Graham Greene Against the World
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Graham Greene Against the World
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Re: Graham Greene Against the World
#2> When Kim Philby was reviled as a mole for the USSR at MI6 (where he had been Greene’s drinking buddy and supervisor), Greene was the only notable British figure to visit the disgraced Philby in Russia, or attend his funeral in 1988. As Beatrice Severn declares near the end of Greene’s funniest novel, Our Man in Havana (1958): “I don’t care a damn about men who are loyal to the people who pay them, to organizations.… Would the world be in the mess it is if we were loyal to love and not to countries?”
Yeah sounds like an interesting person alright.
Re: Graham Greene Against the World
#3> When Kim Philby was reviled as a mole for the USSR at MI6 (where he had been Greene’s drinking buddy and supervisor), Greene was the only notable British figure to visit the disgraced Philby in Russia, or attend his funeral in 1988. As Beatrice Severn declares near the end of Greene’s funniest novel, Our Man in Havana (1958): “I don’t care a damn about men who are loyal to the people who pay them, to organizations.…
> an NKVD agent and vice-consul in Istanbul, requested political asylum in Britain ... [and] ... offered the names of three Soviet agents inside Britain, two of whom worked in the Foreign Office and a third who worked in counter-espionage in London.
> Philby was given the task of dealing with [the NKVD agent] by British intelligence. He warned the Soviets of the attempted defection and travelled personally to Istanbul – ostensibly to handle the matter on behalf of SIS but, in reality, to ensure that Volkov had been neutralised.
What a nice guy that Philby, indeed so very "loyal to love".
Re: Graham Greene Against the World
#4I did not know about those juicy moments of Greene's life but I absolutely love his writings.
Re: Graham Greene Against the World
#5Well, this is bit strange. Apparently I can buy two books about the life of Graham Greene, both by the same author - Richard Greene. One is called "The Unquiet Englishman: A Life of Graham Greene" (512 pages) published Nov 2020 [1] and the other is called "Russian Roulette: A brilliant new life of Graham Greene" (602 pages) published Sep 2020 [2].
Which one do I buy?
[1] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unquiet-Englishman-Life-Graham-Gree...
[2] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russian-Roulette-Times-Graham-Green...
Re: Graham Greene Against the World
#6Well, this is bit strange. Apparently I can buy two books about the life of Graham Greene, both by the same author - Richard Greene. One is called "The Unquiet Englishman: A Life of Graham Greene" (512 pages) published Nov 2020 [1] and the other is called "Russian Roulette: A brilliant new life of Graham Greene" (602 pages) published Sep 2020 [2]. Which one do I buy? [1] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unquiet-Englishman-Li…
According to his Twitter bio, it depends on your location but it's the same book.
> His biography of Graham Greene will be released this autumn in the UK as Russian Roulette and in the US as The Unquiet Englishman.
Re: Graham Greene Against the World
#7Well, this is bit strange. Apparently I can buy two books about the life of Graham Greene, both by the same author - Richard Greene. One is called "The Unquiet Englishman: A Life of Graham Greene" (512 pages) published Nov 2020 [1] and the other is called "Russian Roulette: A brilliant new life of Graham Greene" (602 pages) published Sep 2020 [2]. Which one do I buy? [1] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unquiet-Englishman-Li…
According to his Twitter bio, it depends on your location but it's the same book. > His biography of Graham Greene will be released this autumn in the UK as Russian Roulette and in the US as The Unquiet Englishman. From: https://twitter.com/richardgreene2
Cool. Thanks. I probably should have checked that before posting. Russian Roulette is definitely on my shopping list.
Re: Graham Greene Against the World
#8> When Kim Philby was reviled as a mole for the USSR at MI6 (where he had been Greene’s drinking buddy and supervisor), Greene was the only notable British figure to visit the disgraced Philby in Russia, or attend his funeral in 1988. As Beatrice Severn declares near the end of Greene’s funniest novel, Our Man in Havana (1958): “I don’t care a damn about men who are loyal to the people who pay them, to organizations.…
> an NKVD agent and vice-consul in Istanbul, requested political asylum in Britain ... [and] ... offered the names of three Soviet agents inside Britain, two of whom worked in the Foreign Office and a third who worked in counter-espionage in London. > Philby was given the task of dealing with [the NKVD agent] by British intelligence. He warned the Soviets of the attempted defection and travelled personally to Istanbu…
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" was a thinly fictionalized retelling of this period. John le Carré's contempt for the people in the organizations he wrote about could be seen as a reaction to the excesses of the era Greene wrote about.
Perhaps by necessity, these aren't good people. The le Carré view can be summarized as, for that business you need people who only need the justification of the approval of their handler (and maybe a few dollars) or a story about being aligned to a secret power to release their inborn urge to be an utter piece of shit. He describes a world of compromised people, working and blackmailing each other all the way down. That they often use investment banking and journalism as a cover is no accident. I found his books more entertaining.
Re: Graham Greene Against the World
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
> an NKVD agent and vice-consul in Istanbul, requested political asylum in Britain ... [and] ... offered the names of three Soviet agents inside Britain, two of whom worked in the Foreign Office and a third who worked in counter-espionage in London. > Philby was given the task of dealing with [the NKVD agent] by British intelligence. He warned the Soviets of the attempted defection and travelled personally to Istanbu…
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" was a thinly fictionalized retelling of this period. John le Carré's contempt for the people in the organizations he wrote about could be seen as a reaction to the excesses of the era Greene wrote about. Perhaps by necessity, these aren't good people. The le Carré view can be summarized as, for that business you need people who only need the justification of the approval of their handle…
Greene covered much of the same ground in The Human Factor. I find Greene to be the more edgier cynic on intelligence agencies. Human Factor is ultimately more profound than Tinker, Tailor..
Amazing that it was even filmed in its time; today I don't it would be greenlighted.
Re: Graham Greene Against the World
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" was a thinly fictionalized retelling of this period. John le Carré's contempt for the people in the organizations he wrote about could be seen as a reaction to the excesses of the era Greene wrote about. Perhaps by necessity, these aren't good people. The le Carré view can be summarized as, for that business you need people who only need the justification of the approval of their handle…
Greene covered much of the same ground in The Human Factor. I find Greene to be the more edgier cynic on intelligence agencies. Human Factor is ultimately more profound than Tinker, Tailor.. Amazing that it was even filmed in its time; today I don't it would be greenlighted.
Greene is certainly a more literary writer with more human insight, and le Carré would be more plot driven. I read Havana, Brighton, and Quiet American decades ago now. Genre wise, Alan Furst apparently took up the gauntlet, but his characters seemed like unmemorable plot devices to me.