The appeal for used books is quite nostalgic for me. The fact that a book had been read by someone whom I don’t know and was then given away like that to be picked up by someone else, hopefully, and be read again.
Amidst the narrow and over-stocked shops of Urdu Bazaar in Karachi, I found this used and somewhat degraded copy of Greene’s novel ‘The Human Factor’. Of course, it was the title that grabbed my attention, and the cheap price that invited me to purchase it.
It is quite exciting to come across a promising novel or new author which you hadn’t heard of before. As you read more and more, new names become harder to come by, while every other book and author begin to sound familiar, even if you haven’t read anything from them.
But then, however, there’s the uncertainty of when one will get around reading such a randomly picked book, an uncertainty, which against my nature has never unpleasant been unpleasant for me. I know with utmost belief that I will read the books I purchase, however many and frequently, even if I cannot say when exactly.
Some of the books, should they align with my reading plans, I read very quickly after its purchase, while others remain longer on the shelves – albeit, in good company of other awaiting books. As with every book, picking up my copy of ‘The Human Factor’ to read felt good, reminding of the time I bought it and reviving my exciting about my complete cluelessness of the book - there’s a reason I don’t want to know too much about my books after all.
Reading Greene’s brilliant novel was much like its purchase experience: pleasant. Very pleasant, indeed! Taking place in the lonely and burdensome world of Secret Services, this novel tells the story of Maurice Castle, a British secret agent who looks after the cases from South Africa, where he had recently been and fell in love with his current wife, Sarah, an African. The novel starts with a leak from Castle’s sector, and a set of new men who are investigating whom the leak came from: Castle, his colleague Davis, or Watson their boss.
Given its genre and plot, this book makes for a thrilling read, yet what makes it so great is Greene’s brilliant storytelling. Told from a third-person perspective, we get to know and connect with all of the characters involved in this case, and really see, from within, the complexities that are involved therein. We see how one’s service can curtail one’s sense of morality and moral action, and how sometimes other lives are impacted because of our decisions, decisions that we couldn’t for some reason, own. Even the politics in this novel makes for an insight of how ugly things can get when people are used as means.
Greene’s novel is not only a thrilling read, but much more: a story of grounded and well-built characters, an honest peak into the intricacies of secret services, and overall poignant, beautiful, and pleasurable book to read. I adored reading it!
Ratings: 5/5 *****August 3, 2021_