The Human Factor - post I

Taking a slight break from 2666 between parts 2 and 3 and squeezing in something slightly easier on the eye and brain.

Graham Greene is always an interesting author not just because of his plot construction but also because he has an uncanny ability to dissect people and get to the heart of the matter (pardon the pun).

He is on form again with this story that mixes humour, great characterisation and an acutely observed world of secret agents and government bureaucrats.

The world of Maurice Castle is opened up with the 30-years in the job agent struggling to maintain an interest in his job following African affairs. He is on the brink of retirement and would quite happily slope off home to the wife he loves and the adopted son he has made his own.

But duty calls and when a new boss arrives and a leak in the department is identified the humdrum world of Castle and his colleagues looks like being severely disrupted.

More tomorrow…