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eely225 's review for:
The Power and the Glory
by Graham Greene
In my slow march through Greene's highlights, this one has a distinct reputation. When I try to explain who Greene was, I usually start by mentioning this title. Even if people haven't read the book, it bears some reputation, if only for the "whisky priest" archetype.
I'd recommend that anyone reading this begin by reading [b:The Lawless Roads|48871|The Lawless Roads|Graham Greene|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1309287548s/48871.jpg|2990283], Greene's travelogue of his time in Mexico. It's clear how he draws from his personal experience to craft the narrative, and I think it adds to have that contextual background. So much of the world described goes unexplained, being from the perspective of someone who's been in it so long, that it helps.
The book itself reads like Greene imagining himself into another life, i.e. "What if I'd been a priest in anti-Catholic Mexico?" By putting himself into that situation, he brings his faults and biases, as well as his theology. The story itself can be a grind, but only because it is a description of a grinding kind of life. While it's listed generally as a "Catholic" book, it is not so naïve as to treat Catholicism as a unique good. But neither does it hold the alternate worldviews expressed as being any more above reproach.
Greene's two Mexico books facilitate each other's strengths, and I'd recommend both broadly.
I'd recommend that anyone reading this begin by reading [b:The Lawless Roads|48871|The Lawless Roads|Graham Greene|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1309287548s/48871.jpg|2990283], Greene's travelogue of his time in Mexico. It's clear how he draws from his personal experience to craft the narrative, and I think it adds to have that contextual background. So much of the world described goes unexplained, being from the perspective of someone who's been in it so long, that it helps.
The book itself reads like Greene imagining himself into another life, i.e. "What if I'd been a priest in anti-Catholic Mexico?" By putting himself into that situation, he brings his faults and biases, as well as his theology. The story itself can be a grind, but only because it is a description of a grinding kind of life. While it's listed generally as a "Catholic" book, it is not so naïve as to treat Catholicism as a unique good. But neither does it hold the alternate worldviews expressed as being any more above reproach.
Greene's two Mexico books facilitate each other's strengths, and I'd recommend both broadly.