The Heart of The Matter is the first Graham Greene novel that I have read and I liked it very much. Internal conflicts is usually an attractive subject for me in fiction and The Heart of the Matter has it in abundance. I also liked the fact that one of the main conflicts was about religion. Our protagonist is Scobie who is a deputy police commissioner at a North African (?) British colony. His wife is not happy that he is passed over for promotion but he liked being there and likes his work too. Their daughter died years ago and the trauma still haunts them and Scobie feels responsible, not logical but emotions usually aren't. Well in trying to help someone he steps on the way to corruption and as events unfold his only option is to continue. He is a good man but also a very flawed one. The funny thing is as he becomes corrupted (both in his private and professional lives) he gets that promotion in the end. However everything becomes too much for this gentleman who only asked for some peace of mind and just gives up.
I'm eager to read more Graham Greene now. He is not Thomas Hardy but still...
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