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d5lefko's review against another edition
4.0
Took me a week to read the first 80 pages, and then I put it down for 2 months; picked it up tonight and read all 120p left in one sitting. Good book!
callmeevan's review against another edition
4.0
Very good Greene novel. The primary metaphor is made explicit by the characters (and is named in the title), but I am still mulling over the other layers in the story and character of M. Querry. I was worried the ending would be tidy and trite (why was I?! It's ol' Graham!), but it's complex and calls for more engagement, for asking difficult questions. Good for discussing with a reading partner, for pondering, and, I expect, for re-reading.
pansypunch's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
paul_cornelius's review against another edition
5.0
I'm finishing up with the volumes of Graham Greene I've missed reading so far. And this is one of them. Frankly, I'm surprised how much I enjoyed it. But that is always the case with Greene. In starting out his novels, I always think that "this one" will disappoint in light of the quality of those I've read up to then. But then it doesn't. The author writes at such a sustained level of greatness.
In A Burnt Out Case, Greene captures the utter exhaustion with life his hero, Querry, feels. Not even escaping to a leper colony in the remotest part of Africa allows him to escape. Always on Querry's trail is his past. And the leper colony is just one stop short of being far enough away from that past.
The plot and the storyline are especially efficient. At the end, Querry hasn't traveled far, geographically, in this novel. And neither does he travel very far spiritually. Life will not let him. Like one of the mutilated lepers, Querry has no where else to go.
In A Burnt Out Case, Greene captures the utter exhaustion with life his hero, Querry, feels. Not even escaping to a leper colony in the remotest part of Africa allows him to escape. Always on Querry's trail is his past. And the leper colony is just one stop short of being far enough away from that past.
The plot and the storyline are especially efficient. At the end, Querry hasn't traveled far, geographically, in this novel. And neither does he travel very far spiritually. Life will not let him. Like one of the mutilated lepers, Querry has no where else to go.
connorreid's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
beekamason's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
babsellen's review against another edition
4.0
I love Graham Greene's writing. I feel as though I've settled into an easy chair by the fire and am watching and old black and white movie. This one was good, but not as masterful as The Quiet American.
bundy23's review against another edition
3.0
Whiney Catholics find any excuse to be miserable while leprous black folk get on with life. More lepers and less Catholicism would've seriously improved my enjoyment of this one.