Our Man In Havana

There on a book shelf had stood for years a slim volume of a book once read, then left waiting for it's turn of attention. Only for it to pass, then pass again. The pages yellow, it acquires a smell, the smell an old book gets, the smell given off from volumes of literature in an established library.  Musky like, dusty like and learned, waiting to be read.  So it was, I picked up this novel by Graham Greene, which has the category of "entertainment" and this week have been reading.

The funny thing about books is it is easy to read a book just once and then never pick it up again. To say to people oh yes I read that book, and describe parts of it or the storyline.  The truth though is one reading is never enough when the book you read is real literature and not the throw away kind, like a TV soap which will never fulfil the mind.  But after such a great gap I didn't realise how much I had forgotten of the story line, to the point I can hardly recognise any of the story at all. It is like picking the book up from new and starting all over again. Graham Greene however could never be described as an entertainer which belittles his great skill as a writer.  The book is entertaining however more than this it is funny.

A man in Havana eaks out a living and his business in vacuum cleaners seems to be hitting a declining trend.  His teenage daughter doesn't understand the value of money and starts to push him into financial ruin, however at this time an offer comes out of the blue.  To work as a secret agent for the British government and report on events which take place.  Except Havana is a boring location to live, it may be nice and hot, but nothing much happens in the way of Wormould's life.  He does what he does and gets by.  After an incident with a friend's apartment being ransacked he decides to feed a bucket load of lies to the secret service and claim all the expenses he needs.  The story line is wonderful and the writing is superb.  There are times of laughter, I can put it down easy and then pick it up and read it just as easily as well. 

Go out, buy it, read it and see for yourself.