Author: Graham Greene

Publisher: Vintage Books

First published: 1973

Setting: Corrientes, Argentina
Read in January 2014

My Rating ★★★★  4.3

My Waterstones Review

“A bungled kidnapping by a catholic priest”

Set around 1969 Doctor Eduardo Plarr lives in a small Argentine town near the Paraguay border at a time when kidnapping and political unrest is rife. His old school friends are planning to kidnap the American Ambassador in order to use this as leverage for the release of political prisoners, Eduardo has been told that one of them would be his father. But it wouldn’t be a Graham Greene novel without a few comic turns or love thrown in. The bungled kidnap captures Charley Fortnum, the British Honorary Consul, and Eduardo is having an affair with his young wife, Clara, who he first met at Mother Sanchez’ brothel. Eduardo is struggling to understand the notion of love.

Graham Greene was a catholic and religious themes are common in his books. This one explores the dilemma of a struck-off priest who has joined a guerrilla action group and is faced with the possibility of having to kill the Honorary Consul. For me, the deliberations went on a touch too long, but otherwise a beautifully written book, with a good mix of dialogue and narrative. Greene mixed in a lot of research much of it based on actual events, this was his favourite book.

Book Review

Doctor Eduardo Plarr born of a Paraguayan mother and English father is living in the small river port of Corrientes in Argentina. He is one of three English residents; Doctor Humphries a doctor of letters and Charley Fortnum, the alcoholic Honorary Consul. Doctor Plarr has been having an affair with the Honorary Consul’s wife, Clara. 

As a child Eduardo lived in Paraguay and at 14 he and his mother moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina leaving his father on the quay at Asunción. Eduardo is somewhat sympathetic to the causes of the Juventud Febrerista guerrilla action, two of his old school friends Father León Rivas and Aquino are members. Eduardo is aware that they aim to kidnap the American Ambassador and they may need his help. One morning in the early hours Doctor Plarr is awoken by a telephone call and told that a man is dying, he is taken to the place where he expects to attend to the Ambassador only to find that the guerrillas have bungled their mission, they have captured the Honorary Consul.

Eduardo is a bit of a cold fish, he has been emotionally affected by his childhood and finds it difficult building lasting relationships. He has had affairs and occasionally joins other locals at Mother Sanchez’ brothel, here he is attracted to Clara but she has other clients one of which is Charley 40 years her senior and soon to be her husband. Eduardo is struggling to understand the notion of love.

The Honorary Consul was Graham Greene’s favourite book and has his customary Catholic religious theme. The book is probably pitched in 1969, there is a reference to Nixon as USA President. These are turbulent times for Argentina, there are military dictatorships between the two presidential periods of Juan Perón, kidnapping and political unrest are common. There must have been some affinity with the area for Greene to spend time in Corrientes researching for his book. It is a beautifully written and interesting book, but it was a struggle for Graham Greene and two thirds through he hit a block and nearly abandoned it.