The Heart of the Matter (The collected edition, #6) (Modern English Language Texts)

by Graham Greene

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY JAMES WOOD

Scobie, a police officer serving in a war-time West African state, is distrusted, being scrupulously honest and immune to bribery. But then he falls in love, and in doing so he is forced to betray everything he believes in, with drastic and tragic consequences.

• ISBN10: 0099478420
• ISBN13: 9780099478423
• Publish Date: 2 November 2004 (first published 1 January 1920)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Vintage Publishing
• Imprint: Vintage Classics
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9780099478423

Reviews

[brokentune]

This is not a review. I finished this book a week ago and have been trying to write a review for it several times but words just fail to describe the detachment I was left with on finishing.
So, instead of a review, here is a rant spurned by having wasted time on this book.

Yes, Greene's writing is wonderful - the wordsmithing, that is: the descriptions of the West African mid-war setting, the descriptions of pink gins, the descriptions of Scobie's thoughts.

However, none of this helped to warm to any of the characters, all of which seemed more than a little conceited most of all Major Scobie, the central character.

Scobie is described acting as man driven by Catholic morality, until he begins an affair with Helen, supposedly out of pity. Then his wife returns to him, he is torn between making a few decisions, and he returns to his wife - also out of pity.

Take away the element of Catholicism and Scobie is a pathetic character that can't make a decision and deludes himself into thinking that he does his best not to cause pain.

Leave in the Catholic element and Scobie is still pathetic and deluded.

I don't get this one.
Rant over.

(For a proper review of this book I'd recommend Kelly's review http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13854156 )

[jamiereadthis]

Fraught with tension, tightly wound; unhappiness as palpable and oppressive as the plaguing African heat.

“In our hearts there is a ruthless dictator, ready to contemplate the misery of a thousand strangers if it will ensure the happiness of the few we love.”

There’s a wrestling at the end with the concept of mercy, God’s vs. ours, and it’s one of the greatest things I’ve read in this last slew of books, where it comes down: “He never had any trust in mercy except for other people.”