The Comedians by Graham Greene

Mar 21, 2017 Jim Fonseca rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: british-authors

Our main character is a world weary drifter. The novel starts with him returning to Haiti on a cargo ship with just a handful of passengers. There are so few Europeans in Haiti that all these passengers and some of the crew enter the story again. Disengaged from his courtesan mother and even unsure what his last name really is, he has worked in European restaurants and sold forged low-end paintings. His mother dies and leaves him a hotel/cabaret in Port-au-Prince. He attempts to run the hotel an ...more

flag 204 likes · Like · see review

Oct 12, 2019 Kevin Ansbro rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classic-literature, hedonism, human-cruelty, human-imagery, immorality, island-life, literature-for-grown-ups, living-abroad, quintessentially-english, shabby-hedonism

In need of respite from a run of poorly-written modern novels that were blinged up to the eyeballs with hype, I sought refuge in a Graham Greene one, knowing that elegant prose and grammatical excellence awaited me.
Our narrator, Mr Brown, is a burnt-out international wheeler-dealer who returns to Haiti by ship, having inherited a hotel there. On the voyage over, Mr Brown buddies up with (wait for it) a Mr Smith and a Mr Jones.

Haiti has fallen under the tyrannical rule of "Papa Doc" and his secr ...more

flag 131 likes · Like · see review

Apr 13, 2012 William2 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: uk, fiction, 20-ce

This is without exception my favorite Graham Greene novel. Love and murder in 1960's Haiti among the evil Papa Doc Duvalier's Tonton Macute. The evocation of landscape and murderous heat and voodoo would alone be enough to hold our attention. But there's more than that: there's a great story of intrigue and jealousy. I cannot recommend it highly enough. ...more

flag 71 likes · Like · see review

Oct 24, 2014 Teresa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

At several points during my reading of this novel -- because of its crisp, realistic dialogue; dangerous setting; and intriguing, imperfect characters -- I imagined it as a movie. I just looked it up on imdb.com and, yes, there is a 1967 movie with, ugh, Burton and Taylor, not at all whom I envisioned for the roles.

Perhaps because of its title, I thought the novel would be of a sharp, exaggerated satire, but, no, I suppose the Haiti of Duvalier was surreal enough. At first meeting the three men ...more

flag 44 likes · Like · see review

Feb 27, 2019 Dave Schaafsma rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-20th-century

“In human relationships, kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths.”

The Comedians is a 1966 novel set in Haiti; well, it begins with a slow boat voyage across the Atlantic with a bunch of people that joke (comedy!) and drink their way into some interconnections.

Ship of fools:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of...

(Ship of Fools is a 1962 novel by Katherine Ann Porter, a story of a group of disparate characters sailing from Mexico to Europe aboard a German passenger ship).

One guy on this sl ...more

flag 44 likes · Like · see review

Jul 21, 2008 Evan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: my-faves, __in-my-collection, graham-greene, yearning, favorites, evans-alternative-100

I've just finished this and am basking in some kind of awestruck state. The more I read of Greene, the more I'm slain. The main character, Brown, must be a sort of surrogate for the author: jaded, cynical, fatalistic; a realist who nonetheless has just enough of that kernel of optimism that allows him to hope against hope, to sometimes do the right thing even as the cowardly part of him offers token resistance.

The book takes place in Haiti in the early 1960s during the early days of the terroris I've just finished this and am basking in some kind of awestruck state. The more I read of Greene, the more I'm slain. The main character, Brown, must be a sort of surrogate for the author: jaded, cynical, fatalistic; a realist who nonetheless has just enough of that kernel of optimism that allows him to hope against hope, to sometimes do the right thing even as the cowardly part of him offers token resistance.

The book takes place in Haiti in the early 1960s during the early days of the terroristic reign of the brutal dictator Papa Doc Duvalier, and in the framework of a fictional story Greene somehow conveys an illuminating, vividly rendered portrait of an historical time and place without ever resorting to historical explanations. Additionally, there's a wry critique of the Cold War (and presciently, the "war on terror"); a lament of the ongoing tendency of superpowers to support surrogate wars in Third World countries, even when they seem to contradict the supposed idealism of the enabling superpower. In this case, Papa Doc is seen as a "bulwark against communism" and the rebels, merely trying to rescue their country from a monster, are labeled as communists. As in Greene's "The Quiet American," there are westerners---Americans and Europeans---in country, operating at cross purposes or otherwise, yet virtually all ineffectual.

The book is both wry and sad, often in the same sentence, and conveys always a powerful and overwhelming sense of mood, place, tension, yearning, hopelessness and expectation. If there's anything here that leaves nagging doubts, it might be the occasional racism of Greene's omniscient narrator (though we suspect this is how the characters see things), the sense of stiltedness in some of the overly crafted dialogue and his deficiency in rounding out his female characters (Martha seems merely a defeated mirror image of her lover Brown). Still, many of Greene's black characters are rendered sympathetically and show depth, Dr. Magiot and Phillipot for instance.

The enigmatic, chameleon nature of the gypsy-like conman Jones provides Brown and the reader an evolving conundrum that eventually morphs into an absurdist, pathetic comedy. In fact, the one constant about Jones repeatedly alluded to is his talent for making anyone laugh, a skill as good as any in a world where diversion is as important as useless actions. He is, in a sense, the central "comedian" of the story. His can-do bullshitting seems infectious, and in fact, it turns out to really be the only skill he has, despite his elaborate personal backstory. The notion that we're all unwitting comedians in a tragic world seems a too obvious conceit on Greene's part, too cheap of one for an author of his skill and stature. Yet, the true nature of Jones, revealed at the book's end, makes the conceit more valid. Brown's dispassionate observations of the madness around him belie the pull of a morality that still radiates a magnetism inside him, and allows him to admire the certainty of purpose possessed by the naive American couple, the Smiths, who are on a daffy campaign to bring vegetarianism to places where people don't tend to have any food at all.

It's a darkly funny conceit in a book drenched in black comedy and tropical heat. The moral force that moves Brown finally also moves Jones to become the man he has always claimed to be, a hero stitched from the wholecloth of his own fictions. He becomes an unlikely hero, to Brown and to us. This is a splendid, memorable short novel that just may haunt you as much as it likely will me. -EG

[The 1967 film version with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor is a strange and wonderful oddity but is no substitute for the book (even though Greene himself wrote the screenplay). The movie jettisons the many pages of personal backstory about Brown's youth and his mother and all the activities aboard the ship prior to his return to Haiti that make up a large part of the book's first portion. We see Jones thrown into the stockade for interrogation just a few minutes into the film, whereas in the book this takes place much later (in fact, Jones' apparent disappearance remains a mystery to other characters for quite a long time in the book). Jones is thus too demystified early in the film. There are all kinds of other changes, and I'd think someone approaching the film would wonder why certain things have any significance; it throws a lot of things at you in short dialogue bursts that take up many pages in the book. I like the film, but it lacks the book's great richness :]. -EG ...more

flag 40 likes · Like · see review

Feb 16, 2016 Το Άθχημο γατί του θενιόρ Γκουαναμίρου rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Κεντάει ο συγγραφέας. Δεν ξέρω αν τα κατασκοπικά – ευρείας κατανάλωσης έργα του είναι εξίσου καλά, δεν με ενδιαφέρει κιόλας, αφού δεν πρόκειται να τα διαβάσω, αλλά αν κρίνω από τους “Θεατρίνους” 'εχει εξαιρετική πένα. Πρώτα από όλα, το έργο αυτό διαθέτει εξαιρετικές δόσεις χιούμορ κι έναν απίστευτο τρόπο να αποκαλύπτει την ωμή αλήθεια, ενώ είναι συνάμα ατμοσφαιρικό και έχει ολοζώντανους, αξιαγάπητους και ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες. Ισορροπεί άψογα ανάμεσα στην δράση και στον στοχασμό και κρατάει α Κεντάει ο συγγραφέας. Δεν ξέρω αν τα κατασκοπικά – ευρείας κατανάλωσης έργα του είναι εξίσου καλά, δεν με ενδιαφέρει κιόλας, αφού δεν πρόκειται να τα διαβάσω, αλλά αν κρίνω από τους “Θεατρίνους” 'εχει εξαιρετική πένα. Πρώτα από όλα, το έργο αυτό διαθέτει εξαιρετικές δόσεις χιούμορ κι έναν απίστευτο τρόπο να αποκαλύπτει την ωμή αλήθεια, ενώ είναι συνάμα ατμοσφαιρικό και έχει ολοζώντανους, αξιαγάπητους και ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες. Ισορροπεί άψογα ανάμεσα στην δράση και στον στοχασμό και κρατάει αμείωτο το ενδιαφέρον ως την τελευταία σελίδα.

Η κεντρική ιδέα είναι πως όλοι οι άνθρωποι λίγο ως πολύ υποδυόμαστε ρόλους για μπορέσουμε να σταθούμε και να υπάρξουμε μέσα σε μια κοινωνία. Όσα ψέματα όμως κι αν πούμε, μοιραία θα έρθει η στιγμή να αντιμέτωπίσουμε την αμείλικτη πραγματικότητα, να αναμετρηθούμε με τον ίδιο μας τον εαυτό. Επίσης ο κόσμος που ζούμε είναι σκληρός και βρώμικος και δεν αρκούν ούτε οι καλύτερες προθέσεις προκειμένου να αλλάξει. Ο κόσμος αυτός μπορεί να μοιάζει με σκηνή θεάτρου στην οποία παίζεται το πιο παράλογο έργο που θα μπορούσε να συλλάβει η πιο διεστραμμένη διάνοια. Κι όταν πέσει η αυλαία, ανάμεσα στους πρωταγωνιστές θα υπάρχουν αναπόφευκτα σημαντικές απώλειες.

Η υπόθεση εκτυλίσσεται στην Αιτή, λίγο πριν και στις αρχές της δικτατορίας του Πάπα Ντοκ, δηλαδή στα 1957. Ο κεντρικός ήρωας ο κύριος Μπράουν έχει κληρονομήσει από την αλλόκοτη μητέρα του ένα ξενοδοχείο, το οποίο λόγω των πολιτικών γεγονότων παραμένει σχεδόν άδειο, καθώς ο τουρισμός μαραζώνει. Επικρατεί τρομοκρατία, καθώς η μυστική αστυνομία του δικτάτορα , οι Τοντόν Μακούτ σκοτώνουν και εκφοβίζουν ασύστολα. Ωστόσο οι κομπίνες, οι ρεμούλες με την αμερικάνικη βοήθεια συνεχίζονται απρόσκοπτα. Οι ντόπιοι μην έχοντας άλλη εναλλακτική πεθαίνουν από την πείνα επαιτώντας και βρίσκουν παρηγοριά στις δύο κυρίαρχες θρησκείες, το Βουντού και τον Καθολικισμό. Κι όπως αναφέρει ένας από τους ήρωες του έργου:

"Οι υποστηρικτές του Πάπα Ντοκ στην Ουάσινγκτον υποκινούνται από κάποιες αμερικάνικες εταιρίες κυλινδρόμυλων που αλέθουν το εισαγόμενο σιτάρι για την τροφοδοσία του πληθυσμού. Κι είναι στ' αλήθεια αξιοπερίεργο πόσα χρήματα μπορεί να βγάλει κανείς από μια φτωχιά χώρα, έτσι και δείξει λίγη εξυπνάδα. Επιπλέον υπάρχει η πολύ μεγάλη κομπίνα με τα μοσχαρίσια κρέατα. Οι άνθρωποι εδώ είναι τόσο φτωχοί που τρώνε κρέας τόσο συχνά όσο και γλυκίσματα. Έτσι δεν τους νοιάζει και πάρα πολύ που όλα τα κρέατα φεύγουν για την αμερικάνικη αγορά. Από την άλλη, ούτε οι εισαγωγείς νοιάζονται αν τα κρέατα αυτά συγκεντρώνουν τις σωστές προδιαγραφές μια και όλα τους γίνονται κονσέρβες για τις υπανάπτυκτες χώρες, οι οποίες και τις πληρώνουν με τα χρήματα της αμερικάνικης βοήθειας που παίρνουν. Αν το εμπόριο αυτό σταματήσει ο μέσος Αμερικάνος δεν πρόκειται να χάσει τίποτα. Οι πολιτικοί όμως της Ουάσινγκτον θα χάσουντο 1% που εισπράττουν για κάθε κιλό που εξάγεται”.

Όσα όνειρα κι αν έχει κάποιος, όσα ταλέντα κι όση πονηριά, δεν αρκούν για να αλλάξουν την ροή των προαποφασισμένων γεγονότων. Ο 20ος αιώνα δεν είναι υπήρξε επουδενί (σε αντιθεση με τον 19ο) μια εποχή αισιοδοξίας, αλλά μια εποχή ατέρμονης ανησυχίας. Η έννοια της δικαιοσύνης θυσιάστηκε στην αναγκαιότητας της διατήρησης μια ισορροπίας του τρόμου (Ψυχρός Πόλεμος) και φαίνεται πως αυτό θα συνεχιστεί και κατά τον 21ο αιώνα. Μοιραία όλοι καλούνται να παίξουν τους ρόλους τους σε μια μαύρη κωμωδία που είναι καταδικασμένη να έχει πικρό τέλος.

Ωραίο βιβλίο. Παρόλο που καταπιάνεται με σκοτεινά θέματα, χάρη στην χιουμοριστική και συχνά σαρκαστική διάθεση του συγγραφέα, δεν είναι καθόλου βαρύ. Θα διαβάσω οπωσδήποτε κάποια στιγμή κι ένα άλλο βιβλίο του, που μου το έχουν συστήσει θερμά το “The Power and the Glory”. ...more

flag 28 likes · Like · see review

Nov 18, 2014 Bettie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: winter-20152016, lit-richer-jan-2016, lit-richer, haiti, hell-breaks-loose-one-night-ashore, published-1965, tbr-busting-2016, a-cut-above, author-love, beautifully-put

Baron Samedi faces off stick twitching Tontons Macoute. Photo by Charles Carrié

Read by Tim Piggot Smith

Description: Three men meet on a ship bound for Haiti, a world in the grip of the corrupt “Papa Doc” and the Tontons Macoute, his sinister secret police. Brown the hotelier, Smith the innocent American, and Jones the confidence man—these are the “comedians” of Greene’s title. Hiding behind their actors’ masks, they hesitate on the edge of life. They are men afraid of love, afraid of pain, afrai ...more

flag 27 likes · Like · see review

May 13, 2017 A. Dawes rated it really liked it

3.5*

Must be my Graham Greene year, read him sporadically before, but now I can't seem to get enough of him.

The story takes place in the madhouse that is Haiti during the early 1960s. Haiti at the time was a melting pot of voodoo, colonialism, and terror. The corrupt dictator Papa Doc Duvalier, rules through fear and unpredictability, and many from abroad are unsafe (as are the locals).

There's comment here from Greene on how the so-called superpowers of the Cold War supported such horrific regi ...more

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

May 15, 2020 Joy D rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: north-america, historical-fiction, relationships, politics, journeys, zck, reviewed, war, social-commentary

First of all, The Comedians is not a comedy, and the humor is dark. It is about the regime of “Papa Doc” Duvalier in Haiti. It graphically portrays the terrorism of the Tontons Macoute, Duvalier’s secret police. The exact year is not given but it appears to be early 1960s. It opens on a ship with the three men, Smith, Jones, and Brown, traveling to Port-au-Prince. We hear parts of their back stories during the voyage and more details upon arriving in Haiti.

Mr. Brown operates a hotel in Port-au- ...more

flag 23 likes · Like · see review

May 17, 2018 FotisK rated it liked it · review of another edition

Η μεγάλη εκτίμηση και ο σεβασμός που τρέφω για τον G. Greene είναι δεδομένος. Σε όποια επαφή είχα -ακόμα έχω- με το λογοτεχνικό του έργο, η επίγευση παραμένει εκείνη της πλησμονής, της λογοτεχνικής απόλαυσης και πληρότητας. Το αυτό ανέμενα και από τους "Θεατρίνους". Πολλώ δεν μάλλον, όταν οι απανταχού κριτικές και αναγνώστες "παιάνιζαν" "Αριστούργημα!" και λοιπούς πληθωριστικούς χαρακτηρισμούς θαυμασμού.
Τα προαναφερθέντα δεν πιστεύω πως ισχύουν στην περίπτωση των "Θεατρίνων", μυθιστορήματος που Η μεγάλη εκτίμηση και ο σεβασμός που τρέφω για τον G. Greene είναι δεδομένος. Σε όποια επαφή είχα -ακόμα έχω- με το λογοτεχνικό του έργο, η επίγευση παραμένει εκείνη της πλησμονής, της λογοτεχνικής απόλαυσης και πληρότητας. Το αυτό ανέμενα και από τους "Θεατρίνους". Πολλώ δεν μάλλον, όταν οι απανταχού κριτικές και αναγνώστες "παιάνιζαν" "Αριστούργημα!" και λοιπούς πληθωριστικούς χαρακτηρισμούς θαυμασμού.
Τα προαναφερθέντα δεν πιστεύω πως ισχύουν στην περίπτωση των "Θεατρίνων", μυθιστορήματος που με άφησε σε μια κατάσταση παγερής αταραξίας. Δεν αναφέρομαι βέβαια στην υπόθεση του έργου (εξελίσσεται στα χρόνια της δικτατορίας στην Αϊτή, όχι πως έχει σημασία…), αλλά στο χαρακτηριστικό ύφος του συγγραφέα, του οποίου το "φάντασμα" μόνο μπόρεσα να διακρίνω εδώ.
Εκτός του αφηγητή, ο οποίος είναι έρμαιο του παραδοσιακού Green-ικού διπόλου "καθολικού-παθητικού/ ιδεολόγου εμπλεκομένου", οι δευτερεύοντες χαρακτήρες φαντάζουν στα μάτια μου "χάρτινοι", παρουσίες που πλαισιώνουν τον κεντρικό χαρακτήρα, περισσότερο φορείς ιδεών παρά αυθύπαρκτες μυθιστορηματικές οντότητες με "Ουσία και Βάθος" (τι υπέροχο βιβλίο!).
Ακόμα και η ατελέσφορη -σύνηθες μοτίβο στο έργο του- ερωτική σχέση του μονίμως τυπτόμενου ήρωα, αποτελεί απλό μετείκασμα εκείνης του τραγικού "Τέλους μιας σχέσης", της ωραιότερης ερωτικής ιστορίας, κατά την άποψή μου.
Συγκεφαλαιώνοντας, οι "Θεατρίνοι" δεν είναι κακό βιβλίο. Απλώς μου άφησε την αίσθηση πως όλα εκείνα τα εξέχοντα στοιχεία συγγραφικής ιδιαιτερότητας του Greene ως συγγραφέα εξέλιπαν, και πως θα μπορούσε τελικά να είχε γραφτεί από κάποιον σύγχρονο γραφιά με παρόμοιες ανησυχίες και στυλ. Και αυτό, για εμένα, αποτελεί τη μεγαλύτερη μομφή. ...more

flag 22 likes · Like · see review

Jul 03, 2018 John rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: graham-greene

Always a pleasure for me to discover and read a new Greene novel. Great characters with the world weary, cynical and jaded main character lumbered with a hotel in Haiti at the time of Papa Doc’s crazy dictatorship. A love hate relationship with the German wife of an ambassador.

The semi abandoned hotel suddenly gets a US presidential vegetarian candidate. He has decided to go to Haiti with the insane and challenging idea of opening a vegetarian centre in Haiti! Another mysterious and dubious gue ...more

flag 21 likes · Like · see review

Jan 06, 2017 Cbj rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: alcohol, alienation, books-like-friends, british-classics, favourites, melancholic, scenes-of-nature, tired-of-modern-life, totalitarian

The Comedians is a book that can be enjoyed for the superficial things alone. On the surface, the book is a thrilling adventure and a novel of place, set in Haiti. The book begins on a ship carrying a few interesting characters - the first person narrator Mr.Brown, the vegetarian couple the Smiths, the spooky Jones and the silent African who can only answer with yes or no. Mr.Brown owns the Hotel Trianon in the uncertain land of Haiti. The Smiths have arrived in Haiti to establish a vegetarian s The Comedians is a book that can be enjoyed for the superficial things alone. On the surface, the book is a thrilling adventure and a novel of place, set in Haiti. The book begins on a ship carrying a few interesting characters - the first person narrator Mr.Brown, the vegetarian couple the Smiths, the spooky Jones and the silent African who can only answer with yes or no. Mr.Brown owns the Hotel Trianon in the uncertain land of Haiti. The Smiths have arrived in Haiti to establish a vegetarian society as they believe vegetarianism can remove all passion and create world peace. The book is off to a terrific start with the interactions between these characters on the ship, punctuated by witty and sharp dialog.

The action then shifts to the Hotel Trianon. Mr.Brown is in a state of passivity as he recalls the glorious days when tourists used to throng his hotel, naked women bathed in the swimming pool and the bartender would make rum punches. But Haitian society is crumbling under the new dictatorship. Military police runs riot. His hotel is empty except for the Smiths. All Mr.Brown can do is watch helplessly and seek refuge in his hotel. Nobody knows for how long. He is also involved with the German wife of the South American ambassador in Haiti.

While I enjoyed the dialogs, the descriptions of the life in the hotel and Greene's evocation of the landscapes and customs, I am not sure I completely grasped the book's message. Greene seems to be suggesting that the world is full of "comedians" like Mr.Brown who can only watch as society crumbles. He is simply playing the part of being a dashing hotel owner and carrying on with the German lady but at the end of the day he is doomed and has no future. On the other hand, people like The Smiths are committed to their cause. Even if they may be driven by preposterous ideas, they can still save people. Mr.Smith, who once ran for president of the United States stares down an upstart military policeman and can hold his own. Mrs.Smith attempts to save the hearse of a Haitian from the military police on behalf of his wife. She even saves Mr.Brown's life when military police arrive at the Hotel Trianon. Even Jones, who is a suspicious, spooky and phony character and seems to be working for personal glory, ends up saving a few men by sacrificing his life.

Like in The End of the Affair, the book features a love quadrangle involving Mr.Brown, the German lady, Jones and Luis the South American ambassador. I don't know if this is a recurring thing in Greene's novels. Even The Third Man had some really complicated relationships.

Mr.Brown's character resonated with me. I live in India which is slowly turning into an uncertain land. While I am in a privileged position compared to millions of other Indians, some things affect me too. A couple of years ago, the government introduced partial alcohol prohibition in my home state of Kerala. Some of the cheap but glorious bars in Kerala shut down and have been replaced by family restaurants and car parks. I often find myself recalling those glorious days when I would sit for hours in the bar at Mercy Tourist Home with my friend, just talking and drinking. But those days are gone now. The control of governments and religious organizations over my life continues to rise everyday. And there isn't much I can do about it. Afterall, I am just a comedian. ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Oct 01, 2010 Steve rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Several years back, after reading Robert Stone’s (underappreciated) Bay of Souls, I saw someone somewhere say that Stone had departed from his Conradian foundation, and had pulled a Delillo on readers. I puzzled over that, because even though Bay of Souls is a change in approach, I didn’t see any of the incomprehensible Falling Man in Stone’s hallucinogenic tropical nightmare book. With Graham Greene’s The Comedians, however, I believe I have found the source for Stone’s trippy foray. And it ma Several years back, after reading Robert Stone’s (underappreciated) Bay of Souls, I saw someone somewhere say that Stone had departed from his Conradian foundation, and had pulled a Delillo on readers. I puzzled over that, because even though Bay of Souls is a change in approach, I didn’t see any of the incomprehensible Falling Man in Stone’s hallucinogenic tropical nightmare book. With Graham Greene’s The Comedians, however, I believe I have found the source for Stone’s trippy foray. And it makes sense, since a jump from Conrad to Greene to Stone, is as logical as 1-2-3. One probably shouldn’t start out a review with a digression, but reading Green’s book has made me want to return to Stone’s book for more of the same.

Published in 1966, The Comedians is unlike any book I’ve yet read by Greene (I’ve not read them all, but I’ve read a lot of them). It’s funnier, raunchier, and looser than his other books. I don’t know whether it’s considered one of his “Catholic” novels or not, but you will get plenty of meditations on sin, evil, love, suicide, and death. The novel opens with a ship a ship headed to Haiti. On board are three men, with the improbable gathering of Everyman names: Smith, Jones, and Brown. Brown owns a hotel in Haiti, which is now ruled by Papa Doc Duvalier. (As it turns out, while in New York, Brown has been trying to sell his Hotel.) Smith, is a former Presidential Candidate for the Vegetarian Party (is that so far fetched anymore?); and Jones, who is always described as “ambigious,” is a confidence man – who everyone (oddly) seems to like. Given where this bunch is headed, a real Hell, it’s not hard to see Greene as setting this up as a Ship of Fools.

Brown is the main character. Educated in Jesuit schools, he has lived a lonely life, virtually parentless. Like Greene (also a color) himself, he’s pushing 60. He currently is having a pretty hot relationship with Martha, the wife of the German ambassador. And by hot, I mean they’re doing it in the car, the lawn, and wherever else they can fit some action in. However, Brown’s own self loathing cannot seem to let it move beyond more than sex. He thinks himself incapable of love, and yet he desires it. When Brown gets nasty, he faults Martha for being German (and she in fact the daughter of a Nazi war criminal – though she carries none of that evil baggage). But longing for Martha is unrealistic anyway, since she’s a devoted mother to her son, Angel (see Hawthorne’s also eagle eyed “Pearl”). Martha would never leave her husband (who is not a bad man) if it means losing her son.

Once ashore, Brown finds his hotel empty, and the body of a government official in the empty pool. He has cut his own throat out of fear of Duvalier’s thugs, the Tonton Macoutes. What follows is a series of episodes, often comic (as in the Coen Brothers sense of “comic”), as Brown tries to deal with disposing of the body, keeping the Smiths (Holy Fools) out of trouble, having more sex with Martha, and keeping track of the trajectory (Up then Down) of Major Jones – who is brewing up some scheme with the Tonton Macoutes. At times this can get a bit wearying, especially when it comes to ridiculous conversations with the Smiths about vegetarianism and good works. Brown, from the start of the novel, likes to see all the characters he meets as actors – comedians, working through their silly human roles on their silly human stage. Tragedy is a thing for young men who believe in something. Brown is at that late point in life where he doesn’t believe in much of anything anymore. But as the novel unfolds, Brown continually sells himself short. He intervenes repeatedly, and bravely, into situations that put him at great risk. Beneath the cynicism there is a lingering sense of hope. And Brown responds best when he senses the goodness of others (the Smiths in particular), and will rise to defend it. As a reader, you never really buy into the We-Are-All Comedians world view. Sure, the grin painted on the skull in a place like Haiti is brightly colored, but it’s still a skull. In one late Conradian passage, Brown, while meditating on a picture hanging in his hotel, drops his novel long pretence of life as a comedy filled with comedians. Brown does (as he always has) see the horror, the corruption of the place. Life – and Death are at the heart of this novel:

On the first landing there was a picture by Phillipe Auguste of a carnival procession, men, women, and children wearing bright masks. Of a morning, when the sunlight shone through the first-floor windows, the harsh colours gave an impression of gaiety, the drummers and the trumpeters seemed about to play a lively air. Only when you came closer you saw how ugly the masks were and how the masquers surrounded a cadaver in grave-clothes; then the primitive colours went flat as though the clouds had come down from Kenscoff and the thunder would soon follow. Wherever that picture hung, I would feel Haiti close to me.

So the tone may be different, but with Greene the moral concerns remain the same.

...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Aug 14, 2019 D'Ailleurs rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: other

Είμαι πολύ λίγος για να μιλήσω για τον Graham Greene, μου αρέσει οτιδήποτε έχει γράψει και θέλω να διαβάσω τα άπαντα. Δεν θέλω να πω τίποτα παρα μόνό ότι η σκιαγράφιση των χαρακτήρων είναι τόσο ζωντανή όσο κανενός σύγχρονου συγγραφέα ένω τα ηθικά διλήμματα είναι πραγματικά χωρίς να έχουν φτηνό μελόδραμα και αναμόχλευση των κλισέ. Πάντα τέτοια!!

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Jul 17, 2018 booklady rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, classic, favorites, literature, historical-fiction, war-on-terror

Although I’ve yet to read everything by Graham Greene, and he’s one of my favorite authors with several novels ranking ‘Top 100’ status, The Comedians by him has now elbowed its way up there among the ‘amazingly unforgettable’ stories at the top.

As with most GG books, it shares a tropical but not exotic setting: Haiti, under François Duvalier, un-affectionately known as “Papa Doc”, elected president in 1957 on a populist and black nationalist platform, who ruled the poverty-stricken country fro Although I’ve yet to read everything by Graham Greene, and he’s one of my favorite authors with several novels ranking ‘Top 100’ status, The Comedians by him has now elbowed its way up there among the ‘amazingly unforgettable’ stories at the top.

As with most GG books, it shares a tropical but not exotic setting: Haiti, under François Duvalier, un-affectionately known as “Papa Doc”, elected president in 1957 on a populist and black nationalist platform, who ruled the poverty-stricken country from 1957 to 1971 by means of the Tonton Macoute, an undercover death squad, which killed ruthlessly and indiscriminately—at least as feared by native Haitians as the KGB and/or the SS were in their respective times and countries.

Into this setting sails the main character, Brown, the story’s narrator, a disillusioned part-English, native Monacan, returning to claim the hotel left by his deceased mother. With him are Jones, a likeable fool and Smith and his wife, Americans coming to bring vegetarianism to Haiti, where most people are too poor to even buy meat. But before you dismiss the Smiths as comic figures—as I was wont to do at first—that isn’t what GG has in mind by his title.

By comedians, Greene is actually making reference to The Divine Comedy, the ultimate Story where we all dwell whether or not we acknowledge it. Here we face the choice: comedy or tragedy? A comedy ends in marriage and a tragedy in death. In the supernatural realm this refers to our soul. Will we wed the Bridegroom, Jesus, or will we choose spiritual death instead?

As I listened to The Comedians, I didn’t spend much time thinking about this analogy—the plot line was too enjoyable. I’m loathe to write anything which might give away too much now. Let’s just say, don’t read too many reviews about this book unless you want this excellent story spoilt ahead of time. Knowing nothing about the book going into it, except for a bit of Haiti history for the time, is best.

Near the beginning of the book, good-natured Jones said, “I divide the world into two parts—the toffs and the tarts. . .” By that he meant, those who are committed and those who aren’t. “Who are The Comedians?” In other words, who are those who will choose commitment ... gain Eternal Life? It is always an individual choice.

GREAT book! ...more

flag 17 likes · Like · see review

Mar 28, 2014 Sketchbook rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: currently

Monstrously good -- and disturbing.

A few hundred miles off the Florida coast you'll find "an evil floating slum," says Greene, who makes us aware of the violent and corrupt republic of Haiti. Throughout the 60s it was ruled by Papa "Doc" Duvalier, a crackpot viper-tyrant (Hitler meets a runaway from any PG Wodehouse novel), who jibbered anti-Com jingles. Result: he murdered thousands of his own people while pocketing millions in US aid.

Welcome to a perfect Greeneland. (If GG were alive he'd writ ...more

flag 17 likes · Like · see review

May 28, 2017 Paradoxe rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Αντιλαμβάνομαι πολύ περισσότερο την ουσία του Ensam τώρα, ειδικά μετά τους Θεατρίνους. Ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο, κολλητικό, παρήγορο, συγγενικό μου, φρέσκο, κυνικό και όμως παλιό, ξεφτισμένο και πλούσιο, σα να γράφτηκε τώρα μόλις, ή πριν εκατό χρόνια. Λέει ο Γκρην πως γεννηθήκαμε και προετοιμαζόμασταν για μια ζωή τραγωδίας κι ωστόσο όλα τα συστατικά δημιουργούν συνεχόμενες και συνεχιζόμενες σκηνές κωμωδίας. Απόλυτα εξοπλισμένοι και γαλουχημένοι για να αντιμετωπίσουμε το δράμα, είμαστε λίγοι, ρηχοί, ψεύ Αντιλαμβάνομαι πολύ περισσότερο την ουσία του Ensam τώρα, ειδικά μετά τους Θεατρίνους. Ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο, κολλητικό, παρήγορο, συγγενικό μου, φρέσκο, κυνικό και όμως παλιό, ξεφτισμένο και πλούσιο, σα να γράφτηκε τώρα μόλις, ή πριν εκατό χρόνια. Λέει ο Γκρην πως γεννηθήκαμε και προετοιμαζόμασταν για μια ζωή τραγωδίας κι ωστόσο όλα τα συστατικά δημιουργούν συνεχόμενες και συνεχιζόμενες σκηνές κωμωδίας. Απόλυτα εξοπλισμένοι και γαλουχημένοι για να αντιμετωπίσουμε το δράμα, είμαστε λίγοι, ρηχοί, ψεύτικοι, ακατάλληλοι για την κωμωδία. Αντιμετωπίζουμε τα σοβαρά με γελοιότητα και κυνισμό στα γελοία δίνουμε όλο το βάρος και την έγνοια μας. Είμαστε γελοιοπρεπείς. Αναμένουμε διαρκώς κορδωμένοι την υπέρτατη φράση σοβαρότητας για να λάμψουμε και χάνουμε την ουσία σε κάθε εισπνοή και σε κάθε εκπνοή. Κατηγοριοποιούμε τους άλλους σε συναφείς συναδέλφους στις δικές μας θεατρικές παραστάσεις και κομπάρσους ή πρωταγωνιστές άλλων ειδών, τους οποίους πασχίζουμε να κατηγορήσουμε για υποκρισία ή ασυνέχεια, περνώντας στο ντούκου την όποια γνησιότητα τους μας είναι ξένη, ή πολύ υψηλή.

Τα ταξίδια που δεν είναι δικά μας τα προτιμούμε σε καμβάδες κακοφτιαγμένων απομιμήσεων για να χλευάσουμε, να εφησυχαστούμε, ή αριστουργημάτων ώστε να αισθανθούμε ασφάλεια απ’ την απόσταση μ’ εμάς. Όλοι διαλέγουμε τις υποκρισίες, τα φρονήματα, τα ιδανικά μας, ακόμα όμως και τα σημεία που μένουμε άφωνοι απ’ τη βαναυσότητα ή που λέμε αρκετά. Ως εκείνη τη στιγμή όμως που μένουμε ακλόνητοι συνεχίζουμε τις διαρκείς κωμωδίες και τα μικροδράματα, ή τα ιμιτασιόν δράματα προσπαθώντας να πατάμε σε μισές ειλικρίνειες που κρύβουν το φόβο της ρηχότητας και των ματαιοτήτων μας κι έτσι προχωράει ώσπου να παλέψουμε ή να πεθάνουμε μωροφιλοδοξώντας για την κορύφωση που ακόμη δεν ήρθε να μας στέψει.

Ένας κόσμος βαναυσότητας, αρρωστημένου αέρα όπου ζουν όλοι, είναι αναγκασμένοι να ζουν σε αυτή τη συνθήκη και με τον ένα ή τον άλλο τρόπο, επιβιώνουν. Ένας μόνιμος περιβάλλων χώρος που χρωματίζει τα μικροπάθη και τα πταίσματα κάθε ύπαρξης. Άλλοτε επιβάλλεται κι άλλοτε απλά παραμένει., με την ανοχή όσων θα μπορούσαν να το αλλάξουν και την παραίτηση όσων δε μπορούν μέσα σε μια πασαρέλα από ευκαιριάκηδες, πλιατσικολάγνους, κ@λωμένους, αδιάφορους, ωραιολόγους που δε διστάζουν στην παραμικρή καταπάτηση ενός προσωπικού ορίου ευτελούς, αλλά δικού τους που καθιστά τη ζωή τους πολιτισμένη στο γαλουχημένο μέτρο της καθώσπρέπει ζωής ώστε να ξεχάσουμε την πολιτισμένη φάσα τους στιγμιαία για να κυλιστούν μετά εντονότερα και περισσότερο σ’ αυτή από κάλπικες τύψεις, χωρίς να μπορούν να δουν ότι ο αναβρασμός τους θα μπορούσε να οδηγήσει σε κάτι πραγματικά καλό.

Όλος ο κόσμος είναι θεατρικά όμορφος για τον outsider που μόλις εισβάλλει και τον κατακτήσει, τον υφαρπάξει και μια μόνη λεπτομέρεια δημιουργήσει ασυνέχειες σ’ αυτό που συνήθισε να βλέπει ή να κάνει αποδεικνύοντας τη σθεναρή άρνηση αναγνώρισης πως η ρουτίνα μας δημιουργεί ασφάλεια όσο κι αν την κατηγορούμε, αμέσως αφηνιάζει, γκρεμίζεται, ψάχνει τρόπο να ενώσει πάλι τα άκρα, να τα μπαλώσει κι άμα δε μπορεί τα κάνει λάβαρο, όνειρο και στο μεταξύ βυθίζεται σε άλλες λεπτομέρειες συνέχειας, σε άλλες ρουτίνες, έτοιμος να δεχτεί ως κάποιο βαθμό και τη χειρότερη κατάσταση αρκεί να παραμείνει εκεί, στους ίδιους διαδρόμους, στις ίδιες συνθήκες, στην ίδια κατάσταση, να μην αλλάξει, να μην αλλαχτεί. Γιατί στην πραγματικότητα δεν πιστεύουμε σε τίποτα έξω απ’ ότι παρέχει το καλό μας και δε μας νοιάζει να βοηθήσουμε κανέναν αν αυτό δε μας εξασφαλίζει πως εμείς θα μπορέσουμε να συνεχίσουμε ως εκθέματα σε ένα μουσείο χωρίς να αγγίζουμε, ούτε ν’ αγγιζόμαστε για χάρη της προσωπικής γαλήνης, της ανάγκης περιχαράκωσης ώστε να περιφρουρήσουμε τη νωθρότητα μας, τη μαρμότα μας, την ειδυλλιακή εικόνα πως δε δαπανούμε μια ολόκληρη ζωή σε ασημαντότητες για τα λίγα λεπτά που θα άξιζαν όσο πενήντα χρόνια επανάληψης.

Ίσως θεατρινισμός να είναι κι ο αριβισμός, η ματαιοδοξία, η μωροφιλοδοξία μας. Τι πειράζει αν σκονιστούμε, η σκόνη δεν έχει χρώμα. Αρκεί να γεμίσουμε τις τσέπες μας, να ξαλαφρώσουμε στο ιδρωμένο κορμί κάποιας υποταγμένης στην εξουσία μας για μερικές δεκάρες και να γευτούμε την αίγλη των επιφανών υποκριτών και νικητών, των βάναυσων. Είναι τόσο διεγερτική η εξουσία, τόσο επιτρέπει ένα εύρος παιχνιδιών που καθιστά κι εμάς πολυδιάστατους, όσο και … διπρόσωπους.

Θέατρο είναι να γίνεσαι μάρτυρας μιας σπουδαίας πράξης, να τη νιώθεις που σε ζεσταίνει όσο μικρή κι αν είναι, όσο ατελέσφορη αποδειχτεί, αρκεί που είναι έξω απ’ το εγώ, αποκλειστικά έξω απ’ το εγώ και να λες πως δε φτάνεις, θα ήταν ισάξια ίσως του πατέρα που θα ήθελες να είχες και να μη βλέπεις πως απλώς δε νοιάζεσαι για να νοιαστείς, δε νοιάζεσαι για να γίνει αυτή η ζέστα μόνιμη, δε νοιάζεσαι να δεις πόση ανακούφιση υπάρχει στη βοήθεια που σου προσφέρουν ώστε μ’ αγαλλιασμένη χαρά να προσφέρεις κι εσύ. Το θέατρο βρίσκεται στο να μη βλέπουμε πως ο ανθρωπισμός υπάρχει, δεν είναι μια λέξη, ή μια θεωρία, ή γνώρισμα των ιεραποστόλων, είναι στο λερό εργάτη, όσο και στον πλούσιο Αμερικανό που σκορπάει χρήματα στους ζητιάνους.

Γελοιοπρεπείς είμαστε όλοι. Τι χρειάζεται για να γίνουμε αυθεντικοί; Ένας πόλεμος που θα μας στερήσει τα δεδομένα; Μια γυναίκα που όταν μας φύγει σε μια βίαιη ησυχία συνειδητοποιούμε πόσο πολύτιμη υπήρξε; Υποκριτές, τυφλοί και μισάνθρωποι. Μισάνθρωποι από αδιαφορία. Ξυπνάει το ενδιαφέρον μας μόνο μέσα σε μια συγκινητική ιστορία, ίσα για να κομπάσουμε σε άλλους ή τον εαυτό μας και να εφησυχάσουμε αυτό που δεν πέθανε ακόμα, απ’ το χέρι να το πάρουμε και σ’ ένα στρώμα πάγου να το αποκοιμίσουμε πάλι, ως την επόμενη ωραία ιστορία που οικειοθελώς θα θελήσουμε να μάθουμε, ή θα προσκρούσει με βία, έξαφνα πάνω μας.

Ίσως η ουσία βρίσκεται ακριβώς σ’ αυτό που διατυπώνεται στη σελίδα 342, πως υποκρίνομαι σημαίνει δραπετεύω. Το θέατρο είναι η ονειροπαγίδα όπου παύουμε να είμαστε αυτό που δε θέλουμε, μας παίρνει το κύμα σα να βρισκόμαστε μέσα στη θάλασσα. Απομακρυνόμαστε αλλά όχι πολύ, ούτε άγαρμπα, ή με βία, παρασερνόμαστε προς τα ρηχά ή τα άπατα ανάλογα τι προσδοκούμε. Έπειτα θέλουμε να πλατύνει αυτή η ονειροπαγίδα, να κατακλύσει τα πάντα. Είναι τόσο εύκολο με λίγες λέξεις που βεβαιώνουν τα ανύπαρκτα που δεν αντέχουμε να επιδιώξουμε, βλέποντας πως τα πιστεύουν οι άλλοι ίσως γιατί θα τα πίστευαν για μας σαν αληθινά, πειθόμαστε και νιώθουμε ωραία σ’ όσα μοιάζουν για αλήθειες μέχρι τη στιγμή που η πόρτα κρίνει στο σιωπηλό σπίτι μας, σα μια αυλαία που πέφτει και μένουμε με το περίβλημα μας να πετάγεται όπως κοχλάζει το παχύρευστο υγρό την ώρα του βρασμού, εκείνο το πλατύ αργό μπραφ, που μοιάζει επικίνδυνο, φοβιστικό, θα μπορούσε και να μας τραυματίσει κι ύστερα μένουμε γυμνοί μέσα μας.

Θεατρίνος είναι αυτός που αντιμετωπίζει τον εαυτό του και την κάθε σχέση του ως σκετς πάνω στη σκηνή, ως ξένο αντικείμενο για παρατήρηση και περιχαρακώνεται πίσω απ’ την εγωκεντρική αδιαφορία του με φόβο να αντιμετωπίσει – αναγνωρίσει τον εαυτό του, μήπως ανακαλύψει σ’ όλους αυτούς τους πόλους για τους οποίους ποτέ μα ποτέ δε θα μπορέσει να ξαναζήσει στιγμές χωρίς πάθος και πίστη, απορρίπτοντας κάθε άλλη πρόταση, όταν οι … ‘’χρωματισμένες μπάλες’’ των πίστεων ή των απιστιών παύουν να αιωρούνται και σκάνε στο πάτωμα τζούφιες.

Σπουδαίο μυθιστόρημα που απογειώνει τη σκιαγράφηση χαρακτήρων σε ένα άλλο επίπεδο. Λιτό, γρήγορο, ασυγκράτητο και παθιασμένο. Συγγενικό του Ρεμάρκ, του Τερζάκη, του Σοπενάουερ, του Κόνραντ. Από τα τρία βιβλία που διάβασα αυτή την περίοδο είναι το μοναδικό που αξίζει τα 5 αστέρια κι ατόφια. Κρατήστε αυτό, αν θέλετε. Οι συλλογισμοί μου παραπάνω είναι δικοί μου, χρωματισμένοι απ’ το βιβλίο όσο κι απ’ τη ζωή και τις γνώσεις μου. Μπορεί να είναι λάθος, ή ανοησίες. Αλλά το βιβλίο αξίζει.
...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Dec 27, 2011 Darwin8u rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

"We mustn't complain too much of being comedians—it's an honourable profession. If only we could be good ones the world might gain at least a sense of style. We have failed—that's all. We are bad comedians, we aren't bad men."

I started out thinking I was going to just read a 'minor' Greene, and finished the novel once again shocked by my ability to completely underestimate Greene. The Comedians is a dark tragedy set in a Haitian Hell ruled by Papa Doc and his Tonton Macoute. Into this tortured h ...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Apr 03, 2016 Perry rated it liked it · review of another edition

Persnickety Narrator sounds Like "Before Man" in Ex Lax Radio Ad

I don't mind so much Greene's hatred of the U.S. in this novel (set on the island of Hispaniola, mainly in Haiti), which is above average insofar as novels go in an intriguing, if not suspenseful, story line, and relatively interesting characters. Though I do prefer Greene's Catholic novels, since few can really successfully aim a grudge or resentment, the likes of which Greene had with the United States.

Yet, I must say that the nar ...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Mar 12, 2019 Daren rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, travel, travel-fiction, haiti, uk-author, central-america, 5-star

This books starts with the three main male characters, and one of the main female characters on a ship, the Medea, bound for Haiti. They are thrown together due to being the only European passengers.
They each travel to Haiti for quite different reasons.

I enjoyed this book perhaps more than any other Graham Greene novel I have read so far. Perhaps it is because the fiction is carefully wrapped in a very real setting, time and situation - Haiti in the 1960s. The time of François 'Papa Doc' Duvalie ...more

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Jul 18, 2013 AC rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novels-english

This was ok -- some interesting reflections on the comedians in the middle -- but frankly, imo, and given Greene's stature, it should have been better. Hence, a book that's just a notch below 4 gets rounded down to 3.

First of all, it has none of the aching beauty of the Quiet American -- perhaps because Haiti is not as romantic in my eyes as is Vietnam. Secondly, for a book that pretends to be a political thriller (of sorts), the plot is simply much, much too loose. It really feels as though he ...more

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Mar 25, 2017 Trevor rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-copy

What a wonderful novel.

Set in Haiti during the reign of Papa Doc Duvalier and his Tonton Macoute, it is the story of three lonely people with the names of Smith, Jones and Brown who meat on a steamer on route to Haiti. This story of love, loss, murder, revenge and jealousy is wonderfully written and truely evokes the feelings of repression and helplessness that must have existed during this period.

Graham Greene's writing is as always impeccable and a joy to read.

I loved this book, and would high ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Jun 10, 2018 Paul Secor rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-fiction, favorite-cover-designs

The Comedians is almost - almost - as dark as a pair of Tontons Macoute sunglasses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_g_n...

After I finished reading The Comedians, I read Paul Theroux's introduction and wondered why he wrote it, since his opinion of it is not very high. After very little thought, the answer is that he was paid to write it and it was just another writing gig. Then I wondered why Penguin accepted his introduction and printed it. I couldn't come up with an answer for that one. If I ...more

flag 17 likes · Like · see review

Dec 17, 2017 Evi * marked it as abbandonato · review of another edition

Shelves: letteratura-inglese

Non avrei mai pensato di abbandonare un libro di Graham Greene, non è un abbandono definitivo perchè è Greene, ma evidentemente per me non è il suo momento.

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Apr 05, 2017 Smiley rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction

3.75 stars

My enjoyment while reading this 292-page novel was somewhere between his "Brighton Rock" (3.5) and "The Honorary Consul" (4) so I added .25 for it. First published in 1966, the novel seemed uninteresting in its first one third so I had no choice but kept going and gradually found that it was arguably enjoyable, that is, we can enjoy it if we don't mind its various characters who, willingly or unwillingly, involve in Haiti under the rule of Papa Doc, especially the Tontons Macoute, his ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Nov 28, 2010 Daniel Villines rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Our lives are spent creating our own realities by mixing facts and beliefs together. The result may be plausible but it certainly is not real. And who can blame us? This very mixture helped us to survive. Fact: the lion is stalking me. Belief: if I run to that place, I will live. And so societies are born, careers are made, and we survive all because we acted on the facts at hand in conjunction with our beliefs in an outcome.

At times, however, the mixture becomes grossly imbalanced. Our beliefs ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Aug 28, 2011 Drew rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-lit, greeneland, boulder-public-library

Not a terribly funny book, despite the title. Not that I expected it to be, given other stuff I've read by him. I was mostly intrigued by the fact that it takes place in Haiti during Papa Doc Duvalier's regime: a supremely messed-up time and place. And Greene does Haiti well; it seems like they were made for each other, though I've got the feeling Greene can evoke any place pretty well. This is marginally lighter fare than either The Power and the Glory or The Heart of the Matter, and considerab ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Apr 16, 2014 BrokenTune rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, reviewed, greeneland-adventures

" ‘Any news of the Baron?’ It was the name some gave to the President as an alternative to Papa Doc – we dignified his shambling shabby figure with the title of Baron Samedi, who in the Voodoo mythology haunts the cemeteries in his top-hat and tails, smoking his big cigar. ‘They say he hasn’t been seen for three months. He doesn’t even come to a window of the palace to watch the band. He might be dead for all anyone knows. If he can die without a silver bullet."

So far, The Comedians is my favour ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

May 18, 2009 Elaine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Graham Greene is my new favorite author. Paul Theroux dissed this book in his introduction, but it was just Paul Theroux showing that he doesn't know much. This is sort of a book about Haiti and totalitarianism and brutality and corruption and the Evil Empire (America) but it is more a book about loss, rootlessness, the emptiness of the middle of the night, fatherlessness, faith and lack thereof... Greene is deep, clean, concise. Theroux says that it seems dated 40 years on, but that's only if y ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

topics	posts	views	last activity
Reading the World: BOTM June - The Comedians	3	7	Jun 21, 2020 09:52PM
Play Book Tag: [Poll Ballot] The Comedians by Graham Greene - 4 stars	1	10	May 15, 2020 10:08AM
French in The Comedians	2	25	Sep 06, 2013 02:54PM
graham greene books	2	33	Sep 06, 2013 02:53PM

See a Problem?

Preview — The Comedians by Graham Greene

The Comedians

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About Graham Greene

Books by Graham Greene

News & Interviews

Trivia About The Comedians

Quotes from The Comedians

See a Problem?

Preview — The Comedians by Graham Greene

The Comedians

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About Graham Greene

Books by Graham Greene

News & Interviews

Trivia About The Comedians

Quotes from The Comedians

new topic
Discuss This Book