Completists' Club discussion
This topic is about
Graham Greene
Authors E-H
>
Graham Greene
date
newest »
newest »
Greene is my favorite author. While I thought I had read most of Greene's work, I've been rather pleased to find out there is so much I haven't discovered yet. I am beginning a quest to read Green's entire catalog. I plan to re-read all I've read before as well. My motivation, besides just enjoying Greene's work, is as a writer to study his masterful methods and technique. I would love to start a dialogue with any other Greene fans out there.
Cheers :)
I love Greene as well. There is a Graham Greene Group here I co-moderate, it used to be very active but is now less so. I'll post the link:http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1...
Would love to have you join. We did some group reads and have had much discussion in the past.
Greene wrote so many stunning novels. I've read many of his novels and most of his stories. Am a huge fan.
M.C. wrote: "Greene is my favorite author. While I thought I had read most of Greene's work, I've been rather pleased to find out there is so much I haven't discovered yet. I am beginning a quest to read Green'..."Thanks a lot M.C. for starting this thread,I was thinking perhaps Jessica might do it!
I've read the following books:
The Man Within (1929)
England Made Me (1935) (also published as The Shipwrecked)
A Gun for Sale (1936) (also published as This Gun for Hire)
Brighton Rock (1938)
The Power and the Glory (1940) (also published as The Labyrinthine Ways)
The Heart of the Matter (1948)
The Third Man (1949) (novella, as a basis for the screenplay)
The End of the Affair (1951)
The Quiet American (1955)
A Burnt-Out Case (1960)
The Comedians (1966)
Travels with My Aunt (1969)
The Honorary Consul (1973)
Autobiography
A Sort of Life (1971)
The Last Word and Other Stories (1990)
It's woefully short,I know,but the sadder thing is; his books are no longer found in book stores! Looks like not many people are reading him which is sad cause he was a wonderful writer.
My friend Sketchbook is also a GG fan but the best thing for you is to join Jessica's group :-)
1. 2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Again, one of those authors where I feel like I've crested a hill and still have a mountain left to climb.
Ah,we have writers in common- that's very 'productive'!The strike text option doesn't look so good- can't we have the check mark symbol? Will look neater.
But I like the definitive nature of the strike through. The check seems neat, but also too pedantic.
@Darwin8uI saw you started a forum for Conrad. I am rereading some Conrad to prepare for a reread of a A Burnt-Out Case. Throughout In Search of a Character Greene waffles back and forth on his interest in Conrad and how much he acknowledges his influence on his writing. Though for my part I'd say the influence is unmistakable, whether Greene credits it fully or not.
On a line level I feel Conrad is a superior writer, but I prefer Greene because of his greater grasp of imperialism and his insight into the human condition.
Have you (or anyone else for that matter) read
A Study in Greene: Graham Greene and the Art of the Novel? I would love to have a thoughtful discussion with someone on Bergonzi's dismissive conclusions on Greene's later work.
Bergonzi is the first critic, that I know of, since Greene's death to evaluate his entire catalogue and subsequently dismiss him as no longer "relevant." While Bergonzi's dismissal is largely based on Greene's religious affiliations and I disagree with most of his assertions, it is still a well formulated argument. I'm itching to discuss it with someone.
P.S.
I prefer the strike through
M.C. wrote: "@Darwin8uI saw you started a forum for Conrad. I am rereading some Conrad to prepare for a reread of a A Burnt-Out Case. Throughout In Search of a Character Greene waffles back and forth on his i..."
It is interesting that you note the influence Conrad had on Greene, because I was telling someone how there are parts of le Carre's canon that are heavily influenced by Conrad (the Honourable Schoolboy) and others that are heavily influenced by Greene (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy).
I think it would be hard for any writer in the first half of the twentieth century to not be influenced by Conrad. His prose is exquisite and remained unparalleled till Nabokov (though I know that Nabokov hated any comparison between his style and Conrad's). Greene's influence on successive generations of writers is less clear to me. Though in le Carre's work it makes perfect sense now that you mention it, but I confess I'm not entirely seeing the Conrad connection. However, it's been ages since I've read le Carre. Greene suffered and profited by the popular success of his novels, as there does seem to be a prevailing opinion that acceptance by the general public in the author's lifetime invalidates literary merit. As such, not many contempoary authors seem to consciously own him as an influence.
Darwin8u wrote: "The Honourable Schoolboy owes a lot to Conrad.http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/03/21..."
OK,I admit it. I love Greene, and have read all the novels, not the short stories. I have re-read many of them. But Conrad, I can't abide-- I find his writing labored and ...well, not entertaining. Shoot me, but there you have it.
Carla wrote: "But Conrad, I can't abide-- I find his writing labored and ...well, not entertaining. Shoot me, but there you have it."Shoot? Never. But, I might leave you on an remote island near Borneo and burn your thatch roof down. I think the labor of Conrad is part of his prose's difficult charm. It is like the stutter of a genius whose brain is running two steps faster than his mouth, except with Conrad you are not sure if his brain is running faster than his pen, or if he has simply lapped his 3rd language too.
Carla wrote: "Darwin8u wrote: "The Honourable Schoolboy owes a lot to Conrad.http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/03/21..."
OK,I admit it. I love Greene, and have read all the novels, not..."
Shoot you ? One could not care less.
Well, apparently you will not leave me on a remote island and burn my thatch room as Darwin8u will. :)
Completists' Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Honourable Schoolboy (other topics)A Study in Greene: Graham Greene and the Art of the Novel (other topics)
Novels
The Man Within (1929)
The Name of Action (1930) (repudiated by author, never re-published)
Rumour at Nightfall (1931) (repudiated by author, never re-published)
Stamboul Train (1932) (also published as Orient Express)
It's a Battlefield (1934)
England Made Me (1935) (also published as The Shipwrecked)
The Bear Fell Free (1935)[1]
A Gun for Sale (1936) (also published as This Gun for Hire)
Brighton Rock (1938)
The Confidential Agent (1939)
The Power and the Glory (1940) (also published as The Labyrinthine Ways)
The Ministry of Fear (1943)
The Heart of the Matter (1948)
The Third Man (1949) (novella, as a basis for the screenplay)
The End of the Affair (1951)
The Quiet American (1955)
Loser Takes All (1955)
Our Man in Havana (1958)
A Burnt-Out Case (1960)
The Comedians (1966)
Travels with My Aunt (1969)
The Honorary Consul (1973)
The Human Factor (1978)
Doctor Fischer of Geneva or The Bomb Party (1980)
Monsignor Quixote (1982)
The Tenth Man (1985)
The Captain and the Enemy (1988)
No Man's Land (2005)
Autobiography
A Sort of Life (1971)
Ways of Escape (1980)
Getting to Know the General: The Story of an Involvement (1984)
A World of My Own: A Dream Diary (1992)
Travel books
Journey Without Maps (1936)
The Lawless Roads (1939) (also published as Another Mexico)
In Search of a Character: Two African Journals (1961)
Plays
The Living Room (1953)
The Potting Shed (1957)
The Complaisant Lover (1959)
Carving a Statue (1964)
The Return of A.J.Raffles (1975)
The Great Jowett (1981) [radio play]
Yes and No (1983)
For Whom the Bell Chimes (1983)
Screenplays
The Future's in the Air (1937)
The New Britain (1940)
21 Days (1940) (based on the novel The First and The Last by John Galsworthy)
Brighton Rock (1947)
The Fallen Idol (1948)
The Third Man (1949)
Loser Takes All (1956)
Saint Joan (1957) (based on the play by George Bernard Shaw)
Our Man in Havana (1959)
The Comedians (1967)
Short stories
Twenty-One Stories (1954) (originally "Nineteen Stories" [1947], the collection usually presents the stories in reverse chronological order)
"The End of the Party" (1929)
"The Second Death" (1929)
"Proof Positive" (1930)
"I Spy" (1930)
"A Day Saved" (1935)
"Jubilee" (1936)
"Brother" (1936)
"A Chance For Mr Lever" (1936)
"The Basement Room" (1936) (adapted by the author as The Fallen Idol, a film directed by Carol Reed)
"The Innocent" (1937)
"A Drive in the Country" (1937)
"Across the Bridge" (1938)
"A Little Place Off the Edgware Road" (1939)
"The Case for the Defence" (1939)
"Alas, Poor Maling" (1940)
"Men at Work" (1940)
"Greek Meets Greek" (1941)
"The Hint of an Explanation" (1948)
"The Blue Film" (1954)
"Special Duties" (1954)
"The Destructors" (1954)
A Sense of Reality (1963)
"Under the Garden"
"A Visit to Morin"
"Dream of a Strange Land"
"A Discovery in the Woods"
"Church Militant" (1956)
"Dear Dr Falkenheim" (1963)
"The Blessing" (1966)
May We Borrow Your Husband? (1967)
"May We Borrow Your Husband?"
"Beauty"
"Chagrin in Three Parts"
"The Over-night Bag"
"Mortmain"
"Cheap in August"
"A Shocking Accident"
"The Invisible Japanese Gentlemen"
"Awful When You Think of It"
"Doctor Crombie"
"The Root of All Evil"
"Two Gentle People"
The Last Word and Other Stories (1990)
"The Last Word"
"The News in English"
"The Moment of Truth"
"The Man Who Stole the Eiffel Tower"
"The Lieutenant Died Last"
"A Branch of the Service"
"An Old Man's Memory"
"The Lottery Ticket"
"The New House"
"Work Not in Progress"
"Murder for the Wrong Reason"
"An Appointment With the General"
Children's books
The Little Train (1946, illus. Dorothy Craigie; 1973, illus. Edward Ardizzone)
The Little Fire Engine (1950, illus. Dorothy Craigie; 1973, illus. Edward Ardizzone)
The Little Horse Bus (1952, illus. Dorothy Craigie; 1974, illus. Edward Ardizzone)
The Little Steamroller (1955, illus. Dorothy Craigie; 1974, illus. Edward Ardizzone)
Other
The Old School: Essays by Divers Hands (ed. Greene, 1934)[2]
British Dramatists (1942)
Why Do I Write? An Exchange of Views between Elizabeth Bowen, Graham Greene and V.S. Pritchett (1948)[3]
The Lost Childhood and Other Essays (1951)
The Spy's Bedside Book (ed. with Hugh Greene, 1957)
Introduction to My Silent War, by Kim Philby, 1968, British Intelligence double agent, mole for Soviets
Collected Essays (1969)
Lord Rochester's Monkey: Being the Life of John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester (1974)
An Impossible Woman: The Memories of Dottoressa Moor of Capri (ed. Greene, 1975)
The Pleasure-Dome: The Collected Film Criticism, 1935–40 (ed. John Russell Taylor, 1980)
J'Accuse: The Dark Side of Nice (1982)
Yours, etc.: Letters to the Press (1989)
Why the Epigraph? (1989)
Reflections (1991)
The Graham Greene Film Reader: Reviews, Essays, Interviews and Film Stories (ed. David Parkinson, 1993)
Articles of Faith: The Collected Tablet Journalism of Graham Greene (ed. Ian Thomson, 2006)
Graham Greene: A Life in Letters (ed. Richard Greene, 2007)