The Power and the Glory
Book - 1946
"Mexico, the late 1930s: A paramilitary group has outlawed the Catholic Church and been executing its clergy. Now the last priest is on the run, fleeing not just an unshakable police lieutenant but also his own wavering morals. As he scraps his way toward salvation, haunted by an affair from his past, the nameless “whiskey priest” is pulled between the bottle and the Bible, tempted to renounce his religion yet unable to ignore the higher calling he’s chosen. Timeless and unforgettable, The Power and the Glory is a stunning portrait of both physical and spiritual survival by a master dramatist of the human soul. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators."--Online description.
Publisher:
New York : The Viking press, 1946.
Series:
ISBN:
9780143107552
9780142437308
9780140184990
0140184996
9780142437308
9780140184990
0140184996
Call Number:
FICTION GREEN
Characteristics:
301 p. ; 21 cm.
Subjects:
Priests -- Mexico -- Fiction.
Catholics -- Mexico -- Fiction.
Anti-Catholicism -- Fiction.
Mexico -- History -- 1910-1946 -- Fiction.
Catholics -- Mexico -- Fiction.
Anti-Catholicism -- Fiction.
Mexico -- History -- 1910-1946 -- Fiction.



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Add a Comment" A Christian parable pitting God and religion against twentieth-century materialism."
I know this is supposed to be his masterpiece, but now it seems impossibly dated. Neither of the two antagonists seems as real as the people who inhabit the other novels. It's still Greene though so it's still worth reading
Another amazing by Graham Greene. This is a powerful read and I highly recommend.
This dark story isn't an easy read. It was based on the Mexican state of Tabasco's anti-church campaign in the 1930s. Various characters in the book - the protagonist aka the "whiskey priest", another Catholic priest, the police lieutenant, the pious woman, etc. face hardships and moral dilemmas. The characters react differently and the reader will reflect on : What does having faith mean? How is a person "saved"? Who is/isn't a righteous person? It was controversial when published in 1940 and later made into a film called "The Fugitive" starring Henry Fonda.