Perfectly capturing a decadent, exotic Cuba pre-Castro, Our Man in Havana is a mercilessly ironic satire of spying that finds a vacuum cleaner salesman passing on confected intelligence to the British. As sprightly as any of Greene’s ‘entertainments’ this is a delightful corrective to all po-faced spy thrillers that take themselves too seriously.
With an introduction by Christopher Hitchens.
Wormold is a vacuum cleaner salesman in a city of power cuts. His adolescent daughter spends his money with a skill that amazes him, so when a mysterious Englishman offers him an extra income he's tempted. In return all he has to do is carry out a little espionage and file a few reports. But when his fake reports start coming true, things suddenly get more complicated and Havana becomes a threatening place.
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
ISBN: 9780099286080
Number of pages: 256
Weight: 182 g
Dimensions: 197 x 128 x 15 mm
As comical, satirical, atmospherical an "entertainment" as he has given us - Daily Telegraph
He had a sharp nose for trouble and injustice. In Our Man In Havana - a witty send-up of an agent's life - it was Cuba before Castro - Financial Times
Nobody should be anywhere near power who hasn't read (or seen the film of) Our Man in Havana, a powerful satire on the silly world of spying by a man who had experienced it - Mail on Sunday
Graham Greene captured a pre-Castro Cuba of daiquiris and decadence... hilarious - Independent
British Intelligence being sent up something rotten - Daily Telegraph, 20 Best Spy Novels of All Time
As one might expect from the title 'Our man in Havana' takes place in the humidity and depravity of cold war Cuba, and focuses on a merchant (Mr. Wormold) who, to his own bewilderment, is employed by the... More
A funny, lighthearted read that didn’t take too long to complete. It’s a comical twist on the stereotypes we typically associate with espionage thrillers.
It is the storey of a single father trying to do his best for his growing teenage daughter. It is satirical, fabulously entertaining and enthralling. It is a must read book.
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