Recommended Reading Order

[Colonel]

Hi all. I would love to know what reading order for Graham Greene books you would recommend to follow.

My recommended book to start with Greene is The Comedians.

[Jessica]

I love The Comedians, Colonel. I think that's as good a place to start as any...

What say others of you?

[Louise]

I always try to read them in order that they were written. I loved The End of the Affair, The Heart of the Matter and The Quiet American, so now I want to read all his work so I'm starting at the beginning with The Man Within and hope to work my way through most of his novels.

[Jessica]

My own first was The Heart of the Matter, an early novel of his, so a good place to start, as Louise states.

[Louise]

Although I have already read a few of them, this is the order I want to work through now. But if you only want to read a few of his books, then I'd go with the big ones. Brighton Rock, The Power and the Glory, The Heart of the Matter, The End of the Affair and The Quiet American. These are more serious. If you want something light and funny, go with Our Man in Havana.

The Man Within (1929)
The Name of Action (1930)
Rumour at Nightfall (1931)
Stamboul Train (1932)
It's a Battlefield (1934)
England Made Me (also published as The Shipwrecked) (1935)
A Gun for Sale (1936)
Brighton Rock (1938)
The Confidential Agent (1939)
The Power and the Glory (1940)
The Ministry of Fear (1943)
The Heart of the Matter (1948)
The Third Man (1949)
The End of the Affair (1951)
Twenty-One Stories (1954) (short stories)
Loser Takes All (1955)
The Quiet American (1955)
Our Man in Havana (1958)
A Burnt-Out Case (1960)
A Sense of Reality (1963) (short stories)
The Comedians (1966)
May We Borrow Your Husband? (1967) (short stories)
Travels with My Aunt (1969)
The Honorary Consul (1973)
The Human Factor (1978)
Doctor Fischer of Geneva (1980)
Monsignor Quixote (1982)
The Tenth Man (1985)
The Captain and the Enemy (1988)
The Last Word (1990) (short stories)
No Man's Land (2005)

[Colonel]

Louise wrote: "I always try to read them in order that they were written. I loved The End of the Affair, The Heart of the Matter and The Quiet American, so now I want to read all his work so I'm starting at the b..."

I don't think it's a good idea to follow the chronological order unless you study Greene academically. I think you can skip novels like "The Name of Action", "It's a Battlefield" and "Rumour at Nightfall" or leave them to the end.

I also recommend to read "Brighton Rock", "the Power and the Glory", "The Heart of the Matter" and "The End of the Affair" in a row. That's what I did and it was a unique reading experience.

[Jessica]

The Comedians, despite its title, is very serious indeed and may be my own personal favorite. I also love A Burnt-Out Case and The Honorary Consul, and would add them to Louise's short list above (as important serious Greene novels).

[Steve]

I agree with adding A Burnt-Out Case & The Comedians to Louise's list. Been a long time since I read The Honorary Consul, so I can't say for sure on that one.

[John]

I'd read 'The Destructors' cos I read that first: http://subrosa.umwblogs.org/files/200...

Then I would read 'A burnt-out case' or 'The Human Factor'.

However, it doesn't really matter because they're all great.

[K]

The Honourary Consul and Monsignor Quixote are my personal favourites. :-)

[Torben]

My favorites are: "The Heart of the Matter", "Brighton Rock", "A Gun for Sale", "The Man Within", "The Captain and the Enemy" and some short stories ...

[Bruce]

I haven’t read many, but when I read them, I read them chronologically. Of the ones I read, my favorites were - Confidential Agent, The Third Man, The Quiet American, and The Comedians.

[John]

I never read the books in order. Not sure it matters. Hard to pick a favorite. The Quiet American, Brighton Rock, The Heart of the Matter, The Power and the Glory to Our Man in Havana. All of them whether tragic, comic or thrillers. Living in Brighton and having read Brighton Rock a few times it stands out as my favorite.

[Dick]

Not sure if this discussion is still active but I'll give it a shot. Like others in this discussion, I thoroughly enjoyed The Comedians. Among the 10+ GG books that I've read, this is definitely one of my favorites. I laughed out loud when Brown was so upset and jealous that even Martha's dog, Midge, seemed to favor Jones!

Question for discussion - if someone who has never read GG asked you what book to start with, would you recommend The Power and the Glory? If so, why? If not, why not? I have my own view but will keep it under wraps for now. Thanks!

[JSA]

Start with the best stuff I reckon. End of the Affair, or Heart of the Matter. really anything from the 50s or 60s is solid. Also I have a soft spot for Dr. fisher of Geneva.
The Power and the Glory I found a bit heavy going.
I disagree strongly with a poster above who said to do it in chronological order. He really didn't get going until his 7th novel.

[Dick]

Hi JSA - yes, P&G is definitely a heavy book. It was my first rodeo with GG 10 or so years ago. I was new to Greene and while I enjoyed the story, I knew very little about GG so I could not fully appreciate it. I recently re-read it and was far more impactful. In terms of recommending where to start, I'd also vote Heart of the Matter or even one of his entertainments like The Ministry of Fear.

Have a good day and happy reading.