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teresatumminello 's review for:

The Human Factor by Graham Greene
4.0

It took me about 80 pages to realize I was right to continue to read this. If I wasn't already familiar with Greene, I probably would've put it down at some point before those 80 pages, thinking this book was not my thing. But it deserves patience, as Greene is setting you up (necessary for the story) and by the time you're set up, you're hooked.

This novel is a mastery of dialogue. I can't remember the last time a book told me so much, and did it so well, with dialogue, not just in advancing the plot, but, more importantly, in differentiating and developing each character by what was said.

I also enjoyed the literary references (of books the characters were reading, or not reading), even if I haven't read Trollope's [b:The Way We Live Now|149785|The Way We Live Now|Anthony Trollope|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1453026230s/149785.jpg|2152551]. The only criticism I have is that Greene employed quite a few clunky similes, though in the long run they are forgivable.

*

P.S. The day after I finished this book, I found myself missing Maurice Castle (the main character).