The Ministry of Fear

By: Graham Greene

Narrated by: Martyn Swain

In London during the Blitz, an amnesiac must outwit a twisted Nazi plot in this "master thriller" of espionage, murder, and deception (Time).

On a peaceful Sunday afternoon, Arthur Rowe comes upon a charity fete in the gardens of a Cambridgeshire vicarage where he wins a game of chance. If only this were an ordinary day. Britain is under threat by Germany, and the air raid sirens that bring the bazaar to a halt expose Rowe as no ordinary man. Recently released from a psychiatric prison for the mercy killing of his wife, he is burdened by guilt, and now, in possession of a seemingly innocuous prize, on the run from a nest of Nazi spies who want him dead.

Pursued on a dark odyssey through the bombed-out streets of London, he becomes enmeshed in a tangle of secrets that reach into the dark recesses of his own forgotten past. And there isn't a soul he can trust, not even himself. Because Arthur Rowe doesn't even know who he really is.

©1943, 1971 Graham Greene (P)2023 Tantor

Bad narration

I always enjoy Graham Greene’s writing. But the narrator of this audiobook has a very distracting halting staccato way of reading the book.

Did not enjoy

I had a hard time following the story which is deliberately disjointed, involving mystery, amnesia, etc. Maybe I just didn’t psycsttention well, but the narrator didn’t help. The weird accenting of different words didn’t seem to follow human speech patterns, but was highly mannered and for me difficult to follow. You’ll soon see what I mean, tho I guess many were fine with it.

SKIP THE INTRODUCTION

The first paragraph of the editor’s introduction exposes a key plot point which is gradually revealed over the first quarter of the novel. Very annoying.

The novel is one of Graham Greene’s more enigmatic ones. It is not a tight thriller, nor does it have the intense religiosity of some of his books. Apart from that it is very much his style and sensibility, and I liked it a lot.

The reader is good, but he leans too much into the German accents of characters who are supposed to have very mild accents, almost undetectable.

Terrific

Enjoyed this read (listen) as I’ve enjoyed all Graham Greene books. I still have a few more to go.

Terrible narrator.

Nearly unbearable narration. The author deserves better. Nearly unbearable narration. The author deserves better. Nearly unbearable narration. The author deserves better. Nearly unbearable narration. The author deserves better.