Title: The Heart of the Matter

Author: Graham Greene

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 182

Rating: 9/10

The Heart of the Matter is one of Graham Greene’s finest novels, and the first book of his that left a deep impact when I read it. Set in Sierra Leone in Africa, it follows the moral dilemma faced by a man called Henry Scobie - he’s an easy character to relate to, even if you’re a million miles away from the setting of Freetown.

It’s such a cracker that it’s been turned in to several films, and it’s received praise from some of Greene’s contemporaries like Anthony Burgess and Evelyn Waugh, the latter of which went as far as to agree that the Africa depicted in Greene’s novel is the same as the Africa that Waugh himself encountered in his travels. It’s this flair for bringing reality to life, to make the settings of his work seem even more real than its real-life counterpart, that this novel is really a testament to. Well-worth reading, so do so!

Graham Greene

Click here to buy The Heart of the Matter.