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The Comedians

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Three men meet on a ship bound for Haiti, a world in the grip of the corrupt 'Papa Doc' and the Tontons Macoute, his sinister secret police. Brown the hotelier, Smith the innocent American and Jones the confidence man - these are the 'comedians' of Graham Greene's title. Hiding behind their actors' masks, they hesitate on the edge of life. And, to begin with, they are men afraid of love, afraid of pain, afraid of fear itself...

© Graham Greene 1976 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

 Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Fiction Espionage

Critic reviews

The ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man’s consciousness and anxiety. (William Golding)
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Thoroughly enjoyed listening to The Comedians by Graham Green . Along with the story intrigue and wonderful reading, not a sentence was missed.

Very engaging story and reading

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This is the first Graham Greene I’ve read. I’ll read many more. Fantastic and informative novel.

Amazing novelist

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Set in Haiti near the end of Papa Doc’s vicious regime the story is pervaded by an aura of menace as the Tonton Macoute kill and injure anyone they please. Against this backdrop are the stories of flawed people who nevertheless elicit sympathy as they try to make the best of their lives. The central character hotelier Mr Brown is a familiar Graham Greene character full of regrets, embroiled in a tempestuous affaire with a married woman and still carrying the guilt of a lapsed Catholic. As with other if the author’s books I leave with a sense of sadness for the characters I’ve lived with for many hours.
The narrator is outstanding.

Great story but not much comedy

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Great narrator and good storytelling . The characters were all well defined. Great overall good to listen to whilst gardening .

Kept me listening

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Grahame Greene is a wonderful writer. His thoughts are deeply philosophical and he never fails to engage my mind from start to finish.

As always faultlessly brilliant

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