A review by cjeanne99
The Comedians by Graham Greene

4.0

I was looking for a novel about Haiti - which brought me to my first Graham Greene novel. Really enjoyed his dialogue, his characters, especially our primary narrator, Mr. Brown. Haiti under the rule of Duvalier is a land in turmoil. Mr. Brown has been on a business trip, hoping to find a buyer for the hotel he recently inherited from his mother. He returns to Port-au-Prince on a Dutch ship - during the voyage he meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Mr. Smith was an unsuccessful presidential candidate running against Truman on a platform of Vegetarianism; and Major Jones, a British/Indian ex-pat with more imagination than true life experiences. The three of them form a bond - the Smiths spend a few nights in Brown's hotel while Mr. Smith tries to discuss building a vegetarian center in Haiti and Major Jones has to talk his way out of being arrested.
Mr. Brown tries to navigate his life in a Haiti controlled by a corrupt government and determine if there is any future in his relationship with the wife of the Uruguayan Ambassador. Mr. and Mrs. Smith decide to take their vegetarian platform to the Dominican Republic, Major Jones learns he needs to leave Haiti before he is imprisoned.
Interesting story - and a good break for me from the crime/thriller novels that usually populate my TBR shelf.