Heart of the Matter
by Graham Greene
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This 1948 story of moral decay was one of Graham Greene's greatest popular and critical successes, though not one of his own favorites. His hero Scobie is a colonial police commissioner in West Africa. He endures a loveless marriage and a nondescript career patiently enough until he falls in love with a young shipwreck survivor who, literally, washes ashore at his feet. To send his wife on an extended holiday to South Africa, he borrows money from a Syrian merchant, who then uses his position to blackmail Scobie into turning a blind eye to his smuggling. Once his wife returns home, Scobie finds that he can no longer reconcile his affection for his mistress with his duties as a husband, a policeman, and a Catholic, and is pressed to a desperate resolution of his confusions. One of Greene's aims in this novel was to open a philosophical exploration into the differences between pity (which he sees as destructive) and compassion (which is positive). Upon its publication, Greene commented, "I found myself regarded as a Catholic author in England, Europe, and America--the last title to which I had ever aspired."
Editions of Heart of the Matter
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ISBN |
Binding/Format Prebinding |
Publisher Bt Bound |
Date 2004 |
Price None Available |
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