Graham Greene's the Power and the Glory

This story of bravery, cowardice, and moral decay is set in Mexico during the Calles regime of the 1930s, when the practice of Christianity was violently suppressed. It portrays the heroic and doomed efforts of a priest to minister secretly to the Catholics of the region. The "whiskey priest" is one of Greene's most memorable characters: a drunkard and fornicator, he nevertheless attempts to keep the Church alive in his province and puts his life at risk in the process. He is pursued throughout the story by the Chief of Police, a Javert-like figure who is a model of decorum, human decency--and coldheartedness. Widely acclaimed as one of Greene's finest books, THE POWER AND THE GLORY was the work that first established Green's reputation as a master of the novel form.