The Honorary Consul by Graham Greene

The Honorary Consul by Graham Greene
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Read this as part of the Mystery/Thriller Groups group reads. Graham Greene is a well-known British writer of the early 20th century, but I had maybe only read one of his novels in college. As I get older, I realize I had no idea what many of the books I read in college were really about. I would recommend this because of the examination of the British influence in Latin American countries and the interplay of local politics. Thematically, the book is about the isolation of one man because of the loss of his father; of "machismo" in the Latin American man; of a constant want to be the hero, resulting in tragedy.

Our hero, Dr. Parr, wants to effect the rescue of his friend, who was accidentally kidnapped by Paraguayan militants who want to force the European & U.S. governments to overthrow the corrupt Paraguayan government. The militants had planned to kidnap the American ambassador to Argentina - on a sightseeing trip to the area near the Paraguayan border.

Parr enters into an affair with the ex-prostitute wife of his kidnapped friend, Charley. Parr habitually has affairs with his female patients. Charley's wife Clara is pregnant, probably with Parr's child. Toward the end of the kidnapping episode, Parr does express some guilt of his relationship with his friend's wife.

Charley is the only character who seems content with his life, and is the only survivor. The others, who all wanted something they could not or should not, have, all perished.

As for Greene's obsession with religion (Catholicism), that is beyond me.

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