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The 2011-12 Graham Greene marathon resumes with my just finishing The Ministry of Fear ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ministry_of_Fear ). The first part was very enjoyable and 'light' in a humorously shadowy way - despite making extensive use of the wonderful Blitz setting - and it reminded me a little of G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Was_Thursday ). There were shades of other Greene books, perhaps notably http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_end_of_the_affair - with a WWII setting and a similarly comical private-detective, but some of the twists and conceits were fresh and original to my eyes. As the whole thing unfolded, it became less an 'entertainment' [as Greene has it] and more a guilt-ridden heavyweight, with the reciprocally-deceptive ending of the two main characters a perfect spin-kick-to-the-face ending. (Similar to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_heart_of_the_matter and, in a funny way, Mishima's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runaway_Horses - a book that greatly affected me when I first read it).
Anyway, it's Howards End next: something I've read of but not read. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howards_End ). The only other E. M. Forster I've read is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Passage_to_India - which I liked but did not love; that fact notwithstanding, I'm hoping for great things and will hold-off watching the much-loved Merchant-Ivory production ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howards_End_%28film%29 ) I have until I manage to finish it.
Anyway, it's Howards End next: something I've read of but not read. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howards_End ). The only other E. M. Forster I've read is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Passage_to_India - which I liked but did not love; that fact notwithstanding, I'm hoping for great things and will hold-off watching the much-loved Merchant-Ivory production ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howards_End_%28film%29 ) I have until I manage to finish it.