The Life of Graham Greene, Vol. 2: 1939-1955

The Life of Graham Greene #2

by Norman Sherry

The first volume of the authorized biography of Graham Greene, reconstructs the first 35 years of Greene's life. The author has also written biographies of Joseph Conrad, Jane Austen and Charlotte and Emily Bronte.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir, British Literature

592 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Norman Sherry was an English novelist, biographer, and educator who was best known for his three-volume biography of the British novelist Graham Greene. He was Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University.
Sherry was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, the younger twin (by eleven minutes) of Alan. Sherry studied at King's College, Newcastle, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1955.
He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He also wrote on Joseph Conrad, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, and Jane Austen. His Life of Graham Greene was praised by David Lodge for being "a remarkable and heroic achievement" that he predicted would prove "the definitive biography of record" of Greene.
From 1983, Sherry held the post of Mitchell Distinguished Professor of Literature at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
He was married three times: first to the children's novelist Sylvia Sherry, then to Carmen Flores (with whom he had a son and a daughter), and finally to Pat Villalon.

Reviews

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

See review of volume 3. This particular volume is of interest because it researches Greene's life during the the Second World War and the beginning of the Cold War. It provides much of the material he uses in his greatest novels including The Quiet American. Nonetheless, it is a slow read and would be of interest mostly to those who are familiar with his works.

[Les Dangerfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mostly an excellent read, especially the detailed coverage of the links between his experiences and his writing - for example his visits to Vietnam, the way his views of the power plays there between Vietnamese groups, the French and the Americans and the plot and underlying themes of 'The quiet American'. I didn't always warm to him - he was clearly self-obsessed.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

LORDY!! Has there ever been so much written about a writer? With this volume under my belt now, I've read 1,200 pages about the life of Graham Greene - and I STILL have 800 more to go in Volume III (which I WILL finish, even if it kills me off). I'm nearing the end of my project: "Reading Graham Greene in the Pandemic," in which I'm reading everything BY Greene in chronological order, lots of things ABOUT Greene, and then the movies of his work (23 of them!!). I think I'm going to make it - by the end of next February.
This volume covers the years from 1939 (when he's back from Mexico and about to start writing what most people think of as his masterpiece, "The Power and the Glory") through 1955 (when he is finally breaking up with Catherine Walston). In between we lived through his love affair with Dorothy Craigie, "Brighton Rock," his publishing days, "The Heart of the Matter" (which I think is terrific), "The Third Man" (which may be his best film - now a classic), "The Quiet American" (which may be his very best book in my personal opinion), and his intriguing relationship with the spy, Kim Philby.
Greene by now is an international success in both books, movies and plays. He has traveled the world and hangs out with both literary and film stars. He has left behind a marriage, and two long love affairs. I still have 800 pages and 35 years to go. QUITE A LIFE, I must say.

[James Fountain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvellous second volume on Greene’s middle years, his tempestuous relationship with Catherine Walton and his other mistress Dorothy and his long-suffering wife Vivien are outlined in detail, making a fascinating counterpoise to his at times gruelling adventures in West Africa and Vietnam, and film-making with Carol Reed in Vienna, amongst many others. A very satisfying, unputdownable read.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is something creepy about this volume, as though Sherry is just picking relentlessly at a scab. There is too much superfluous detail, too many passages lifted straight from the novels. A feeling he is trying to demonstrate he is somehow as incisive as his subject, putting the splinter of ice in his own heart out to show. But it isn’t a splinter of ice. It is just lurid and gossipy. And there are parts that in a book that attempts to wear its forensic credentials in its sleeve where he just basically makes stuff up. If Greene was really trying to double bluff Philby for example, surely there would be some evidence?

Overall frustrating and laborious but worth it for showing the source of so much of Greene’s work and the internal battle for his soul.

[David Streever · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this volume more than the first one; it takes us through some fascinating historical territory (Greene during the blitz, in Vietnam, working in Africa as an intelligence agent in the SIS, the Red Scare of 1950s America) and through the tumultuous love life that Greene experienced after his marriage.

I think this volume is more accessible than the first, and more potentially interesting, to someone who isn't a devotee of Greene. I'd still recommend reading a few of Greene's novels first In particular, I think reading the following first is advised: The End of the Affair, The Heart of the Matter, The Quiet American, The Comedians, The Power & the Glory, and Our Man in Havana.

[Louis Frillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The legend continues. Did you know Greene was a long running spy through the war and beyond for British intelligence? And, that he was very good friends with Kim philby, Russian/British double agent ? The author hints that Greene might have been the same; but that ideas remains uncovered. Vietnam was a long playground for Greene and the backdrop for The Quiet American. It’s fascinating now to realize that the French were roundly defeated in Vietnam, and we simply picked right up where they left off. His personal life seemed, really, quite a disaster of his own making. Onward now to Book III.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shelfari wants to lump all three volumes together for some reason. So, here's the all-purpose review.
Volume 1 rocks (4 stars). Volume 2 rocks (4 stars). Volume 3 is just a little too much about Norman Sherry for my taste (2 stars). And at this point in his life, Greene has made so many frustrating choices, it's much harder to sympathize with him and you find yourself looking forward to his death so you can just be done with the biography and go back to reading the novels.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume covers the writing of his greatest novels, including "The Power and the Glory," "The Heart of the Matter," and "The End of the Affair." Similar to the other volumes of this biography, it's very detailed, but provides a great understanding of how Greene's personal life flavored his novels.