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The Confidential Agent cover art

The Confidential Agent

By: Graham Greene
Narrated by: Tim Pigott-Smith
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Summary

In a small continental country civil war is raging.

Once a lecturer in medieval French, now a confidential agent, D is a scarred stranger in a seemingly casual England, sent on a mission to buy coal at any price. Initially, this seems to be a matter of straightforward negotiation, but soon, implicated in murder, accused of possessing false documents and theft, held responsible for the death of a young woman, D becomes a hunted man, tormented by allegiances, doubts and the love of others.

©1978 Graham Greene (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Confidential Agent

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  • Overall
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Am unusual Graham Greene well performed by TPS

Where does The Confidential Agent rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'm not interested in rankings like this. I recommend it, so listen to it and make up your own mind.

What other book might you compare The Confidential Agent to, and why?

There's a touch of nightmarish surrealism about this so in part it reminded me of Kafka's The Trial. It's also reminiscent of some pulp noir novels of the period, luridly exaggerated and unlikely in tone but still compelling as it goes on. Also a touch of Conrad's The Secret Agent and John Buchan's Thirty Nine Steps.

Have you listened to any of Tim Pigott-Smith’s other performances? How does this one compare?

He is very good but the novel is a demanding one to read and I'm not sure the protagonist's foreign accent is absolutely necessary, although he is the 'confidential agent' of the government forces in the Spanish Civil War so I'm sure the makers would argue it is. TPS is a brilliant reader however.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

It wouldn't be what it actually was on the posters of the 1945 film with Lauren Bacall and Charles Boyer 'Watch her lips answer the call ... ' which refers to Lauren Bacall's famous line to Bogart in To Have and to Have Not and has nothing to do with this film or book.

Any additional comments?

It's a shame the questions above don't ask anything about the book itself. It grew on me. I'm a huge Greene fan (lifelong) but had never read this one. So I was quite surprised. The London setting is very interesting, the period in the run up to World War Two is also interesting - full of threat and menace, the war looming in the background, the contrast between the peaceful UK and the war torn Europe pervading the book written before war even began but evoking the complacency of politicians of the time as war became increasingly inevitable. Greene writes of the horror of aerial bombing, the slaughter of women and children, starvation and destitution. It's a sombre book but ultimately very gripping. Not my favourite Greene but well worth reading or listening to.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Not one of his best...

I think I've read/listened to pretty much all of Greene's novels and this is probably one of the weakest. It seems laboured and the use if initials for names and D's deliberately anonymous home country is all a bit tedious. Tim Piggott-Smith is always a good reader, although I found his accented characters more oriental than European, but then perhaps they were and my assumption that D was European is wrong... who knows? All a bit of a mystery and not in a good way. Greene is such a brilliant author overall, this one just seemed to be below par.

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8 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars

Not the best by Greene

I generally love Graham Greene and this wasn’t awful, but it seemed more dated than anything else I’ve read by him. Overall I’d say it was the Graham Greene book I have enjoyed the least.

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5 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars

Goes on a bit

I felt it tried to tick too many boxes, too many loose ends and unanswered questions. Hard to see through to the end.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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An engaging story of a man with a mission

the story captures the mind and feelings of the Confidential Agent trying to complete his mission against opposition, his own sense of loss, his anger at murder, and growing love which seems hopeless. Very well narrated by Tim Pigott-Smith.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding.

Great story, beautifully written. Twists, turns, pace, thrills, dramatic tension, and a compelling read.
Superbly read by TPS - I don’t love his Spanish accent for D (a bit too similar to his voices for very different characters in other Greene novels), but pretty perfect otherwise.
Greene is such a great storyteller and writer.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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classic mystery suspense

Had forgotten how enjoyable Graham Greene's work is and will be certainly listening to more.

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1 person found this helpful

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Tim Pigott-Smith brings this book to life!

I read The Confidential Agent several years ago. Thank god for Tim Piggot-Smith, otherwise i'd sill think Graham Green's work of fiction was hardly worth my time...

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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Strangely dull and flat

Masterful reading by TPS does not make up for a rather hotch potch of improbable narrative and unlikely plot developments - episodic and unengaging. Relieved when it ended (with predictable implausibility).
Rather a surprise as every other Graham Greene I have listened to has been a gem!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Greene's best title but a weak book

Greene is a great writer and Heart of the Matter is in my top five books. Loved this book's title but the novel itself is not that good. Main characters are referred to by letters. Our hero is D, a widowed classicist and singularly inept for the espionage world he is thrust in to. He must get a coal deal for his unnamed country (Spain) and thwart the opposite side's attempt to do the same. D comes out the loser in every encounter and apart from being the most moral has little to recommend him. He struggles from disaster to disaster and the whole thing just becomes annoying. A romance that is thrown in towards the end is so improbable, rushed and adds nothing of value to the story. Read Greene, I highly recommend him, just not this one.

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