Three Entertainments

The "Three Entertainments" are exactly that, entertainments. They would be very suitable as movie scripts and to some extents are written as such. They are not Greene's best stuff, for the most part that came later. But they do exhibit most of the characteristics of his later, greater, works. Unheroic heroes, seedy surroundings, real villains. His characters have depth and insight into the human situation. The difference in these works is that the heroes pursue their goal relentlessly, the women are unquestionably attractive and intelligent, and the endings are mostly happy.In his later works things become more ambiguous, more mature, more real. He does this without loosing the clarity, the sharpness of the dialogue, or the strength of his characters. He does not defocus the image but rather makes it even sharper so that we see more facets to the characters and the situations. Still these three works are highly enjoyable and a good introduction to Greeneland.