The Destructors and Other Stories

by Graham Greene

•"The Destructors"
•"The End of the Party"
•"Under the Garden"
•"A Discovery in the Woods"
•"May We Borrow Your Husband"
•"Mortmain"
•"The Invisible Japanese Gentleman"
•"Two Gentle People"
•"Murder for the Wrong Reason"

6 hours and 53 minutes

Genres: Short Stories, Audiobook, Literature

Audiobook

Published January 16, 2013

About the author

Henry Graham Greene was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century.
Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a reputation early in his lifetime as a major writer, both of serious Catholic novels, and of thrillers (or "entertainments" as he termed them). He was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. Through 67 years of writing, which included over 25 novels, he explored the conflicting moral and political issues of the modern world. The Power and the Glory won the 1941 Hawthornden Prize and The Heart of the Matter won the 1948 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Best of the James Tait Black. Greene was awarded the 1968 Shakespeare Prize and the 1981 Jerusalem Prize. Several of his stories have been filmed, some more than once, and he collaborated with filmmaker Carol Reed on The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949).
He converted to Catholicism in 1926 after meeting his future wife, Vivienne Dayrell-Browning. Later in life he took to calling himself a "Catholic agnostic". He died in 1991, aged 86, of leukemia, and was buried in Corseaux cemetery in Switzerland. William Golding called Greene "the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man's consciousness and anxiety".

Reviews

[David]

Honestly, I borrowed this from the library as an audiobook and had a hard time paying attention to most of the stories here (which is often the case with short stories and perhaps a pattern that I should stop doing audiobooks with that format). The 2 stories that stood out as memorable is the nihilistic title story and the lighter but sad story, “May We Borrow Your Husband”.

[John Poulain]

I found this on Audible and having enjoyed reading The Power and The Glory I thought I'd give some of the author's other works a go. The common themes in the colleciton seem to be childhood gangs and what makes a marriage work; but there are a number that don't mesh with anything else in the book.

I generally think of short story collections having some sort of common thread, but given this was collated far after the author's death it seems pretty random in editing. The other thing I've liked about Short Stories is that they can introduce interesting ideas, but most of the stories in this book are quite pedestrian, a gay husband, a corrupt police officer, children playing truant etc.

It's definitely not like some of Greene's more philospohical works.

[Henry Fosdike]

Some bang average short stories. One or two were more interesting but for the most part there is probably a reason that Graham Greene wasn't known for his shorter works. 'Then End of the Party' and 'May We Borrow Your Husband' were my personal highlights. 'Mortmain' and 'The Destructors' were perfectly okay as well. 'Under the Garden' was interesting but way too long. As for the rest, well, they've probably already been forgotten.

[Ian]

This is surprisingly lowly rated - I'm out of step once again. I thoroughly enjoyed almost every story, in particular 'A Discovery in the Woods' which is a tale and genre I wasn't expecting from Greene. Has spurred me to get the more complete Twenty-One Stories .

[Xavier]

The stories aren't bad but they aren't particularly interesting and they drag a bit. The Destructors is about a bunch of kids in post ww2 England destroying a beautiful house. Did they do it because the house was untouched after the war? Did they do it because they wanted to feel as powerful as the German military? Because they were poor and envious of the wealth? Who knows, who cares.

[Elliot]

Some of the stories were definitely much stronger than others, and some I wished would continue. A rather strange collection all in all, and definitely not Greene's best works, but still enjoyable and a very quick listen as an audiobook.

[Gavin Clark]

I dont like short story collections. Only Stephen King really. And the first few stories here felt like they had more in common with Kings short stories than Greene's actual novels. Overall didn't feel like I was reading Graham Greene. Didnt really like this. Stick to his mostly excellent novels.

[Jessica]

Three words; atmospheric, diverse, ingenious

[Evan]

Hit and miss

[Colin Bardsley]

Five stars for the first three stories in this collection, 'The Destructors', 'The End of the Party', and 'Under the Garden'. The remaining ones were really dull 😴

[Jim]

Turns out that I am less likely to like GG when his stories are set in England

[EJ Daniels]

Well-written and stimulating accounts of post-war England

[Danielle D]

The Destructors was brilliant. I'd wanted to read it for years (since it was referenced in 'Donnie Darko'). Brutal and vicious!
The other short stories were less captivating.

[Clinton (offline for a couple of weeks)]

★★★★★ "The Destructors"
★★★★★ "A Discovery in the Woods". Greene conjures a whole broken world with this short story
★★★☆☆ “The Man Who Stole the Eiffel Tower”. Odd, but in a good way

I'll rate the rest of the stories when I re-read the whole collection

[Simon]

I've never warmed to Graham Greene's work. He's just too bleak for my tastes. Nothing wrong with his work. I just don't enjoy it.