“The Lawless Roads” are neither!
Nowhere is any lawlessness perpetrated against the protagonist, nor does he describe anything akin to a road; it is all potholes at best. He navigates his “lawless” journey via boat, airplane, or donkey.
Greene observes: “Like the characters in Chekhov they have no reserves – you learn the most intimate secrets.” I have to agree: Only in Mexico!
For Greene, Mexico was all “disappointment and despair”; understandable, as hismission was to reveal the catastrophic opposition to the Church in the Mexican province of Chiapas. But time heals all. Catholicism is alive and well there today.
(Edited by D. H. from a longer review by Roland Petrov.)
Key Quotations
- I began to believe in heaven because I believed in hell. (p. 14)
- The platitudes of age are often the main discoveries of youth. (p. 24)
- Like most Mexican things it was a bit fake. (p. 143)
Graham Greene (1904-1991)