No Man's Land (Hesperus Classics)

by Graham Greene

[brokentune]

This is the last book published in the Graham Greene series. No Man's Land was published posthumously and actually contains two novellas: No Man's Land and The Stranger's Hand.

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.' "