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The Comedians

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The Comedians

By: Graham Greene
Narrated by: Adrian Lukis
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Three men meet on a ship bound for Haiti, a world in the grip of the corrupt 'Papa Doc' and the Tontons Macoute, his sinister secret police. Brown the hotelier, Smith the innocent American and Jones the confidence man - these are the 'comedians' of Graham Greene's title. Hiding behind their actors' masks, they hesitate on the edge of life. And, to begin with, they are men afraid of love, afraid of pain, afraid of fear itself...

©1976 Graham Greene (P)2020 Penguin Audio Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Fiction Espionage

Critic Reviews

The ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man’s consciousness and anxiety. (William Golding)
All stars
Most relevant
the narrator did justice to the awesome story. loved it. totally recommend it. a must listen

loved it

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Having read and listened to most of Graham Greene’s novels this is the best. It’s very timely with recent events in Haiti. It appears nothing has changed despite being on Americas back door. Greene’s description of the the country and system of government is wonderful. His writings are timeless and unusual being written in the first person.

Marvellous.

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I have read Greene's The Comedians many times and appreciate the novelist's skill in creating and depicting complex characters, human interactions and the environment surrounding the story. This audio version, with very good narration by Adrian Lukis, provides a different, and effective, experience of the novel. Lukis narrates in a measured, slightly dry delivery appropriate to the tone of Greene's text, but skillfully manages voice changes for character development. I could wish for better pronunciation of French words and phrases at times (final syllable in "Haïtien" an example), but this is a minor quibble. I highly recommend this audiobook and applaud Adrian Lukis' narration.

Excellent audio version of Greene's novel

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Greene is such a master storyteller: the aborted funeral, the attempted escape, the Smiths meeting officials. It's all superb from start to finish, so readable/listenable and yet so politically and morally incisive. Excellent narration too.

Gripping and incidive

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I enjoyed the personal stories and relationships more than the old ‘comedian’ or existential part-playing philosophy being illustrated, which I find dry and empty. Though the philosophy illustrates some truth in how people may choose to divert themselves from reality, escape it, or give up the mask and face it.

The narrator’s character voices drifted at times, but I warmed to him through the novel.

A weighty story, old philosophy

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Well worth listening to, interesting history and plot. Graham Greene is a most entertaining writer

Excellent narration.

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