The Power and the Glory

by Graham Greene Narrated by Bernard Mayes

Overview

In a poor, remote section of southern Mexico, the Red Shirts have taken control. God has been outlawed, and the priests have been systematically hunted down and killed. Now, the last priest strives to overcome physical and moral cowardice in order to find redemption.

Graham Greene explores corruption and atonement in this penetrating novel set in 1930s Mexico during the era of Communist religious persecutions. As revolutionaries determine to stamp out the evils of the church through violence, the last Roman Catholic priest is on the lam, hunted by a police lieutenant. Despite his own sense of worthlessness-he is a heavy drinker and has fathered an illegitimate child-he is determined to continue to function as a priest until captured. He is contrasted with Padre José, a priest who has accepted marriage and embodies humiliation.

A Christian parable pitting God and religion against twentieth-century materialism, The Power and the Glory is considered by many, including the author himself, to be Greene's best work.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Named one of the 100 best novels of the 20th century by Time magazine
 
“Greene’s masterpiece . . . The energy and grandeur of his finest novel derive from the . . . will toward compassion. . . . It succeeds . . . resoundingly.” —John Updike, from the Introduction

“Brilliant . . . a splendid achievement.” —The Atlantic Monthly

“[Greene] captured the conscience of the twentieth century like no other.” —William Golding, Nobel Prize–winning author of Lord of the Flies
 
“No serious writer of [the twentieth] century has more thoroughly invaded and shaped the public imagination as did Graham Greene.” —Time
 
“Greene had wit and grace and character and story and a transcendent universal compassion that places him for all time in the ranks of world literature.” —John le Carré
 

Chicago Daily Tribune

The book should attract…not only those who read for diversion and excitement, but those, too, who read for the pleasure of superb writing and shrewd contriving of story.”

Pulitzer Prize winner and #1 New York Times bestse John Updike

Greene’s masterpiece.”

#1 New York Times bestselling author John le Carré

Graham Greene had wit and grace and character and story and a transcendent universal compassion that places him for all time in the ranks of world literature.”

Chicago Sun

As brilliantly written as it is magnificently conceived.”

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169689303
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	01/25/2011
Edition description:	Unabridged

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