The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene

George Orwell, reviewing the novel in the New Yorker, formulated an objection which is difficult to counter: 'Scully is incredible because the two halves of him do not fit together. 'The books Catholic writhings were much discussed at the time of its publication. 'Theodicy, the intolerable struggle to make sense of God's Providence in a world of pain and sin.' P. I suppose the rusted handcuffs that Scobie kept in his office were the symbol of his belief that he was no longer worthy of doing his job, just as the broken rosary in his desk, and later in his pocket, was the symbol of his broken faith. This book portrays the futility of trying to predict what will happen as a result of our actions. He uses the excuse that he is acting out of love, but the reader will discern that love is not the source. Scobie, a Catholic, is consumed by guilt for his choices, though he cannot seem to extract himself from his dilemma. Greene excels at describing flawed individuals and their struggles. “He was touched by uneasiness, as though he had accidentally set in motion a powerful machine he couldn’t control.” He meets a young widow who reminds him of his deceased daughter. He borrows money from a corrupt individual to send her to South Africa, setting off a spiral of poor choices. He has recently been passed over for promotion. Published in 1948, this book is a psychological character study of Henry Scobie, a British police official living with his wife in Sierra Leone in 1942. “If I could just arrange for her happiness first, he thought, and in the confusing night he forgot for the while what experience had taught him-that no human being can really understand another, and no one can arrange another’s happiness.”

The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene