Rating: 
Summary: Graham Greenes novels are boring and suck to say the least
Review: One of the most boring books ive ever read in my life. I see why his novels weren't allowed in the U.S.
Rating: 
Summary: Liked everything except the name Wormold
Review: Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene is a witty tale of Jim Wormold a vacuum cleaner sales man living in Cuba with his Catholic daughter Milly. In the novel Milly befriends a certain Captain Segura who is known for his ruthless torture of prisoners. While spending time with Segura, Milly ventures to a country club where she soon discovers a love for horses and the urgent need to have one of her own. Shortly after asking Wormold for her own horse, which would be quite a burden on a modest vacuum cleaner salesman, Wormold is confronted by a British Intelligence officer Hawthrone. Mr. Hawthorne subsequently makes a proposition to Wormold that if he were to spy on the Cuban government for the British there would be a handsome benefit of $... upwards a month. Mr. Hawthorne later meets with Wormold to discuss what his spying in Havana will consist of. It is explained to Wormold that by using book code he will need to recruit other agents and file reports in London. Wormold is named Agent 59200/5. As Agent 59000/5 he begins by filing false reports of agents he's recruited and military constructions based on vacuum cleaner designs. Soon London is highly interested in the activities in Havana and sends Wormold a secretary named Beatrice. After her arrival officials in Havana are alerted that spies are present in their community. A chaotic witch hunt begins to suppress the individuals responsible at all costs. The characters Wormold created are suddenly real life people, in real life trouble. Wormold, his friends, and his family are suddenly thrown into a great deal of danger.
After reading the fast paced novel I was please that Greene was able to keep my attention for the duration of the piece. The unusual story of a misconstrued spy leads to not only action and excitement, but humor and wit. The novel drips with dramatic irony as the reader can see where the events are heading, but Wormold remains oblivious. By applying such a great contrast in characters Green is able to create conflicts among conflicts as the motives of all the characters intertwine. Besides the entertainment value the piece also carries a wonderful message of love for one's family and the desire to protect them at all costs. The novel surprises the reader on a consistent basis providing for an enjoyable reading experience. Greene does not lack detail, but does not spend time detailing unnecessary subjects. His descriptions of scenes and the feelings of characters is parallel to none. Graham Greene uses a fantastic arrangement of love, action, wit, and humor to create both an enjoyable and imaginative story. After reading the novel it is easy to understand why it is considered a twentieth century classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Satirical spoof. I found myself giggling throughout.
Review: This 1958 novel was a complete surprise to me. I'd read three books by this author before and found them dark and introspective. But "Our Man in Havana" is a satirical spoof and I found myself giggling throughout. It deals with a theme that Greene has revisited on many occasions - that of a spy in a foreign country. But this time, it's all in fun, although between the 220 pages of this slim volume, he manages to say a few important things about social class, the Catholic Church, and the absurdity of international relations.The hero of the story is Jim Wormold, a divorced vacuum cleaner salesman from England in pre-Castro Cuba. His 17-year-old daughter is growing up fast and he finds he needs money. So when the British Secret Service recruits him, he invents a whole world of secret agents and intrigues just to keep the money flowing. He is even sent a secretary, which introduces a bit of romance to the outrageous plot. All of a sudden, the lies he has invented seem to be coming true and the plot thickens, moving along at a breakneck pace. I was totally involved, and found myself laughing out loud at times. What a delightful read! Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Too sly, too understated for it's own good
Review: This book is well-crafted, and the premise, as judging from the back dustjacket alone, is intriguing.
And I liked it...sort of.
It seems to me this book was written a little too slyly, with a little too much understatement. I mean, when you get a ridiculous premise like this, why not play it up? Have the characters' dialogue be more outrageous, have them be more eccentric. All the characters in this book talk to each other in very believable conversations, but they are rather mundane--a little too much like real life.
I guess what I mean is, this book attempts to mix humor in with a very serious, dramatic subject; but in attempting both, it completely succeeds at neither.
It is too serious, too matter-of-fact, for comedy; it is too laced with slyness to be dramatic.
If you think of the masterpiece of the same genre, of the same century which DID mix the two quite successfully, CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller, you will see quickly how Heller succeeded where this book stalls out: Heller allowed for much more eccentricities of his characters, in both dialogue and mannerisms; Heller also allowed for outrageous, unbelievable scenes now and again, laced in with some really serious matters.
Greene plays it more conservatively, and as a result, this book comes off as well-crafted, but largely insipid next to the classic of this genre. It just didn't hold my attention like I was hoping it would.
Rating:
Summary: A fun romp
Review: This is really a fun book to read. Greene makes light of spying during the cold war. Wormold a vacuum cleaner dealer is recruited as a spy for the British in pre-Castro Cuba. He invents his information to keep the goverment money coming for his daughter who has expensive tastes. Wormold turns in drawings of vacuum cleaner parts as part of an imaginary secret installation in Cuba and invents sub-agents that all have to be paid. There is even a moral thrown in, people and families over goverments and ideologies. Good stuff!
Rating:
Summary: A counter balance to the banality of Ludlum, Clancy et al
Review: What a great book. I hadn't read it in ten years, and had forgotten most of the details; the plot itself is revealed in the first few pages, so no matter that I could remember it. It involves, of course, a vacuum salesman -- who becomes a spy, sort of. He is recruited by British Intelligence, and makes money by "recruiting" imaginary agents and sending them on expensive fictional missions. Brillliant, farcical and more illuminating and entertaining than a hundred Ludlum-type "thrillers." The amazing thing about Greene is his ability, in the context of his stories, to capture the essential humanity of his characters and place it in writing, and to convey deeper meanings and truths which underly their movements and plot. Greene's tale might seem preposterous -- but it isn't. Before Pearl Harbor, the Japanese employed an agent who clearly fabricated reports, and proposed means of sending secret signals from a boat he didn't own, and a house he leased to naval officers. In truth, intelligence agencies have suffered legions of failures and even the best of them made egregious mistakes with similarly disastrous consequences. Greene's book is not merely an amusing tale of a few people, it is an allegory and expose of the fallacies of secret organizations, and a biting commentary about the extremes to which they can go to protect their own -- rather than the public's -- interest. Greene, to be sure, must have witnessed some of the bungling, and underlying his farce is a warning and a commentary.
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