This prize-winning novel of a fugitive priest in Mexico is quite simply “Graham Greene’s masterpiece” (John Updike, The New York Review of Books). In the Mexican state of Tabasco in the 1930s, all vestiges of Catholicism are being outlawed by the government. As churches are razed, icons are banned, and the price of devotion is execution, an unnamed member of the clergy flees. He’s known only as … of the clergy flees. He’s known only as the “whisky priest.” Beset by heretical vices, guilt, and an immoral past, he’s torn between self-destruction and self-preservation. Too modest to be a martyr, too stubborn to follow the law, and too craven to take a bullet, he now travels as one of the hunted—attending, in secret, to the spiritual needs of the faithful. When a peasant begs him to return to Tabasco to hear the confessions of a dying man, the whisky priest knows it’s a trap. But it’s also his duty—and possibly his salvation.
Named by Time magazine as one of the hundred best English-language novels written since 1923, The Power and the Glory is “a violent, raw” work on “suffering, strained faith, and ultimate redemption” (The Atlantic).
more
A wonderful, thought-provoking look at those who lead we Catholics in worship. Offers great insight into how the first will be last, and the last first. And of course in how God uses even the least among us for the glory of his name. Greene is incredible – can actually make you feel the various scenes the priest finds himself in along his journeys.
You read it because very smart people say it’s great literature.
I like Grahan Greene but I couldn’t really get into this one.
This book is an example of how God uses amazing authors and talent to teach about the human personality, spirit, bravery and His grace than I ever knew before. This book makes me question myself, grow in virtue, and has amazing quotes to inspire. I read this with close reads podcast and the insight I gained was invaluable.
Hard to get through.
This is a classic for a reason. Thought-provoking.
Interesting to read a book from the 1940’s that is still applicable to today’s world. It really made me think.
We’re often lamenting that no important literature resulted from the Korean War, (which probably isn’t true) but the same can definitely not be said for Mexico’s socialist revolution of the 1930s, dramatized in the work of many great modernists including Malcolm Lowry in Under the Volcano, Katherine Anne Porter in her story “Flowering Judas,” and Graham Greene in his novel The Power and the Glory. It’s a story seldom recounted now, but part of the point of Mexico’s revolution was to drive leaders of the Catholic Church — whose corruption was a blight on the country — completely out. For a time, no member of the clergy was safe and all churches were either burned or shuttered. Greene’s novel documents an attempt to escape the country by a single Catholic priest being hunted by a militia. Everywhere he goes, he is aided by hundreds of villagers who still fervently believe in God, the Church and his power to take confessions, give blessings and communion and hold mass. In other words, his every attempt to flee is made impossible by his sacred obligation to give these things, even if it costs his life. He is also desperately in need of wine for communion, which is scarce — and his attempts to purchase it only draw more suspicion as to why he needs it so badly. So he poses as a hopeless drunk who can’t go a single moment without wine. The novel is a study of how badly politics mixes with religion. The villagers don’t have political views — they just need someone to hear their confession, give then communion and bless and forgive them for their trespasses. An actual priest is so important to daily life, they simply cannot allow him to escape.
Fantastic. Amazing structure, amazing characters, amazing message. Highly recommend this book. A masterpiece in fiction.
Masterfully written. This is a book I think just about anyone would enjoy and get a lot out of. Greene is superb at combining suspense with unique literary detail, and his dialogue is unlike any other writer’s in his ability to portray two people having a conversation while not being on the same page as to what they’re really talking about. The only part where I felt let down was Part Four, where he lets loose his personal opinions and wraps up the story in a way I simply didn’t buy. But his characters are deep and difficult, and he doesn’t give himself the easy way out by making anyone too sympathetic or unlikable. As a huge fan of The Third Man, this was more than I’d hoped for, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Probably the best book I’ve read in years. The insights into Catholicism changed my m,ind about so many things.Truly inspirational. Truly provocative.
Thought provoking
Graham Greene’s classic offers a profound message about the presence of God in the midst of human suffering and failings.
One if the greatest 20th century writers
Thought provoking novel
An eye opening account of the tragic repression of the Catholic Church and, how it affected the clergy, in Mexico. A “whiskey Priest” has the opportunity to fulfill his duty to his people while hiding in the mountains of Southern Mexico. Ultimately he becomes a better servant for the Lord while being hunted by the Policia and his conscience.
A good writer, well-known, but the book is dated and slow.
Extremely interesting. I have read many different histories of Mexico but never have I read anything about this particular time period involving war on the Carholic church. I found the book very informative.
I read this years and years ago, and it deeply shaped my life. The “whiskey priest” and his devotion to his people inspired my desire to be a priest . . . And finally, I was ordained at the age of 65.
A priest struggles with his fall from grace but continues to soldier onward in his attempt at a grace filled existence. Compare to W. Somerset Maugham’s short story Rain, where the minister cannot overcome his fall from grace.