An oddly inspiring story about human frailty

A flawed priest in 1930s Mexico embodies the average Catholic in any era. At once tragic, hopeless and hopeful. This is a powerful story about the misery and majesty of the human condition. A must-listen.

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1 person found this helpful

A difficult one

This is one of GGs more difficult books. Although excellently written as usual, the subject was one of the hardest to listen to and the author did not hold back. The feelings of desperation and helplessness of practically all the characters came through vividly in this excellent narration. Advice: don’t read or listen to this book if you are in an unhappy frame of mind…

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Thought provoking

I did this book at school and it remained with me in the back of my mind. The complexity of the main character was sore on my head, as it twists and turns depending on when you look. Well narrated

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8 people found this helpful

An excellent performance of this superb book

The performance was fantastic, with all voices and accents suitable. The Book of course is superb, depending how you like your literature!

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Gripping and atmospheric

Andrew Sachs reads this story of a hunted, and haunted, flawed priest perfectly. The evocation of the various characters that the priest meets in his wanderings is greatly enhanced by Sach's rendition of the text. Perhaps Greene's best Catholic novel, it is a laying bare of the priest's tormented guilt, fear and weakness as he seeks to avoid martyrdom at the hands of a virulently anti-religious South American revolutionary state.

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Thought Provoking

This novel took me a while to get into but I’m very glad to have carried on with it.
One of those books that allows you to become a traveler in another era and country.
Fabulous narration!

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1 person found this helpful

Brilliant book Graham Greene at his best.

This is such a brilliant book; revolution, love, betrayal and faith. Perfect narration Andrew Sachs

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Wonderful narration of. a Classic

I think Andrew Sachs portrays the different characters in such an interesting way. It brought this book, which I have read before, to life in a way I didn't get on reading. Graham Greene is a writer whose books stand up to many rereadings, especially this one. Highly recommended for all ages

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3 people found this helpful

Some key points to take away

A hard novel to review.

The Good

The setting - Mexico in the 1930s - is incredible. A real 'snapshot in time' which reminded me a little of Orwell's Burmese Days (which takes around the same time albeit halfway around the world). You can hear the nearby river flowing and see the vultures overhead.

The book features some interesting, believable characters whose decision making appears reasonable in the historical and political setting. Even the primary antagonist, The Lieutenant, who commits numerous atrocities throughout, believes he is doing the right thing.

Some of the dialogue is excellent, especially anything said by The Priest or The Lieutenant. As an example, the following quote is how The Priest responds when (view spoiler) This little snippet of knowledge can sometimes assist when trying to make sense of people's decisions in the real world.

There's some 'real stop and think' moments. Writing this review ~24hours after finished, I find myself still pondering some of the events, dialogue and meaning. This perhaps warrants a reread at some point in the future.

The Bad

For most of the book, the mediocre plot just plods on and on with nothing much happening for large periods of time. It's not at all an exciting novel.

This plot is told from various viewpoints, some of which seem to add little to the experience. Some chapters are near masterful whilst others are totally forgettable.

Christian / Catholic ideas and concepts such as the God, the bible, damnation, sin are frequently mentioned which may become irritating to non Christian / Catholic readers.

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Excellent Classic novel

Grahame Greene gives a wonderful portrait of a ‘failed’ Roman Catholic priest being hunted in Mexico(?)in 1930s. The contrast between the ‘whisky priest’ and the fanatical aetheist Police Lieutenant is marvellously written as are all the other characters. All this is enhanced by the reading by the wonderful (late) Andrew Sachs who puts such nuance in each character’s voice that they spring vividly to life.
Some reviewers find the Catholicism heavy going in comparison to Greene’s more ‘adventure’ novels, but that is the nature of the story - an analysis of man struggling with his own weaknesses.

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