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Loading... The Power and the Gloryby Graham Greene
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. One of Graham Greene's strongest novels, and that's saying a lot. Beautifully structured and full of deeper meanings. A nice exploration of Catholicism. (  ) checkadawson | Nov 3, 2009 |  Glorify problems of self-control. Mystify them. Build cathedrals to them. But for heaven's sake, don't try to develop a technology of behaviour to solve them. Good story though. schnamtaro | Oct 30, 2009 | *spoiler* The story of a hunted priest in the social turmoil of 1930's Mexico, when Catholicism was actively suppressed. The protagonist is Greene's famous and unnamed "whiskey priest", a sinner through whom God's grace continues to make itself manifest. The Catholicism is at times a bit heavy-handed, but it is, of course, essential to the tale. The narrative becomes increasingly suspenseful as the noose tightens and the priest's pursuers draw closer. Despite his sins and self-recriminations, he continues to do God's work (against his will) to the point that , at the end, assured of his safety, he returns to hear a dying killer's confession despite his knowledge that it is a trap and that his death is assured. As usual, Greene's writing is excellent - in this instance reeking of decay and apocalypse - with a visceral power that lingers after the story has ended. 6/98 5  Makifat | Aug 30, 2009 | This was the longest Greene work I've read to date (still pretty short though) - unfortunately, I didn't like it as much as the others. It had its moments, but even though it was lengthier, I still thought the character development was a little thin. It won't deter me from reading his other works - I still feel it was a better novel than what I read from others, but it wasn't as enjoyable as previous works. (  ) Sean191 | Aug 12, 2009 | Didn't really enjpy the subject area, and the book was very meaty. But overall i thought it was ok. Very well written and sometimes mildly funnyor sad. My least favourite of his books. (  ) pinkmouse | Jul 3, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
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On the verge of reaching a safer region, the whisky priest is repeatedly held back by his vocation, even though he no longer feels fit to perform his rites: "When he was gone it would be as if God in all this space between the sea and the mountains ceased to exist. Wasn't it his duty to stay, even if they despised him, even if they were murdered for his sake? even if they were corrupted by his example?"
As his sins and dangers increase, the broken priest comes to confront the nature of piety and love. Still, when he is granted a reprieve, he feels himself sliding into the old arrogance, slipping it on like the black gloves he used to wear. Greene has drawn this man--and all he encounters--vividly and viscerally. He may have said The Power and the Glory was "written to a thesis," but this brilliant theological thriller has far more mysteries--and troubling ideals--than certainties. --Joannie Kervran Stangeland
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:16 -0400)
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