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Graham Greene
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The Human Factor Hardcover – January 1, 1992

by Graham Greene (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 774 ratings
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A leak is traced to a small sub-section of SIS, sparking off the inevitable security checks, tensions and suspicions. The sort of atmosphere where mistakes could be made? For Maurice Castle it is the end of the line anyway and time for him to retire with his African wife, Sarah.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Everyman
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1992
  5. Dimensions
    5.35 x 1.02 x 8.31 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1857150716
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1857150711
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Everyman (January 1, 1992)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1857150716
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1857150711
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.03 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.35 x 1.02 x 8.31 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 774 ratings

About the author

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Graham Greene

Graham Greene

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Henry Graham Greene OM CH (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English novelist and author regarded by some as one of the great writers of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a reputation early in his lifetime as a major writer, both of serious Catholic novels, and of thrillers (or "entertainments" as he termed them). He was shortlisted, in 1967, for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Through 67 years of writings, which included over 25 novels, he explored the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world, often through a Catholic perspective.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
774 global ratings
They sent me a Half Book!
1 Star
They sent me a Half Book!
Just look at the picture. The last sentence of the last page was obviously not finished. And the rest of the story was missing. This is not the type of book with multiple volumes, at least it wasn't mentioned in the description. Even if there is, that's not how volume 1 or any normal book should end.
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Top reviews from the United States

Ernest Smallman, III
5.0 out of 5 stars Graham Greene Good Novel
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2024
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Continuation of excellent character studies
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William Young
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2015
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This is one of Greene's essential works. If you like Greene, you will like this book.
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Doctor Moss
5.0 out of 5 stars A Sympathetic Traitor
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2010
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This is not one of Graham Greene's most famous books, but I think it's one of his best. Like many of his stories, it sets up a tension between a big historical drama and the personal drama of a relatively minor actor within it. And as in others of those stories, Greene refuses to resolve the tension.

The plot involves a British Military Intelligence agent, Castle, who, while stationed in Africa, falls in love with a black South African woman, Sarah. In order to stay together and marry her, Castle makes a deal with the devil -- he agrees to become a double agent, passing along western intelligence to Soviet KGB agents. He regards the intelligence he is passing along as inconsequential, and the deal is worth the risk, given that it is the only way to stay with Sarah, and Sarah's young son, Sam (fathered by a black South African man).

The "devil" he makes his deal with, though, is not really the KGB. It's really with the whole system -- MI5, South Africa, KGB, and the Cold War altogether. He tries to negotiate a life for himself within that big structure of ideological war and espionage, and of course, he knows that the life he negotiates will never be at peace. There will always be the danger, even inevitability, of being found out. When that happens, the negotiations must start again.

In all of this, the issue is, which stage is the one that counts? The stage on which Castle lives his personal life, his domestic oasis with his wife and son, or the political stage on which he lives his double-agent life in the midst of international tension and cut-throat espionage.

On one stage, Castle is a traitor, but on the other he is loyal, even heroic. As things come unraveled, he says to Sarah, "Well, I'm what's generally called a traitor." And Sarah answers, "Who cares? . . . We have our own country. You and I and Sam. You've never betrayed that country . . ."

Greene himself served in the British Secret Service. This book and Our Man in Havana reflect, to me anyway, a recognition that the international intelligence game has a special kind of irrational autonomy. From one perspective (much but not all of Our Man in Havana) that autonomy is farcical -- vacuum cleaner designs can pass as weapons intelligence. But from the other it is pointlessly destructive, especially of the ability of normal people involved in it to live normal lives of everyday virtue.
24 people found this helpful
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Annie
3.0 out of 5 stars No humor here. When they shot the dog near ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2018
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No humor here. When they shot the dog near the end, it left me with an ugly taste in my mouth. Greene is always serious.
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Jean C. Charles
5.0 out of 5 stars A good spy novel
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2023
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I like a good spy novel, this novel by Graham Green is perfect. I do love British authors anyway. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested or looking to read, and to relax
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G. C. Watkin
4.0 out of 5 stars ...or the spy who went out to the cold
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2013
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Vintage Graham Greene, spies, double spies, almost "a looking glass war". A satirical look at cold war foreign office and secret
service antics. An excellent book to travel with.
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mmm-jp
5.0 out of 5 stars a good realistic novel
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2012
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Although this is a spy story and a political thriller, each character in this novel leads very quiet life and is lonely. There was a leak of political information and a murder occured. These events changed the life of Castle, the main character, who has been living quietly and carefully. Through Castle's state of mind, the readers can understand his imminent danger.

I've read this novel three times. Each time after reading it, I always feel a kind of discouragement, because in this story some 'clever' and 'mechanical' bureaucrats control the situation, and they lead Castle and the people close to him to tragedy. The bureaucrats don't regret anything. I think that it's very likely to happen in our real society.

This is a little discouraging but a good realistic novel.
2 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2016
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Always enjoy Green's books
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterful modern tragedy under a spy novel's cover
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 17, 2023
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Graham Greene later stated that with "The Human Factor" he "wanted to present the Service unromantically as a way of life". He certainly did that: Greene is extremely effective in stripping away any glamour from the profession of spying, in a way only a disillusioned former spy could have done. But he does so much more than that. The novel is written in a crisp, mature, masterfully concise style, that brings complex characters alive with a few precise strokes and smoothly delivers plot twists that feel both unexpected and inevitable. Moreover, the book brings a new paradoxical perspective on the old conflict of duty and passion: Castle's quiet and apparently non-flammable love for his family pushes him towards a moral duty incompatible with both his oaths — the one to his country and the one to his wife. A true modern tragedy.
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ALR
4.0 out of 5 stars A Vintage classic
Reviewed in Italy on September 3, 2020
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An interesting book . Well written eventhough dated.
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ドッポ
5.0 out of 5 stars A good read
Reviewed in Japan on March 27, 2023
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I've just finished THE HUMAN FACTOR. It was my first ever Graham Green.
The story, though it is a spy novle, has no spectacle, quite unlike the Bond series for example.
It portrays the distrusts and fears that roll on without an end, of people who are involved in different ways in merciless and shameless espionage games.
The key theme of this book is what your country means to you. The fact that the author is an ex-MI6 adds extra weight to it.
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Emma Marzábal
5.0 out of 5 stars Buen libro
Reviewed in Spain on September 20, 2014
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El libro es muy bueno y ha funcionado bien. Graham Greene es un buen escritor que domina el tema del espionaje por haber sido "espía" en su vida real. Sabe de lo que habla. La novela es perfecta y su inglés es bastante fácil de entender para los que no somos ingleses.

Gracias,
Emma Marzábal
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Spinnosa
5.0 out of 5 stars Einer der genialsten Spionageromane
Reviewed in Germany on February 18, 2011
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Zu Spionagegeschichten habe ich ein gespaltenes Verhältnis, zu viele Verschwörungstheorien, Verfolgungsjagden, und als Schreibgeräte getarnte SChießgeräte kann sowieso nur Shean Connery mit Würde tragen ...

Dieser Spionageroman ist anders.
Hier agieren Männer und Frauen in Büros, hinter Schreibtischen, und verhalten sich so korrekt, wie persönliche Marotten und familiäre Probleme das eben zulassen - ein clandestines Treffen auf einem Landsitz ist das Äußerste an Konspiration.
Und trotzdem entfaltet sich da ein Drama, das Shakespeare auch nicht besser hin gekriegt hätte.
The Human Factor - geschrieben in den 1970er Jahren - ist einerseits eine Parabel auf den Kalten Krieg, der jetzt schon etwas länger vorbei ist, andererseits hat die Story auch nach 1989 nichts an Brisanz verloren.
Weil es eben nicht um die "große Weltgeschichte" geht, die große Verschwörung, sondern um die kleinen Details, und die können ganz schön widerwärtig sein.

PS: Graham Greene hat selbst beim MI5 gearbeitet. Also ist anzunehmen, er weiß, wovon er schreibt.

PPS: Graham Greene war lange ein Geheimtipp für den Literatur-Nobelpreis. Man munkelt, er hätte ihn nur nicht bekommen, weil er zu erfolgreich war, was offenbar irgendwie verdächtig ist.
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