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The Heart of the Matter
 
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The Heart of the Matter (Library Binding)

by Graham Greene (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 30.09
Price: CDN$ 27.81 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
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The Heart of the Matter + The End of the Affair + The Power And The Glory
Total List Price: CDN$ 73.99
Price For All Three: CDN$ 59.85

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  • This item: The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene

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Product Details


Product Description

From AudioFile

Michael Kitchen's excellent voice comes to embody the gin and rain-sodden cheer that epitomized the late British Empire in the tropics. The novel's hero, Scobie, is a police official who has conflated duty with love and who doesn't get much pleasure out of either. We have the fevers, corruption, even a war, but because this is Graham Greene writing, the real damage below the water line is not done by the U-boat, but by our hero's own character. Kitchen does the Brits, the carping wife, the sorrowful mistress, locals honest and locals who lie like rugs. Everyone speaks politely, precisely, incessantly, and yet it seems not to matter at all. This road goes right to hell. B.H.C. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.


Product Description

Scobie, a police officer serving in a war-time West African state, is distrusted, being scrupulously honest and immune to bribery. But then he falls in love, and in doing so is forced to betray everything he believes in, with tragic consequences. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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The Heart of the Matter
63% buy the item featured on this page:
The Heart of the Matter 4.7 out of 5 stars (44)
CDN$ 27.81
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Customer Reviews

44 Reviews
5 star:
 (35)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (44 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most helpful customer reviews

 
5.0 out of 5 stars Hell and God in a novel by a master storyteller, Jan 8 2004
Just like in Graham Greene's 'The End of the Affair' --and in many of his books-- God plays a crucial role in his 'The Heart of the Matter'. It is because of Him that the novel's protagonist Scobie ends up taking drastic --and tragic-- decisions.

'Heart' is set in a West African state, where a British man called Scobie lives with his wife and some other foreigner, while the War is consuming the world. He is a police officer who is very honest, competent and has no ambitions in his career --to his wife's disappointment. Louise Scobie, the wife, gets shocked when she learns that he was passed over for promotion. She feels that the most important people in local society --i.e. the English ones-- don't like them, and she spends most of time trying to be their close friend. When she's tired of that place she decides to move to South African, leaving her husband alone. But for her travel, he is forced to borrow money from a Syrian criminal, who likes Scobie because he is incorruptible. Or so he thought.

Not long after his wife leaves, Scobie meets the young, beautiful and widower Helen. He falls in love with her, and that's when his downward spiral begins. He is tangled in a web of lies and has to deceive and betray his wife, friends and department. But, what makes matter worse is that he is a very religious man, and to God's eyes he is committing a huge sin, and this is what most consumes Scobie.

At a certain point, discussing with friends the idea of hell, Scobie states that he doesn't believe that hell is a place full of flames, but the sense of loss. And this shows how Scobie is sent to hell --in life! -- when starts losing everything --even his dignity. The devotion to God -- or so believes Scobie-- has a main role in this point of his life, and he is a torn man, fighting against what he wants, because he thinks it is wrong.

Greene is a master storyteller, and is able to create very believable characters and situations. He once stated that he believed Scobie to be a little far fetched, but even if it is true, the character serves well to a specific purpose. The language is very elaborated without being difficult or boring, it only enhances the reading of such a great novel.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Greene's best work., May 16 2003
By C. Mclemore (Law School) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is my favorite Greene work, and his masterly skill of creating realistic characters is truly on display. This is the story of Scobie, a quite man with few aspirations, and his inner battle with religion and love. Scobie's struggle is real and powerful, and Mr. Greene captures every moment with clarity and style. I highly recommend this marvelous book to any reader.
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5.0 out of 5 stars The heart of a man tortured by his own conscience, April 19 2003
By Linda Linguvic (New York City) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This novel is set someplace in Western Africa in the early 1940s. Scobie is an English policeman and has been in the country for 15 years. He's married to Louise and their marriage is fading, their only child having died a few years before. The weather is hot and clammy, there is always a rat scampering around their house, they have to sleep under mosquito netting, and he has occasional bouts of malaria. As the story opens, he has just been overlooked for a promotion. But he really doesn't care. He still loves the place.

World War 2 is going on and one of his jobs is to check the incoming and outgoing ships for contraband. And there are always hard choices to make regarding right and wrong. There's his wife's desire to leave the country, an unscrupulous merchant and a young attractive widow. And, when he makes several foolish choices and his life spins out of control, he's troubled on a deep religious level. He's a Catholic and seriously believes in the teachings of the church.

This book transported me to a time and place that has always fascinated me. Once there, it brought me into the heart of the man. He is tortured by his own conscience. And I was able to understand it all. There's very little action in the book; it's all about his inner turmoil. I couldn't stop reading though, right down to the inevitable sad conclusion. The book is a bit of a masterpiece. I highly recommend it.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Just like the song
I read this book because I heard someone say on the radio
that Don Henley's (former Eagles band member) song by the same title (Heart of the matter) was written after Don read... Read more
Published on Feb 20 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars Grim Story; Strong Sense of the Human
"The Heart of the Matter" is the sad story of a man tormented by an inability to live up to the dictates of his religion. Read more
Published on Oct 28 2002 by oh_pete

3.0 out of 5 stars Frustrating, but very good literature
This book was very sad and frustrating. This man named Scobie, so honest and always well-meaning, always craving peace from his self-created hell. Read more
Published on Sep 28 2002 by alexislounor

5.0 out of 5 stars A Promiscuous Passion
At one point in the novel Greene's Scobie reflects on the nature of the passion that rules his life: pity, that promiscuous passion that so few realise, a passion more dangerous... Read more
Published on Aug 31 2002 by Dr Joanna Bratten

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes you question your own motives, faith, and love
After I read this book, I kept thinking about Scobie and his struggles with his faith or lack of it. Read more
Published on April 26 2002 by Penelope

5.0 out of 5 stars The heart of the matter
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. We can all see a little bit of ourself in Scobie. He is such a devoted hunband, an honest bureaucrat, who only borrows money to make her wife happy... Read more
Published on April 17 2002 by Vijay B. Kumar

5.0 out of 5 stars a gloomy tale on the expiation of sin
Graham Greene is one of the most entertaining writers I have ever read. So why is it that among my favorite of his books ranks this sodden and eventless wreck? Read more
Published on Feb 20 2002 by asphlex

5.0 out of 5 stars The violent collision of desire and duty
"The Heart of the Matter" - I couldn't quite understand why Graham Greene chose this title. But a few weeks after reading the book, I now think I know. Read more
Published on Feb 6 2002 by J. Taylor

4.0 out of 5 stars The Heart of the Matter...
"The Heart of the Matter" ran a little slow sometimes but Graham Greene did a wonderful job in describing the path to what he wanted to get to. Read more
Published on Jan 31 2002 by Space

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving testament to imperfection and humanity
Even for Graham Greene, a fine novelist, "The Heart of the Matter" is a standout masterpiece. Read more
Published on Dec 25 2001

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