brokentune
Written on May 10, 2015
The Stranger's Hand was made into a movie in 1953 with Trevor Howard and Alida Valli.
No Man's Land is by far the more interesting of the two stories and tells of a British agent in Germany who ventures across the border into the Russian-controlled sector to meet with an informant.
Even though I feel that No Man's Land is the better story of the two, this is probably only because the setting somewhat appealed to me - and, after all, it is a spy story.
Neither of the stories are Greene at his best and both have major flaws. The main flaw in No Man's Land, however, made me laugh: Basically, the flaw is Greene writing an insta-love story:
" 'You won't be satisfied till I say it, will you? Alright, I have said it. I have spoken two words to you today. This morning. And now I have said that to you. You have got your triumph. Now for God's sake let me alone."
'But why? I don't understand.'
'It can happen to a woman, can't it, just as much as to a man? You stood there like a fool while we knelt.' "