The Honorary Consul
First edition of one of Greene’s own favorite novels.
8vo of 335 pp. publisher's green cloth, spine titles gilt, dust jacket, a very good copy. 197 x 130 mm.
Greene, Graham. The Honorary Consul. London-Sydney-Toronto, The Bodley Head Ltd, 1973.
First edition of one of Greene's own favorite works. Octavo, original green cloth.
This classic thriller novel further explores the themes of exhausted passions and absurd hopes that Greene developed in his earlier works The Power and the Glory and The Comedians. At the center of the novel is Eduardo Plarr, perhaps the most moving and convincing figure in Greene's fiction. The Honorary Consul was made into a film in 1983 starring Richard Gere as Eduardo Plarr and Michael Caine with a soundtrack composed by Paul McCartney and performed by John Williams.
“It’s something of a mystery how Greene’s oeuvre can so haunt the mind, insinuating profound questions of imposture and authenticity into our ruminations. The distinguishing landmarks of the alluring landscape known as “Greeneland” are the questions of virtue and desire, rectitude and compromise, shame and salvation that we’d ask ourselves if we had the time and courage to ponder the meaning of our own motives and activities” (James Mustich).
"The book stands as a superb portrayal of the adventures and torments of the soul caught in the whirlwinds of history… With this novel, Greene—at the height of his narrative art—develops a simple and stripped-down writing style, with perfectly crafted dialogues, demonstrating flawless command of the plot, which goes straight to the point, enriched with twists, surprises, and always with that primacy of the psychological sphere that hides much of the setting and landscape from us… And always with that touch of humor tinged with cynicism… Nearly ten years after writing it, Greene considered The Honorary Consul his best novel." (Thierry Clermont).
The scope of the novel finds its measure in Greene’s ability to communicate his vision of the world to his readers without ever adopting a moralistic stance.
An attractive copy preserved in publisher’s cloth in a bright dust jacket.
