Graham Greene the Entertainer

by Peter Wolfe and Associate Professor Peter Wolfe Ph.D.

Until 1970, Graham Greene made a sharp distinction between his novels and his lighter fiction, which he called entertain­ments. The use of the two categories seems to indicate that the latter books are trivial and inferior; yet Peter Wolfe shows that the entertainments are more than escape fiction; they are, rather, an almost distinct new genre.

Wolfe focuses on seven books, from Orient Express (1932) toOur Man in Havana (1958), showing recurring themes as well as the evolution of the entertainment form.

GrahamGreene enthusiasts will find this newbook particularly valuable for its long and careful look at the less-discussed works, while readers of thrillers will appreciate Wolfe's analysis of them as a literary genre.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809305801
• ISBN13: 9780809305803
• Release Date: October 1972
• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.9" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Impressive book on Greene and popular culture

This is an informative book about popular culture (what makes a thriller a thriller, with good information about Alfred Hitchcock and Edgar Wallace at times, too) and about Greene's earlier novels. I suspect the other reviewer is a student of the author (he teaches in St. Louis) who may be disgruntled over a course grade and attempting some web sabotage. People who like Greene will like this book.