A truly great book and (forgive the use of what is probably a very well –worn cliché) a novel that is without a doubt powerful and glorious on many levels.

Set in Mexico in the 1930’s against the backdrop of an attempted suppression of the Catholic Church by the authorities. Ostensibly this is the story of the fugitive, renegade ‘Whiskey Priest’ (a great creation and a believably authentic character) and his quest to escape the anti-Catholic authorities. This is a novel that confronts head-on the biggest of themes: sin, redemption, salvation, damnation, heaven, hell and practically everything else in between. Also encompassed here is the dogmatic approach of both organised religion and the authorities attempting to not just to crush and outlaw, but to obliterate that religion – the pitfalls, limitations, restrictions and constraints of any rigidly authoritarian belief system. But the story here is not merely as simple and straightforward as one of ‘religion vs anti-religion’ – far from it.

Essentially it seems to me that the ’Whiskey Priest’ (our hero or anti-hero? – you choose) isn’t just a representation or metaphor for the Catholic Church; to me the power of this novel and the characters within goes way beyond the constraints of religion – surely the ‘Whiskey Priest’ is everyman and the story every life – comprised as they are of hopes, fears, desires, dreams, failures, victories, disappointments, faith and doubt…

Graham Greene himself visited Mexico in the 1930’s and would have witnessed and been aware of the attempted suppression of the Catholic Church – something which will undoubtedly have informed elements of this novel. Green didn’t however view himself as a ‘Catholic author’ rather more – an author who happened to be Catholic. Religion as a theme, in many different ways, does seem more than evident in many of his novels. Certainly religion in this novel is considered in many ways – religion and its suppressors, organised religion juxtaposed with religion on a far more personal basis.

‘The Power and The Glory’ is simply a great and powerful work – which I look forward to reading again, as there is so much in it to fully take in and take away. It is a novel that is so well written, constructed, plotted and thought out - moving, authentic, intelligent and thought provoking.

This is a very human story, it’s about the human condition and above all else – it’s about life and death, good and evil, hate and love and above all – hope.

His best, or my favorite anyway. Listened to the first half driving to St. Louis to care for my mom, the second half on the way back to my daughter’s shower. Read this back in 1998. I liked that the ‘Whiskey Priest’ was traveling as I was. I’m reading it now during my week at home and I may re-listen on my return journey ... there is so much to take in.

Do we ever learn his name? It feels so strange that he has no name. And that he cannot repent of the sin which conceived his daughter. I can understand that in a way because we learn so much more from our sins than from our so-called successes. Father Jose is the opposite of Whiskey in that he is settled, not-on-the-run because he ‘took a wife’, capitulated, and now lives as a failed priest. Yet the Whiskey Priest sees him as the better priest, or at least he did.

It is a strange, sad story about restlessness and life lived on the run. How the people we meet along the way shape us. I just want to keep reading it.

Introduction

--The Power and the Glory

قدرت و جلال هرچیزی که بشه باهاش یه رمان خوب ساخت رو در خودش داره: ساختار منسجم، پروتاگونیستِ آنتاگونیست‌نما، آنتاگونیست‌های پروتاگونیست‌خوی، شخصیت‌های فرعیِ به‌یادموندنی از همه رنگ، بستر تاریخی – اجتماعی جذابی که امکانات بالقوه‌ی زیادی رو همراه خودش به داستان میاره، سفر درونی قهرمان هم‌زمان با سفر بیرونی، طبیعت بکر و خشن که مثل یک کاراکتر، خاموش اما موثر در سراسر داستان حضور داره، تمثیل‌ها، استعاره‌ها و ایماژها... و البته موقعیت‌ها! گرین استاد خلق موقعیت‌های استثناییه، صحنه‌هایی که اغلب این توانایی رو دارن که مستقل از کلیتِ رمان روی پای خودشون بایستن و به عنوان یه داستان کوتاه مدرن خونده و قضاوت بشن.
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کتاب ماجرای تنها کشیش باقی‌مونده در ایالتی در مکزیک در گیرودارِ تعقیب و آزار و اذیت کاتولیک‌هاست، ده سال بعد از انقلاب 1920. بقیه‌شون کجان؟ یا سینه‌ی قبرستون یا متواری به ایالتِ روادارترِ مجاور یا ذلیل و عزلت‌گرفته، گریزان از هرچی که بوی کاتولیسیسم بده. قهرمان؟ کشیشِ سرگردان و گیرافتاده بین نیروهای پلیس، غلیان‌های احساسِ وظیفه‌‌ی مذهبی و داد و بیدادِ وجدان ناآرام‌اش‌‌: متواری از گذشته‌، رمیده از آینده‌! دم به دم بیزارتر از خود، دل‌سوزتر به نوع بشر.
سیصد و خرده‌ای صفحه همراهیم با این جناب کشیشِ ویسکی‌خورِِ متواری! از این روستا به آن کوهستان... پیاده... سوار برقاطر... متزلزل... مردد... ‌دل‌تنگ. هراس‌ها و تردید‌ها، امید‌ها و کابوس‌های کشیشِ بدبخت در هر قدم مثل خونی به سراسر داستان - که گوشت و استخون رو آماده داشته - می‌دوه و تبدیلش می‌کنه به چیزی فراتر از داستان: چیزی زنده و جون‌دار! سفر درونی قهرمان، برخلاف بسیاری از نمونه‌های مشابه چیزی باسمه‌ای و قلابی نیست: گرچه رهروی این سفر، مرد خدا و در هر قدم بسته به خداست، سفر اما عمیقن انسانی و به همین‌خاطر اثرگذار و به‌یادموندنیه. کشمکش‌های درونیِ این رندِ از خودبیزار که «چو بید بر سر ایمان خویش می‌لرزد» هم‌سنگِ هیجان‌انگیزترین رخدادهایی که بشه در یه رمان تصویر کرد برام جذاب و پرکشش بود.
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عباس معروفی این کتاب رو بسیار دوست می‌داشت. یادمه در حالی که به سختی حرف می‌زد و به‌ راحتی بغض می‌کرد، از صحنه‌ی درگیری کشیش با ماده‌سگ چلاق بر سر یه استخون در اواخر کتاب تعریف می‌کرد و تمام وجودش از هیجان می‌لرزید... خاطره‌ش در تمام طول خوندنِ این کتاب زنده و حاضر جلوی روم بود.
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کشیش برای لحظه‌ای دچار خشم شد. یعنی چه که یک ماده‌سگِ دورگه با آن پشت شکسته‌اش بایستی تنها غذای موجود را بدزدد. بنا کرد به فحش و بدوبی‌راه دادن – فحش‌های رایج و عامیانه‌ای که از گوشه و کنارِ سکوهای موسیقی یاد گرفته بود. اگر در شرایط دیگری بود، حتمن از تعجب شاخ درمی‌آورد که چه‌طور این حرف‌های رکیک به این روانی بر زبانش جاری می‌شوند. ناگهان زد زیر خنده: این همان شان و منزلت انسانی بود که بر سر استخوان‌پاره‌ای با ماده‌سگ به جدال برخاسته بود. (ص 219)
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گرین در کنار کارپانتیه، دو نویسنده‌ای هستن که گرچه سال‌ها بود به اسم و رسم می‌شناختم، اما هرگز سراغشون نرفته بودم تا دو سه سالِ پیش. در این مدت هر کتاب تازه از این دو نفر یک اتفاق جدید برای من محسوب می‌شه! احساس می‌کنم اگر قراره ضلع سومی به این ترکیب اضافه بشه، می‌تونه جوزف کنراد یا آندره مالرو باشه... (یا هردو) تا ببینیم.

This book drew me back each day to continue the story of the fugitive priest. There was something haunting about his inner turmoil of lost ideals stewed in a broth of unworthiness. The priest struggles for a sense of meaning beyond being an instrument of God - he seems to be of no value to himself.

"I suppose, the lieutenant said, you're hoping for a miracle." ... "You believe in them, don't you?"
"Yes, but not for me. I'm no more good to anyone, so why should God keep me alive?" (p. 201)

Abandonment is a frequent theme. God has forsaken him, but he knows enough not to stay in this despair. He feels trapped by his ministry. He has not proven himself to be a healer. He has given in to the worst of clericalism. He is not clear about what God expects of him, and troubled by the unrelenting and unrealistic expectations of parishioners.

He began to pray ... 'Let me be caught soon. Let me be caught.' He had tried to escape , but he was like the King of a West African tribe, the slave of his people, who may not even lie down in case the winds should fail." (p. 19)

Unlike others, I found the story hard to follow at times, especially who the other characters were and how they fit in in to his odyssey. But like others, I find the thoughts lingering after I have completed the book.

No-one quite writes like Graham Greene, he has the most beautiful, engaging easy style that draws you in from the first word and despite, the ease of reading, gives you some incredibly thought-provoking narrative that probes some pretty deep issues. This book is no exception. It does meander at times but then so does the protagonist and, if you are looking for a cheerful pick-me-up read, this is not it. His description of the hell-hole prison cell is, without doubt, some of the best descriptive writing I have read, I desperately wanted a shower after reading the passage, I really could taste, smell, see and hear the squalor, it was quite remarkable.

It's a book that will linger in and out of my mind for some time.

Greene had an unerring eye for the sanctity of human weakness and the ominousness of human strength.

I am re-reading this book now and am amazed all over again by how Greene makes such poetry out of such mundane horror. The hunted and haunted "whiskey priest" is a compellingly tragic figure, and the idealistic fanatic policeman prefigures not only Cormac McCarthy in Blood Meridien but also so much modern wartime folly. "It became necessary to destroy the town to save it," is a line that seems to come straight from this tale.

There is a certain inevitability to this story as it unfolds. Nothing is hidden, there are no surprises, the man you think will turn in the priest does, and the priest's fate is what he always assumed it would be. Still the sheer humanity of the tale makes it a compelling page-turner. While you know what will happen, you desperately don't want it to. But the priest himself has no hope, and therein lies both his tragedy and his salvation.

Δεν θυμάμαι να έχω διαβάσει άλλο βιβλίο που οι σελίδες του να εκπέμπουν τέτοια αίσθηση κούρασης  και παραίτησης.  Σαν όλα να έχουν ήδη συμβεί χίλια τρισεκατομμύρια φορές, σε μια γη που μοιάζει να  έχει κουραστεί από το ανθρώπινο βάρος.  Όλα τα πλάσματα  έχουν σταματήσει να αντιδρούν - ακόμα και στον πόνο. Κι ο ίδιος ο θάνατος έχει κουραστεί να δίνει ανάπαυση, μόνο οι μύγες ακούγονται τώρα πια να δουλεύουν στις άκρες του δρόμου. 

Ο εκπρόσωπος του Θεού βαδίζει μόνος του κάτω από το ηφαίστειο - Ο Θεός αγνοείται –  σ΄ έναν κρανίου τόπο. Βαδίζει απεκδυόμενος ένα-ένα τα ιερατικά του εξαρτήματα για να συναντήσει σχεδόν γυμνός τον δήμιο του, τον Μεξικανό Ιβάν Καραμαζώφ.

Κι ο Ιώβ να ήταν στη θέση αυτού του λαού, θα είχε από καιρό παραιτηθεί. Η  γη του Μεξικού ανήκει μόνο στα κογιότ, τα πνεύματα και τις φωνές..

Σκοτεινό, γιατί ασχολείται μ’ ένα πολύ δύσκολο ερώτημα,  που κατατρώει τον Greene: ποια είναι η φύση με την οποία εκδηλώνεται ο Θεός, στον κόσμο μας. Το βιβλίο που με έκανε να αγαπήσω αυτόν τον συγγραφέα. 

Το μεγαλύτερο εύρημα του βιβλίου είναι η επίφαση της ευσέβειας, όσο και οι απόρροιες εκείνων που αναζητούν την επιβράβευση των άλλων έστω κι αν εκφράζει στη θεωρία την άφεση απ'΄το Θεό ώστε να δικαιούνται να είναι ανάλγητοι και να κρίνουν τους άλλους κάτω από τη σκέπη του ''καλού'', του ''ηθικού'', του ''Χριστιανού''. Το βιβλίο είναι για την τάση φυγής όσο είναι και για την ανάληψη ευθυνών, όπως επίσης είναι και μια πολύ δυνατή γρ��θιά σε όσους ακολουθούν ένα επάγγελμα, τη φύση τους, την επιλογή που έκαναν για όποιο λόγο χωρίς να γνωρίζουν το ποιόν της επιλογής και με απόλυτο τρόμο να ανατομήσουν κατ' ουσία τον εαυτό τους. Και τέλος τέλος ο Γκρην ρωτάει τί είναι η φιλανθρωπία και πως μπορεί να τη βιώσει ο οποιοσδήποτε άνθρωπος δεν αγάπησε ποτέ προσωπικά μια γυναίκα, ένα παιδί, ένα φίλο. Συγκριτικά δε, μια ενδιαφέρουσα ιδέα που δεν αναπτύσσεται επαρκώς είναι πόσο κοντά μπορεί να φέρει η πλήξη κι η μοναξιά ένα σφάλμα ή αυτό που τελικά ποτέ δεν ήταν σφάλμα ουσίας παρά μόνο εσφαλμένου ηθικού κατόπτρου. Ποιός είναι άγιος και ποιός αμαρτωλός; Επίσης στη διττή φύση του βιβλίου βλέπουμε και τη διαφορά μοναξιάς - μοναχικότητας κι ελευθερίας - ελευθεριότητας. Όσο για τη γραφή του Γκρην, ο ρεαλισμός του κυμαίνεται απ' τις οκτάβες του λυρισμού ώς τον ισοπεδωτισμό, είναι η γραφή της φυγής, του καταδιώκτη και του καταδιωκόμενου. Είναι ένα βιβλίο που τα σπάει!

Já li algumas obras de Graham Greene e, do que me lembro, gostei.
O Poder e a Glória é considerado a sua obra-prima e está incluído em algumas listas de leituras "obrigatórias". Por várias vezes o tentei ler e desisti às primeiras páginas. Desta vez li metade. Gostava muito de ler tudo mas não consigo.
Não digo que é mau, nem que é bom, apenas que me aborrece muito. Gostos...

Didn’t enjoy this book as much as The Heart of the Matter and The Quiet American which I gave four stars to. This book was very slow and tedious and I put it down more times than I care to say.

The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene’s 1940 novel about the Mexican state of Tabasco’s virulent anti-church campaign in the 1930s is a powerful statement about courage, duty and the persistence of faith.

Greene describes the flight of the “whiskey priest” a never named survivor in the state’s operation to rid all vestiges of Catholic faith, even to the point of arresting priests, finding them guilty of treason and executing them against a wall with firing squads. Some priests were given the opportunity to renounce their faith, to marry and to forgo their earlier duties.

Greene’s protagonist is a mixed bag of guilt, dogmatic devotion to duty (albeit a deeply conflicted one and in whose service he is often reluctant) and, finally, saintly mettle. During the priest's evasion from the police, Greene introduces his readers to an unsavory assortment of characters who further illustrate the signs of the times; from the over zealous and idealistic Socialist Lieutenant who chases him to the various citizens with diverse reactions to his plight and to their own faith.

Told with warmth, humor and an endearing faith in humanity to do what is right in spite of the difficulties, Greene demonstrates his mastery of the language and his ability to create a work of lasting importance.