What I liked about the book: Greene’s writing is excellent. Most of the book was compelling as it told the story of a good, honest man slowly falling into ruin.

What I didn’t like about the book: The final part of the book, was just depressing and the ending was anti-climatic.

The most interesting quotes: He couldn’t tell that this was one of those occasions a man never forgets: a small cicatrice had been made on the memory, a wound that would ache whenever certain things combined — the taste of gin at mid-day, the smell of flowers under a balcony, the clang of corrugated iron, and ugly bird flopping from perch to perch.

“I’ve been delayed two months. I can’t stand delay. Work won’t wait.” Suddenly she lifted her face toward the sky and howled like a dog.

Further Comments: It’s been a long, long time since I read Cry the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton, but this book reminded me of what I could remember of that book.

To fully get in the mood, read this on one of those hot late-summer days when it’s 89º with a humidity of 97%. Since much of the book takes place during the rainy season in West Africa, it would be even more effective if you could read it during one of those hard summer thunderstorms that just make things hotter and more humid.