The Human Factor | Graham Greene

My love of reading began as a child, with Franklin W. Dixon's "Hardy Boys" series.  I suppose that I'd probably classify them as rubbish if I went back to read them as an adult, but I enjoyed the plot lines and keeping track of all the novels I read in an orange notebook.  The reason I bring this up, is because I believe the last time I read a mystery (other than 'The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels & Demons"), was during my adolescent Hardy Boy years. 

As a consequence of my limited experience in mysteries, I don't feel like I can testify how this book stacks up against others in the genre.  I haven't delved into the genre for a reason - it's typically formulaic, violent and contains suspense driven prose (with little to no literary merit).

Greene's novel is none of these things.  There is no violence in the movie - no car chases, no shooting matches, no stabbings, no ghosts, no frivolous scene drama (ie: fog and street lamp glow).  It's a simple spy novel, without much of the formulaic drivel.  The characters are believable and completely held my interest.  The plot was dramatic, but not over the top - and it was completely believable.

Wikipedia says it best:

In his 1980 autobiography Ways of Escape, Greene wrote that his aim with this book was "to write a novel of espionage free from the conventional violence, which has not, in spite of James Bond, been a feature of the British Secret Service. "I wanted to present the Service unromantically as a way of life, men going daily to their office to earn their pensions." Writing in his 70s, Greene drew on his own experience in MI6 and explored the moral ambiguities raised by his old boss, legendary Soviet double agent Kim Philby, although Greene stated that Castle, the main character in the novel, was not based on Philby.


Another theme Greene explored was what he considered the hypocrisy of the West's relations with South Africa under apartheid. He thought that even though the West publicly opposed apartheid, "they simply could not let South Africa succumb to black power and Communism" (from the Introduction to the 1982 edition of The Human Factor). 

The background of the British Secret Service's view on apartheid was prevalent, and gave me something to research a little further on completion of the novel.  The dichotomy of the English helping versus not getting involved seemed present, and as you read you had to remind yourself of the position of the Secret Service.  At some points, you feel as though they were part of the solution and others, as if they were part of the problem.  In a world of double identities and double meanings, this was a great complementary theme.

The main character, Maurice Castle, was intelligent and likable - you couldn't help but to root for him.  The secret service's job was presented as a difficult one, coupling intelligent leaders with gun-slinging cowboy types.  It reminded me slightly of the corporation, and also of the military.  You have well-rounded leaders and you have people concerned for 'the greater good' (or possibly ambition), which in some cases leads to large mistakes.

I read this novel in a few days, because I really enjoyed it.  The stripped down plot complemented the importance of the dialogue - the struggle of minds in every day interactions.  I found this part of the novel the most fascinating; it was one of the reasons why most spy novels (in my limited experience) don't compare with this one.

As I read the novel, I found myself frequently over thinking.  In my head, there were double agents all over and I was certain there were a few more people in on it.  I was disappointed, to an extent, that this book was oversimplified, but as I read Greene's motivations for writing the novel, I think he hit the nail on the head.  I had a chance about a year ago to purchase all Greene's work, but I declined; it would be interesting to see how this book stacked up against the rest.  As an aside, I would probably read "The Quiet American" first - as I loved the movie, staring Michael Caine.

QUOTATIONS:
"You can never go back to your childhood." 77
"Happy people don't notice if it's winter or summer." 278

Ivanhoe | Sir Walter Scott

Ivanhoe was written in 1819 by Sir Walter Scott. It's set in 1194 in England and details the struggle between the English (Saxons) and the French (Normans). When the son (Ivanhoe) of a Saxon noble (Cedric) professes his allegiance to King Richard, he is disinherited by his father. The novel details the life of Ivanhoe and his struggle to uphold the ideals dear to him.

There is no doubt in my mind that when adults read portions of Ivanhoe to their children nearly two centuries ago, they hung on to every word. But this book was not meant for children, on the whole. It was meant for adults, and part of the appeal was being taken back to their youth, as readers. Adventure, gallantry, heartache, perseverance, honour, valor... this work had all of it. Surprisingly, it also contained nuggets of humour at times. In the end, the morals of the story are what made this book special.

Nineteenth century literature can often be unexpectedly simple to read at times, but at others, it can be a slog. When I get into books published during this time period, I always hope that I can get past the prose and focus more on the content. Sometimes, the prose isn't the problem - stylistically, something seems to be lacking. In this case, I found the style to be a problem for me. Specifically, the book was too dramatic but lacked a certain momentum between events, due mainly to having long pieces of dialogue about trivial points of information. The tendency to droll on about concepts with little to no importance to the novel was rampant by Scott. I'm not sure if he just got carried away, sitting in his own English castle (Scott didn't live modestly, according to a photo my grandmother showed me of his abode) or if he simply didn't know how to edit properly. A good editor would have done this book wonders.

Scott's mastery of characters, however, was remarkable in Ivanhoe. Most seemed simplistically drawn, but each seemed to hold a place in one's mind. The character with the most amount of depth was Rebecca, arguably the true protagonist of the novel. A Jew during a time when Jew's were considered inferior citizens, she stood up for herself and the oppression of her people everywhere. According to Wikipedia, the modern image of Robin Hood owes a lot to Sir Walter Scott's portrayal of him in Ivanhoe. Famous scenes from many books and movies such as the tale of Robin splitting an arrow in two with his own, come from this book. Also making an appearance are Little John and Friar Tuck.

When I think back on this novel, my favourite event was an interaction between Friar Tuck and The Black Knight, which showed a lovely part of Scott's humour. When they first met, Friar Tuck explained that he was a poor man of God, and could only give him modest accommodations and food. The Black Knight asked him how he could get to be of such a girth, on such modest meals. After some back and forth, Friar Tuck brought out the venison and ale and a fine feast was had. I suppose this is a jab to some Christian men of distinction, a theme that was common in this novel.

Scott poked fun of religion, brought to light cruel treatment of the Jewish people, and showed the absurdity of war and 'games' over honor which brought death to people. This novel was a statement and had a pronounced effect. But what makes this novel a classic, is that the themes and the absurdity of religion, war and racism are still evident nearly 200 years later. They are as absurd today as they were then. Have human beings really make progress with these themes as a whole? This is a question that makes this novel timeless, and worth a read.

That said, be prepared for an up and down ride. There are periods of excitement and humor, but you have to invest time and energy to get to them. This novel took me nearly two months to read due to this, and I wouldn't read it again; but I enjoyed the story and the attempt of Scott to change the way in which we view some of the absurdities of man.