttle, starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake and enjoyed its old time noir staging. At the library I found a fairly old edition of the Graham Greene novel which was surprisingly still in circulation and borrowed it out of curiousity.
A Gun for Sale was Greene's 7th published novel (he later suppressed publication of his 2nd & 3rd and they've never been reprinted since the early 1930s). Greene categorized A Gun for Sale as one of his "entertainments", i.e. escapist thrillers or comic escapades which he felt didn't qualify as literary "novels."
The film adaptation was surprisingly faithful to the book, except for the casting of the handsome Ladd in the role of the disfigured assassin Raven who originally had a harelip. Raven is hired by an English war profiteer to assassinate a continental Minister in order to set off World War 2. The 1936 scenario is prescient of the war paranoia of the time which was temporarily appeased with Chamberlain's 1938 Munich Pact promising "peace for our time," but which only postponed the war outbreak to 1939.
Raven pulls off the assassination but is betrayed by being paid in stolen bank notes by the profiteer's agent who has the apparently tongue twisting name of Cholmondeley, which, in the usual bizarre English fashion, is actually simply pronounced as "Chumley". The police start a pursuit based on knowing the numbers of the stolen currency and aren't even aware of the assassination connection. Raven starts a pursuit of his betrayer and encounters chorus girl Anne Crowder (played by Veronica Lake in the film) who also has a run-in with Cholmondeley who is a backer of a dancehall show she auditions for. Anne has a sort of Stockholm Syndrome sympathy for the assassin, until she learns of the number of people he has killed. Meanwhile, Anne's policeman boyfriend Mather is one of the lead detectives in charge of the Raven pursuit. It all ends up in a karmic ending with war being averted at the time.
The thriller plot was quite straightforward and marked with a surprising number of coincidences in order to force everything to come together. The most interesting parts of the book were actually the several vignettes of secondary characters which Greene took an extra amount of care with. A subplot of university medical students policing an air raid / gas attack rehearsal in a shockingly sadistic manner was particularly harrowing.
Review of the William Heinemann hardcover "Uniform Edition" reissue (1947) of the William Heinemann original (1936)
[3.5 rounded up]
I chanced to watch an online posting of the film This Gun for Hire (1942) dir. Frank Tuttle, starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake and enjoyed its old time noir staging. At the library I found a fairly old edition of the Graham Greene novel which was surprisingly still in circulation and borrowed it out of curiousity.
A Gun for Sale was Greene's 7th published novel (he later suppressed publication of his 2nd & 3rd and they've never been reprinted since the early 1930s). Greene categorized A Gun for Sale as one of his "entertainments", i.e. escapist thrillers or comic escapades which he felt didn't qualify as literary "novels."
The film adaptation was surprisingly faithful to the book, except for the casting of the handsome Ladd in the role of the disfigured assassin Raven who originally had a harelip. Raven is hired by an English war profiteer to assassinate a continental Minister in order to set off World War 2. The 1936 scenario is prescient of the war paranoia of the time which was temporarily appeased with Chamberlain's 1938 Munich Pact promising "peace for our time," but which only postponed the war outbreak to 1939.
Raven pulls off the assassination but is betrayed by being paid in stolen bank notes by the profiteer's agent who has the apparently tongue twisting name of Cholmondeley, which, in the usual bizarre English fashion, is actually simply pronounced as "Chumley". The police start a pursuit based on knowing the numbers of the stolen currency and aren't even aware of the assassination connection. Raven starts a pursuit of his betrayer and encounters chorus girl Anne Crowder (played by Veronica Lake in the film) who also has a run-in with Cholmondeley who is a backer of a dancehall show she auditions for. Anne has a sort of Stockholm Syndrome sympathy for the assassin, until she learns of the number of people he has killed. Meanwhile, Anne's policeman boyfriend Mather is one of the lead detectives in charge of the Raven pursuit. It all ends up in a karmic ending with war being averted at the time.
The thriller plot was quite straightforward and marked with a surprising number of coincidences in order to force everything to come together. The most interesting parts of the book were actually the several vignettes of secondary characters which Greene took an extra amount of care with. A subplot of university medical students policing an air raid / gas attack rehearsal in a shockingly sadistic manner was particularly harrowing.
August 19, 2018
When I think of other novels in the genre of pulp thrillers or, as Graham Greene himself called them, 'entertainments', I find that they are all limited to the mainstream objectives of their genre, sticking to one template - of a criminal on the run, a woman whom he encounters, a diligent cop on his trail and the grand villain who looms over the proceedings like an archetype arch nemesis. What distinguishes this early brilliant work from one of the 20th century's most astute and compelling storytellers from them all is how Greene, with his trademark flair for subversion, plays with these tropes and churns out a thriller that has the unmistakable fine, dark and even bitter taste of chocolate, the feel of true noir.
And by noir, I don't just mean the treachery and shifty allegiances, the ruthlessly manipulation and conspiracy that lies enmeshed inside the labyrinthine plotting or even the inevitable femme fatale but rather of a heightened and even surreal sense of the desolation of the night, the suicidal despair of the chase, of chaotic London and cloistered Nottwich (the author's fictional version of Nottingham and populated by tubby, slow-moving cops and dotty old ladies scavenging for junk in jumble sales) and of guilt, redemption and a thirst for revenge that punctuates even the minor sub-plots that the author fuses together brilliantly into the enthralling main narrative.
The plot is thus: Raven, the titular assassin for hire (though once you mull over the tinier nuances and the overwhelming backdrop in the narrative, you can think of the title in a different angle altogether) finishes a particularly high-stakes job but is, in turn, betrayed and cheated by his own bosses, who are obviously planning something bigger. That is all you really need to know, by the way. As Greene tugs you into the seedy, cynical and even nihilistic world-view of his cold-blooded yet tormented protagonist, you would be expecting it, at least in the beginning, to follow the same 'hunter and hunted' formula but the novel subverts our hopes at every level to fantastic effect, seamlessly connecting a handful of beautifully etched and utterly believable characters to the main gist, including a spirited young woman who demonstrates the author's underrated ability at carving out fantastic female characters who deserve full-fledged stories of their own.
As with all his novels, the beauty of 'A Gun For Sale' is in the fine, intricate detailing. With the lucid prose and the almost mesmerising flow, even when the tale hits its murkiest moments, one ends up missing that Greene's writing was so cinematic, so rich with beautifully crafted imagery that you could almost imagine entire moments playing out on celluloid. The use of locations and events, as said before, lends real urgency to even the most unexpected moments of reflection, from the aforementioned jumble sale that joins two disparate narrative threads ingeniously together to a gas-mask drill that sets the stage for the suitably terse standoff in the final pages. The suspense comes thick and fast, with the littlest of the sounds and coincidences culminating into twists that we can never see coming in our way.
This is a thriller that I would recommend everyone to eat up and eat it up, they should for even at a slim length of less than 200 pages, it has more profundity, poetry and pitch-black darkness than any other pulp novel. And that is saying something.
And by noir, I don't just mean the treachery and shifty allegiances, the ruthlessly manipulation and conspiracy that lies enmeshed inside the labyrinthine plotting or even the inevitable femme fatale but rather of a heightened and even surreal sense of the desolation of the night, the suicidal despair of the chase, of chaotic London and cloistered Nottwich (the author's fictional version of Nottingham and populated by tubby, slow-moving cops and dotty old ladies scavenging for junk in jumble sales) and of guilt, redemption and a thirst for revenge that punctuates even the minor sub-plots that the author fuses together brilliantly into the enthralling main narrative.
The plot is thus: Raven, the titular assassin for hire (though once you mull over the tinier nuances and the overwhelming backdrop in the narrative, you can think of the title in a different angle altogether) finishes a particularly high-stakes job but is, in turn, betrayed and cheated by his own bosses, who are obviously planning something bigger. That is all you really need to know, by the way. As Greene tugs you into the seedy, cynical and even nihilistic world-view of his cold-blooded yet tormented protagonist, you would be expecting it, at least in the beginning, to follow the same 'hunter and hunted' formula but the novel subverts our hopes at every level to fantastic effect, seamlessly connecting a handful of beautifully etched and utterly believable characters to the main gist, including a spirited young woman who demonstrates the author's underrated ability at carving out fantastic female characters who deserve full-fledged stories of their own.
As with all his novels, the beauty of 'A Gun For Sale' is in the fine, intricate detailing. With the lucid prose and the almost mesmerising flow, even when the tale hits its murkiest moments, one ends up missing that Greene's writing was so cinematic, so rich with beautifully crafted imagery that you could almost imagine entire moments playing out on celluloid. The use of locations and events, as said before, lends real urgency to even the most unexpected moments of reflection, from the aforementioned jumble sale that joins two disparate narrative threads ingeniously together to a gas-mask drill that sets the stage for the suitably terse standoff in the final pages. The suspense comes thick and fast, with the littlest of the sounds and coincidences culminating into twists that we can never see coming in our way.
This is a thriller that I would recommend everyone to eat up and eat it up, they should for even at a slim length of less than 200 pages, it has more profundity, poetry and pitch-black darkness than any other pulp novel. And that is saying something.
April 1, 2018
Graham Greene's "A Gun for Sale' is quite entertaining, well written, and gripping from beginning to the end.
Raven, the main character, is a hit man. He carries out the execution of the Minister of War and in so doing also kills his secretary who happens to be still at work when he arrives and is a witness to the killing.
The repercussions of the murders goes way beyond what anyone might imagine, and puts the country on the brink of war. Raven, is the type of man, who asks no questions. He is hired, carries out the job, is paid and disappears, except this time he is paid with stolen, marked, money.
Raven, is an ugly man, with a hare-lip. He's an outcast, without a friend, leading a lonely life whose only real affection is for a cat who doesn't look or see him as a deformed creative. He is the character that carries the story and through chance encounters, dreams, and reflections we come to understand and sympathize with him on all levels, but especially as a man who lives with a deformity that society shuns and little children look away in horror.
I enjoyed this book very much. It's a wonderful mystery but, more than that, it is the depiction and study of a human being who at first we abhor but with greater understanding we come to have great compassion for.
Raven, the main character, is a hit man. He carries out the execution of the Minister of War and in so doing also kills his secretary who happens to be still at work when he arrives and is a witness to the killing.
The repercussions of the murders goes way beyond what anyone might imagine, and puts the country on the brink of war. Raven, is the type of man, who asks no questions. He is hired, carries out the job, is paid and disappears, except this time he is paid with stolen, marked, money.
Raven, is an ugly man, with a hare-lip. He's an outcast, without a friend, leading a lonely life whose only real affection is for a cat who doesn't look or see him as a deformed creative. He is the character that carries the story and through chance encounters, dreams, and reflections we come to understand and sympathize with him on all levels, but especially as a man who lives with a deformity that society shuns and little children look away in horror.
I enjoyed this book very much. It's a wonderful mystery but, more than that, it is the depiction and study of a human being who at first we abhor but with greater understanding we come to have great compassion for.
Read
March 4, 2023گراهام گرین
از تو چه میتوان گفت!؟
از تو چه میتوان گفت!؟
June 11, 2022
Raven assassinates the Minister of War but is paid in stolen five-pound notes.
When he pays for a posh frock for a girlfriend he doesn't have with this money, the police are soon on to him and a chase ensues. Raven is also after Mr Cholmondeley who handed him the stolen money and the trail leads to Nottwich where Raven falls in with the would-be girlfiend of the policeman leading the chase for Raven.
All the trails lead towards the head of Midland Steel, Sir Marcus.
When he pays for a posh frock for a girlfriend he doesn't have with this money, the police are soon on to him and a chase ensues. Raven is also after Mr Cholmondeley who handed him the stolen money and the trail leads to Nottwich where Raven falls in with the would-be girlfiend of the policeman leading the chase for Raven.
All the trails lead towards the head of Midland Steel, Sir Marcus.
August 26, 2022
In this, Greene apparently wanted us to sympathize with a contract killer because he had a terrible childhood. Excuse me, but I know people whose childhoods either 1) included incest; 2) saw to it they were beaten regularly; and/or 3) were chased by a raging parent with a loaded gun. None of these people grew up to be criminals and, in fact, are citizens with a conscience and who contribute to society. I simply am not going to sympathize with criminals - especially murderers - regardless of their childhood. Call me a "no excuses" sort of person.
Despite the above, this wasn't absolutely awful, but luke warm is the best I can do. I remembered Graham Greene's mainstream novels have a religious theme and have decided to avoid them. I guess I didn't realize that his crime novels frequently have a political or moral theme. I have another of his on my shelf, but I may wait a few years before attempting it. 2- stars.
Despite the above, this wasn't absolutely awful, but luke warm is the best I can do. I remembered Graham Greene's mainstream novels have a religious theme and have decided to avoid them. I guess I didn't realize that his crime novels frequently have a political or moral theme. I have another of his on my shelf, but I may wait a few years before attempting it. 2- stars.
January 6, 2015
Short novel, read again in an afternoon.
Enlists sympathy for its assassin Raven, with his background of a hanged father, a mother who cut her throat on the kitchen table and a 'home'. Anne befriends him and he trusts for the first time in his life.
A social-conscience tearjerker in the guise of a thriller.
Enlists sympathy for its assassin Raven, with his background of a hanged father, a mother who cut her throat on the kitchen table and a 'home'. Anne befriends him and he trusts for the first time in his life.
A social-conscience tearjerker in the guise of a thriller.
September 4, 2014
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2018
Κανά-δυο απιθανότητες (sic) στην πλοκή όπως και κανά-δυο απροσεξίες στη μετάφραση/επιμέλεια δεν μείωσαν ούτε στο ελάχιστο την απόλαυση που πρόσφερε αυτό το βιβλίο.
March 5, 2021
Ho letto abbastanza di G. Green e mai, dico mai, che mi sia venuto in mente fosse un scrittore di genere. “Il potere e la gloria” è nei top ten dei miei libri preferiti.
Leggere che “Una pistola in vendita” svetti tra i libri di genere mi ha per un attimo sconcertato: Green di genere? Poi la parola ha dato un senso alla insoddisfazione.
Raven è un gran personaggio: nato plebeo che più plebeo non si può (intendendo per plebe non un ceto sociale ma ciò che spesso alla miseria economica si associa: il degrado), labbro leporino, maltrattato in un orfanotrofio al punto da fargli odiare il bambinello e tutto ciò che gli ruota attorno nei consumistici natali cristiani. Potrebbe essere un uomo “vuoto” come alcuni di Conrad ma l’infelicità lo ha segnato e nel buio della sua mente di cinico sicario c’è il desiderio di una felicità che sente negata.
Ma “Una pistola in vendita” è un libro di genere: è un thriller di lusso, e tale rimane. I personaggi con cui si Raven confronta sono solo figurine. Troppo poco per riscattarsi dal “genere”. Forse Anna, l’amore che Raven si nega, ha un po’ di spessore ma soprattutto grazie alla trama impeccabile. Qua e là qualche cattivo alla Dickens.
Appunto: alla Dickens. Niente di più
Leggere che “Una pistola in vendita” svetti tra i libri di genere mi ha per un attimo sconcertato: Green di genere? Poi la parola ha dato un senso alla insoddisfazione.
Raven è un gran personaggio: nato plebeo che più plebeo non si può (intendendo per plebe non un ceto sociale ma ciò che spesso alla miseria economica si associa: il degrado), labbro leporino, maltrattato in un orfanotrofio al punto da fargli odiare il bambinello e tutto ciò che gli ruota attorno nei consumistici natali cristiani. Potrebbe essere un uomo “vuoto” come alcuni di Conrad ma l’infelicità lo ha segnato e nel buio della sua mente di cinico sicario c’è il desiderio di una felicità che sente negata.
Ma “Una pistola in vendita” è un libro di genere: è un thriller di lusso, e tale rimane. I personaggi con cui si Raven confronta sono solo figurine. Troppo poco per riscattarsi dal “genere”. Forse Anna, l’amore che Raven si nega, ha un po’ di spessore ma soprattutto grazie alla trama impeccabile. Qua e là qualche cattivo alla Dickens.
Appunto: alla Dickens. Niente di più
Displaying 1 - 30 of 385 reviews