Graham Greene (1) (1904–1991)

This fine collection contains stories published from throughout the author's career, from 1929 to the mid- 1950s. Naturally, the stories vary in their appeal. Stories and their dates of publication are listed below, with my ratings (out of five stars) and short notes:

"The End of the Party" (1929) 3*
"The Second Death" (1929) ✔ (strange... what's the point?)
"Proof Positive" (1930) 3.5* (supernatural)
"I Spy" (1930) 4*
"A Day Saved" (1935) X (what the..?)
"Jubilee" (1936) ✔
"Brother" (1936) ✔
"A Chance for Mr Lever" (1936) 3.5* (heart of darkness type)
"The Basement Room" (1936) 5*
"The Innocent" (1937) 4.5*
"A Drive in the Country" (1937) 3.5*
"Across the Bridge" (1938) 3*
"A Little Place off the Edgware Road" (1939) 2* (macabre)
"The Case for the Defence" (1939) 3.5* (twin criminals)
"Alas, Poor Maling" (1940) 2.5* (humorous)
"Men at Work" (1940) 2* (satire of the homefront during the war)
"Greek Meets Greek" (1941) 3.5* (amusing swindle)
"The Hint of an Explanation" (1948) *
"The Blue Film" (1954) 2*
"Special Duties" (1954) 2*
"The Destructors" (1954) XX (horrid story)… (more)

The book opens with Maurice, the narrator, chancing upon Henry, the husband of the woman he once had an affair with. Henry suspects his wife, Sarah, of having an affair, and Maurice volunteers to engage a private investigator. It turns out that Sarah is meeting a spiritual guru in an attempt to find out if there is God, and in the process of the investigation, Maurice gets hold of Sarah's diaries. The diaries reveal why she left Maurice (which I called the first ending) and that she still loved him. There was no reconciliation as Sarah died from a lung infection brought on from a bout of walking in the rain (this I blame Maurice who forced her to come and see him in the inclement weather and amazingly he had no guilt at all). This, I termed, the Ending. Masterly plotting and exquisite writing.… (more)