The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene

MEETING INFORMATION
Date: July 10, 2024
Facilitator: Pam

BOOK INFORMATION
Title: The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene
Genre: Fiction - General
Publication Year: 1948
Approximate Page Count: 297
Summary: Major Scobie lives in a colony on the west coast of Africa during World War II and is responsible for local security during wartime. His wife Louise, an unhappy, solitary woman who loves literature and poetry, cannot make friends. Scobie feels responsible for her misery, but does not love her. Their only child, Catherine, died in England several years before. Louise is a devout Catholic. Scobie, a convert, is also devout. Throughout the novel the oppressive nature of the climate is a major backdrop. The heat and humidity act as weakening factors.
Scobie is passed over for promotion to commissioner, which upsets Louise both for her personal ambition and her hope that the local British community will begin to accept her. Louise asks Scobie if she can go to live in South Africa to escape a life she hates.
Suggested by: Gene