Reviews

The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

edgiles4's review against another edition

hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

tomleetang's review against another edition

4.0

I read my first Graham Greene almost 15 years ago - it's taken me this long to give him another chance. And I'm glad I did. Set in rural Mexico in the '30s, to the constant sound of exploding beetles, The Power and the Glory occupies a time and place in history when Catholicism is being suppressed. What more perfect setting to ask questions about sin and faith, despair and redemption? None of which, I should add, are clearly answered. Instead, I was left contemplating more deeply whether religion has a place in modern life, and what that place might be.

In the creation of a main character who is arguably the worst priest of all time, Greene has also created a brilliant, complex antihero.

j_k_nelson's review against another edition

5.0

5/5

jcoker10's review against another edition

3.0

Thought this was awesome, just one tier below an all-time great novel. Haunting, sad, and beautifully written.

skmiles's review against another edition

2.0

I'm open to the idea that I didn't understand this, but I found Greene's characters unsympathetic in a simply unsympathetic way, little interest in his writing, and no real driving message in the tale. Overall, hard to be motivated by and not terribly interesting.

cesar's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Neste livro nós acompanhamos a saga de um padre fugindo das leis mexicanas que não permitiam o ofício da igreja católica.
 O livro é árduo, triste, humano e difícil, e acompanhar o padre é sentir suas dificuldades.
 Um livro sobre fé e sobre intolerância. 

pr_load's review against another edition

emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

kingabee's review against another edition

4.0

This was so sweetly twisted. I love me some moral relativism. I think religion (especially champion religion like catholicism) can do an excellent job complicating things and creating some really unnecessary moral dilemmas. In "The Power and the Glory" we have a priest who is so painfully human which was utterly inconvenient when you lived in 1930s Mexico.
I am afraid if I were in this book I would be the Lieutenant running around trigger-happy shouting "shoot'em all! The Church is the root of all evil!". Because things are so much nicer when they are either black or white.

The book had a definitely Latin American twist to it. It reminded me of some of Mario Vargas Llosa's works. It had this certain stuffy atmosphere with characters detached from reality.

revrebeccatankersley's review against another edition

5.0

Wow. Powerful story with a powerful lesson. The Church will always exist; wherever there are believers!

steakumm_jakeumm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25