The Human Factor

Another reminder of why Graham Greene is such a readable and compelling author, even a generation after his works were written. Similar to Conrad, Greene is incisive on human nature, often depicted as a Manichean struggle between good and evil in a Hobbesian world that is both nasty and brutish. The England depicted by Greene here may seem very distant to the contemporary reader, but the attempt to be honourable in a corrupt world remains highly relevant. The Human Factor concerns itself with communism and apartheid and how they impact the lives of both those at their epicentre as well as innocent bystanders, typically adversely. Amidst both corruption and crises of conscience (not to mention rampant alcoholism), there are some wonderful moments of mordant humour. The main protagonist may be ground down (Kafka almost springs to mind) at novel's close, but the reader has been captivated — if not slightly depressed too — along the way. 8 out of 10.

By Graham Greene