Books #23-24

23. The Quiet American, Graham Greene

I read this for my British Contemporary Fiction class. It was a quick read - luckily, as I had less than a week to read it. I enjoyed it, though it is not something I would have picked up on my own. Greene has a great style - very much like the reporter that the narrator is, but with some great war imagery and witty asides.
I love the fact that Bush quoted this book for all of the wrong reasons.

24. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Alan Sillitoe

This was another book for my British Contemporary Fiction course. Arthur, the main character, is a twenty-one year old living in the "excess" of working-class post-war Britain. He makes more money than his parents would have ever dreamed, working at a bicycle factory, and spends it on booze and fancy clothes. The novel was a fairly quick read and it followed Arthur's many misadventures with women, drinking, and fighting.
I loved the way this was narrated - often in a working-class voice very similar to Arthur's, but with beautifully literary interludes. Arthur is a fun character to follow, even if he isn't always the nicest of guys.