Rating: 
Summary: Greene¿s most hilarious and most mordant entertainment.
Review: Gleefully combining the raucous humor of absurdity with slyly subtle wordplay and caustic satire, Greene entertains on every level, skewering British intelligence-gathering services during the Cold War. Setting the novel in the flamboyant atmosphere of pre-revolutionary Havana, where virtually anything can be had at a price, Greene establishes his contrasts and ironies early, creating a hilarious set piece which satirizes both the British government's never-satisfied desire for secrets about foreign political movements and their belief that the most banal of activities constitute threats to national security.Ex-patriot James Wormold is a mild-mannered, marginal businessman and vacuum cleaner salesman, whose spoiled teenage daughter sees herself as part of the equestrian and country club set. Approached by MI6 in a public restroom, Wormold finds himself unwillingly recruited to be "our man in Havana," a role which will reward him handsomely for information and allow him some much-needed financial breathing room. Encouraged to recruit other agents to provide more information (and earn even more money), he chooses names at random from the country club membership list and fabricates personas for them, featuring them in fictionalized little dramas which he churns out and forwards to his "handlers." Always careful to fulfill their expectations exactly, Wormold becomes a more and more important "spy," his stories become more creative, his "enemies" find him and his "agents" to be dangerous, and his friends and the real people whose names were used as fictional agents begin to turn up dead. Skewering British intelligence for being such willing dupes of a vacuum cleaner salesman who never wanted to be an agent in the first place, Greene betrays both his familiarity with the inner workings of the intelligence service, of which he was once a member, and his rejection of Cold War politics. In a conclusion which will satisfy everyone who has ever become impatient with political maneuvering, Greene carries the absurdities of power to their limits, orchestrating a grand finale which shows British politicians at their most venal--and most ridiculous. Ascerbic in its humor and delightfully refreshing in its choice of "hero," this novel is Greene at his very best. Mary Whipple
Rating:
Summary: The Spy Who Invented Himself
Review: I first read this book several years ago when it was titled "The Tailor Of Panama" and written by John le Carré. I finally realize why I enjoyed that earlier book so, in that le Carré modeled the work so directly (and with proper acknowledgement) on this 1958 masterpiece. Le Carré's effort isn't bad, but its often-maudlin tone detracts from the humor of the situation. Not so Greene, who subtitled his book "An Entertainment" and meant it. He doesn't waive all suspense and tragic overtones in search of punchlines; one of the chief joys of this book is how well it works as a spy novel. But unlike heavier Greene works like "The Power And The Glory," "Our Man" plays in a kind of high-adventure, almost Ian Fleming kind of way. Greene's novel concerns a struggling British vacuum salesman living in Cuba, Jim Wormold, recruited by U.K. espionage to provide intelligence on the local scene as it becomes a hot spot in East-West relations. Wormold can't resist their money, but decides that instead of giving honest information, he will make up stories with the "assistance" of a stable of recruited agents he invents on the spot. "Just lie and keep your freedom," advises Wormold's best friend, an old German doctor with a mysterious background named Hasselbacher. "They don't deserve the truth...They have no money, except what they take from men like you and me." So Wormold does exactly that, for the benefit of his blossoming daughter, the flower of his heart whose faith in him and God he seeks to preserve though he doesn't share either belief. The result is a tangle of tall tales about alcoholic pilots and Mata Hari (...) he basically makes up as he goes along. At one point, he wonders whether he pushed his luck when he presents the plans for one of his vacuum cleaner models as a secret Soviet base, but he's hopelessly addicted to his fiction almost as much for the pleasure of creation as for the financial reward: "It astonished Wormold how quickly he could reply to any questions about his characters; they seemed to live on the threshold of consciousness - he had only to turn on a light and there they were, frozen in some characteristic action." Wormold is playing a dangerous game; in addition to snookering his own country, he is also attracting the notice both of the rival camp and the Havana police in the intimidating person of Captain Segura, a rumored torturer who covets Wormold's daughter. But in oddly detached fashion, perhaps because his life lost much of its purpose when his wife left him years ago, Wormold improvises his way through with cosmic aplomb. There is a deeper meaning to this book, based on Greene's belief that neither East nor West deserved any special allegiance during the Cold War. One character puts it this way: "They haven't left us much to believe, have they? Even disbelief. I can't believe in anything bigger than a home, or anything vaguer than a human being." It's possible to take issue with Greene's value-neutral attitude, but his execution is so deft, and his style so entertaining, that you can't help but admire him. "Our Man In Havana" is a thoroughly mesmerizing comedy that manages to impart some subversive truths about where the moral lines exist between serving one's government and serving one's fellow man.
Rating:
Summary: The Spy Who Invented Himself
Review: I first read this book several years ago when it was titled "The Tailor Of Panama" and written by John le Carré. I finally realize why I enjoyed that earlier book so, in that le Carré modeled the work so directly (and with proper acknowledgement) on this 1958 masterpiece. Le Carré's effort isn't bad, but its often-maudlin tone detracts from the humor of the situation. Not so Greene, who subtitled his book "An Entertainment" and meant it. He doesn't waive all suspense and tragic overtones in search of punchlines; one of the chief joys of this book is how well it works as a spy novel. But unlike heavier Greene works like "The Power And The Glory," "Our Man" plays in a kind of high-adventure, almost Ian Fleming kind of way. Greene's novel concerns a struggling British vacuum salesman living in Cuba, Jim Wormold, recruited by U.K. espionage to provide intelligence on the local scene as it becomes a hot spot in East-West relations. Wormold can't resist their money, but decides that instead of giving honest information, he will make up stories with the "assistance" of a stable of recruited agents he invents on the spot. "Just lie and keep your freedom," advises Wormold's best friend, an old German doctor with a mysterious background named Hasselbacher. "They don't deserve the truth...They have no money, except what they take from men like you and me." So Wormold does exactly that, for the benefit of his blossoming daughter, the flower of his heart whose faith in him and God he seeks to preserve though he doesn't share either belief. The result is a tangle of tall tales about alcoholic pilots and Mata Hari (...) he basically makes up as he goes along. At one point, he wonders whether he pushed his luck when he presents the plans for one of his vacuum cleaner models as a secret Soviet base, but he's hopelessly addicted to his fiction almost as much for the pleasure of creation as for the financial reward: "It astonished Wormold how quickly he could reply to any questions about his characters; they seemed to live on the threshold of consciousness - he had only to turn on a light and there they were, frozen in some characteristic action." Wormold is playing a dangerous game; in addition to snookering his own country, he is also attracting the notice both of the rival camp and the Havana police in the intimidating person of Captain Segura, a rumored torturer who covets Wormold's daughter. But in oddly detached fashion, perhaps because his life lost much of its purpose when his wife left him years ago, Wormold improvises his way through with cosmic aplomb. There is a deeper meaning to this book, based on Greene's belief that neither East nor West deserved any special allegiance during the Cold War. One character puts it this way: "They haven't left us much to believe, have they? Even disbelief. I can't believe in anything bigger than a home, or anything vaguer than a human being." It's possible to take issue with Greene's value-neutral attitude, but his execution is so deft, and his style so entertaining, that you can't help but admire him. "Our Man In Havana" is a thoroughly mesmerizing comedy that manages to impart some subversive truths about where the moral lines exist between serving one's government and serving one's fellow man.
Rating:
Summary: Funniest Greene Spy Spoof!
Review: I read this one a long time back during my G Greene phase, and remember it as his funniest by far. Every great author has to have at least one laugh out loud tale, and so this fits the bill for Greene. If you've plunged through his torpid African books and need a breath of fresh air, you can't miss with this one! Yes, a vacuum salesman gets recruited as a spy, and passes on some bogus info causing some near panic situations. In fact he outwits his superiors! This one proves that Greene, sometimes obsessed with faith, religion, equatorial heat, etc., can whip up a top notch chuckler as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Too sly, too understated for it's own good
Review: I went into OUR MAN IN HAVANA with very few expectations. I was under the vague impression that it was a thriller of sorts and I somehow knew that there had a been a film made out of it a number of decades back. So I was a bit surprised when I started reading the book and found out that it was a comedy. Surprised and delighted, because OUR MAN turned out to be one of the more understated and enjoyable satires that I've read in a good long time. The book is a smart send up of a lot of the standard material one would have found in the noir films and books of the time (the novel was published in 1958, when the genre was starting to wear itself out). A British secret agent, looking to increase his community of contacts, has arranged for an ordinary vacuum cleaner salesman to file reports of any unusual activity in the area. The merchant, Mr. Wormold, reluctantly agrees to this arrangement for no reason other than the lure of extra money; he has a teenage daughter with very expensive tastes (to whit: men and horses). To keep himself employable, Wormold constructs a whole world of intrigue to write home about. The back-cover hints at one of the book's funnier gags, but all of Wormold's fictions (and especially the reaction they receive at the other end) are hilarious. Despite the comic portions of the plot, the characters themselves are allowed to retain a certain dignity. The prose is also as lush as one would expect from a Graham Greene novel. One particular scene stood out as a wonderful piece of writing. Placing two main characters inside a dark, dingy saloon, Greene describes the other inhabitants as looking like paratroopers about to parachute out of an airplane. Their quick glances at the door and their hushed demeanor are all exquisitely described. I like comedies as much as the next guy, but it's rare to find one that is simply this literate and also so entertaining. OUR MAN IN HAVANA is a relatively short novel; my copy clocks in at just two hundred twenty pages. It makes for a quick read, but not a throwaway one. It's smooth enough to be read as a straightforward thriller, if that's what you're in the mood for, as its comedy is more on the subtle than on the broad side. But, that said, the neat cuts of satire make this a hilarious and whimsical tale.
Rating: 
Summary: Wickedly entertaining
Review: I went into OUR MAN IN HAVANA with very few expectations. I was under the vague impression that it was a thriller of sorts and I somehow knew that there had a been a film made out of it a number of decades back. So I was a bit surprised when I started reading the book and found out that it was a comedy. Surprised and delighted, because OUR MAN turned out to be one of the more understated and enjoyable satires that I've read in a good long time. The book is a smart send up of a lot of the standard material one would have found in the noir films and books of the time (the novel was published in 1958, when the genre was starting to wear itself out). A British secret agent, looking to increase his community of contacts, has arranged for an ordinary vacuum cleaner salesman to file reports of any unusual activity in the area. The merchant, Mr. Wormold, reluctantly agrees to this arrangement for no reason other than the lure of extra money; he has a teenage daughter with very expensive tastes (to whit: men and horses). To keep himself employable, Wormold constructs a whole world of intrigue to write home about. The back-cover hints at one of the book's funnier gags, but all of Wormold's fictions (and especially the reaction they receive at the other end) are hilarious. Despite the comic portions of the plot, the characters themselves are allowed to retain a certain dignity. The prose is also as lush as one would expect from a Graham Greene novel. One particular scene stood out as a wonderful piece of writing. Placing two main characters inside a dark, dingy saloon, Greene describes the other inhabitants as looking like paratroopers about to parachute out of an airplane. Their quick glances at the door and their hushed demeanor are all exquisitely described. I like comedies as much as the next guy, but it's rare to find one that is simply this literate and also so entertaining. OUR MAN IN HAVANA is a relatively short novel; my copy clocks in at just two hundred twenty pages. It makes for a quick read, but not a throwaway one. It's smooth enough to be read as a straightforward thriller, if that's what you're in the mood for, as its comedy is more on the subtle than on the broad side. But, that said, the neat cuts of satire make this a hilarious and whimsical tale.
Rating:
Summary: Light and Ironic
Review: Ironic, in my book, is usually a code word for not quite funny. But when applied to "Our Man in Havana", the term conveys Graham Greene's knack for plausibly refuting our expectations, with his sinister characters sweet, his innocent characters inadvertently deadly, and his espionage professionals inept. Greene achieves all this with the lightest touch, making his story of a failing vacuum cleaner merchant and his inventions for the British Secret Service an amusing and plausible romp through pre-Castro Cuba.
Greene's style, by the way, is so quick and light that the characters begin to resonate only after the book's completion, when, at least, this reader began to consider this rich tapestry of characters and their interaction. Lots of fun.
Rating:
Summary: A Farcical Tale of Cold War Espionage
Review: It is the age of The Bomb, the Cold War, and the perceived threats of Soviets in Cuba. Against this backdrop, Graham Greene presents his readers with a dark, yet farcical and even humorous tale of deception. The British Secret Service is looking for sources of military and political intelligence in Havana. Mr. Wormold, a simple vacuum cleaner salesman finds himself at the center of it all. He is recruited by the British Secret Service - in a bathroom - to develop a network of informants throughout Cuba. They suspect his position as a salesman has him well connected with all levels of society. After all, everyone needs a vacuum cleaner. Mr. Wormold is offered generous compensation for his services, an offer which is hard to refuse given that he has a capricious young daughter with expensive tastes in things such as . . . ponies. Wormold's alleged network of informants, however, is the product of wishful thinking on the part of his handlers. His friends marvel at his windfall in being asked to supply such secret information. "You are a lucky man, Mr. Wormold," says his friend Dr. Hasselbacher, "That information is always easy to give. If it is secret enough, you alone know it. All you need is a little imagination, Mr. Wormold." Imagine he does, and sets into motion a series of very real events based on a very mythical reality.
Rating:
Summary: A Farcical Tale of Cold War Espionage
Review: It is the age of The Bomb, the Cold War, and the perceived threats of Soviets in Cuba. Against this backdrop, Graham Greene presents his readers with a dark, yet farcical and even humorous tale of deception. The British Secret Service is looking for sources of military and political intelligence in Havana. Mr. Wormold, a simple vacuum cleaner salesman finds himself at the center of it all. He is recruited by the British Secret Service - in a bathroom - to develop a network of informants throughout Cuba. They suspect his position as a salesman has him well connected with all levels of society. After all, everyone needs a vacuum cleaner. Mr. Wormold is offered generous compensation for his services, an offer which is hard to refuse given that he has a capricious young daughter with expensive tastes in things such as . . . ponies. Wormold's alleged network of informants, however, is the product of wishful thinking on the part of his handlers. His friends marvel at his windfall in being asked to supply such secret information. "You are a lucky man, Mr. Wormold," says his friend Dr. Hasselbacher, "That information is always easy to give. If it is secret enough, you alone know it. All you need is a little imagination, Mr. Wormold." Imagine he does, and sets into motion a series of very real events based on a very mythical reality.
Rating:
Summary: His Best and Most Humorous Entertainment
Review: More successful than most of Greene's "entertainments," this comic spy tale set in pre-Castro Cuba concerns an insignificant little man-a vacuum cleaner salesman to be precise-who, against his better judgment, becomes MI6's "man in Havana." A longtime Havana resident, Englishman Jim Wormold is divorced, but the custodian of his beautiful, Catholic teenage daughter, Millie. One day he is approached by Hawthorne-a hilariously daft MI6 agent, whose speech is littered with upper crust slang-who shanghais him into becoming a spy. Although he is resistant to the whole notion, his best friend (a German named Hasselbacher), suggests he simply manufacture his sources and intelligence and take the ample money. Millie's expensive tastes and his own devotion to her result in his succumbing to this temptation, and he spends a few happy weeks inventing subagents and fake intelligence. For the first time in years he's doing something interesting, and no longer has money worries-in the funniest bit, he submits drawings of vacuum cleaner parts as sketches of a new Cuban weapons installation. Of course, this being Greene, complications arise. He is sent reinforcements from the London office, and must scramble to keep them in the dark as to his deception. At the same time, his inventions seem to be taking on a life of their own as people start dying around him, and somebody seems to think he's a real spy. Integral to all this is the ever-present Captain Seguras, a policeman of some renown as a sadist who seeks Millie's hand in marriage. Although a deep melancholy and tragedy lurks in the background, and there's a rather lame love injected, it remains a delightfully absurd tale, one of Greene's better efforts. One is rather reminded of Joseph Conrad's classic, The Secret Agent, in which an ordinary shopkeeper receives payment as a spy for doing nothing-payments which allow him to keep the company of a beautiful woman-and whose misguided scheme ultimately crumbles around him.
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