A Sort of Life is the first volume of autobiography by British novelist Graham Greene, first published in 1971.
Overview of the book This volume covers Greene's early life, from mundane childhood in Hertfordshire, through to school and university and on to his early working life as a sub-editor at The Times and his years as a struggling novelist. His memoirs have been criticized for being oddly impersonal and for brushing over his marriage and his conversion to Catholicism, especially as his faith was to become a powerful motif in many of his novels. Despite these omissions he deals frankly with the personal demons he faced in his teens, including an account of several suicide attempts, the resulting psychoanalysis his father arranged for him, and his brief fascination with Russian roulette.
Key themes in the book This is an autobiographical book that is short (190 pp in the 1973 pocket-book edition quoted below) and covers the early part of the author’s life, i.e. his childhood and his youth. It is written in a factual and detached style, but with great insight and, it seems, honesty; also, it is written with wit, irony and humor, ostensibly to bring “order” to the “chaos” of a life.
Among the themes covered, the book refers to English society (class prejudice); existential issues (dealing with one’s family, failure in life, coping with setbacks, revenge and bullying, false kindness, suicide and its allure, the quest for an adrenalin rush, the desire to prove oneself in life, extreme commitment in life, happiness, boredom, and loneliness); the life and travails of a writer of fiction (writing as a form of therapy and the posture of the novelist); psychoanalysis; education (including private education, boarding schools, private tuition and working as a private tutor, and university life); sex (the interest in sex in one’s teens); politics (Communism and patriotism); morality and ethics, as well as religion (Catholicism and faith); and journalism (and working as a sub-editor for a national newspaper).
Weirdly, there is little that is truly personal, let alone intimate, beyond the writer’s teen years; for instance, we do not learn anything about how or where or when he had his first sexual encounter. The quest for creativity (through writing, also seen as a form of therapy) and the fear of boredom (G Greene tended to depression right through his life) are 2 dominant themes.
Description of the content of the book The book starts with a description of life at Berkhamsted School,p13, G Greene, ‘A sort of life’, Simon and Schuster edition published September 1971; page numbers, here, refer to the Pocket Book edition, also referred to as Pocket Books, published in January 1973, New York, USA, 190 pp, Copyright 1971, Standard Book Number 671-78218-5 with the nearby village of Northchurch.p15 The author dwells on his extended and influential family,p16 which is like “a tribe”, as well as his parents; his father became headmaster of the school in 1910. G Greene’s childhood is set in pre-war (i.e. pre-WWI) England; it has a distinct Victorian flavor to it. It sounds closer to the 19th century than to the 20th. G Greene discusses his parents’ marriage p24 and his decision to become a Catholic.
G Greene reminisces on stays with relatives in the countryside or by the coast, also for holidays; his parents seem remote: his mother because it is in her nature, and his father because he seems to feel he should maintain some sort of distance, being the head of the school where his son is a pupil.p26 The author discusses his fears, as a child, dreams, and memories.p30 He talks about his “ailments”, his interaction with domestic animals, as a child,p35 and the games they played.pp36-7
As a young boy, he has a fascination with war and the military: the rumbles of war (WWI) are perceived to be some exciting, heroic adventure.p38 The “social conditioning” and regimentation of school life does not seem to suit G Greene, who dwells on it in some detail.pp42-3 He deplores the “social snobbery” and the “exaggerated interest in royalty”.p44 He describes his various hobbies, including collecting stamps, coins,p54 Meccano, collecting “cigarette cards”, and his interest in books.p46 G Greene notes that “the influence of early books is profound”,p49 more so than all “religious teachings” as such. He comments on poetry.p50 G Greene evokes his “earliest sexual memories”,p52 visits to London and more particularly Soho.p53 He discusses his favorite holiday resorts (more particularly Littlehampton, which they often went to p56).
When he starts in prep school, it is a big change for G Greene;p57 beatings feature; he hates gymnastics and physical activities.p58 August 1914 comes p59 and the war years follow – somewhat unreal and remote, insofar as war is concerned.p63 The author starts practicing truancy on a regular basis in order to escape the tedious and authoritarian school routine: he hides in bushes near the school, by himself, reading, before heading home.pp61-2 He is now 13.p64
G Greene practices truancy with sophistication.p67 He dwells on the “unhappiness in a child”, the “routine of the boarding school”, the scatology, and the “lavatory joke[s]”.p71 He is subjected to bullying and “mental torture”, which makes him want to take revenge:pp72-3 this is described in detail, including the “desire for revenge”. These “years of humiliation” made him want to prove that he was good at something, conditioning him for the rest of his life, in fact.p74
G Greene notes that a suicide attempt is often “a cry for help”.p75 In view of his unhappiness in boarding school, “his final breakdown” is caused by his hatred for the “ignoble routine of school”.pp76-7 A pitiful attempt at running away is short-lived but described in detail.p71 to p81 But it brings about major changes, seemingly at the initiative of his father, who is concerned that his son may have been roped into a “masturbation ring” on the school’s premises!p81 G Greene’s father is prompted to send his son to see a psychoanalyst – a daring thing to agree to in 1920.p82
Kenneth Richmond is to be G Greene’s analyst;p86 G Greene is happy, if only because he feels free, in London, far from the school and its Victorian discipline.p87 G Greene dwells on the psychoanalysis and the “dream diary” he has to keep.pp88-9 G Greene seems to have had a close relationship with the analyst, and to have appreciated his help; but the ‘transference’ goes awry when G Greene declares that he is besotted with K Richmond’s attractive wife, Zoe.p91
Boredom remains a great enemy and a constant fear, it seems (i.e. the fear of it p94 and p105). G Greene is now in the VIth Form.p95 He experiences “sentimental fantasies”.p96 He writes a play but it fails to stir any significant interest:p97 this is revealing of his early interest in literature, but also how harsh that world is; it gives him an insight into failure in life.p98 G Greene discusses literature and faith, referring to various authors, including Richard Browning.p102sqq He notes the state of “extreme sexual excitement” that one goes through between 16 and 20.p104 There follows his first taste of alcohol, in the form of beer.p105
When he goes up to Oxford (Balliol, 1922), the author says that he is wrapped up in “lust and boredom and sentimentality”, pining for a grand love affair that will sweep him off his feet.p106 His flirtation with a governess (in her late twenties) turns into “an obsessive passion”:p109 and p110 he meets her while teaching the children of a wealthy family (a student’s job). This fling leads to nothing concrete,pp110-1 from what we understand. G Greene oscillates between the “reality of a passion” and the “burden of boredom”.p112
Partly to escape boredom, he attempts suicide, playing at Russian roulette with a handgun on several occasions – incidents he describes in chilling detail;p114 to p116 later, he notes, working as a journalist in war zones provided him with the danger and adrenalin that the games of Russian roulette had done – but in a way that could seem legitimate. The aim, he implies, was still the same, i.e. to court danger in order to escape from boredom, while seeking some sort of purpose in one’s life.
G Greene spends 10 days in Paris;p117 his encounter with Communists leaves him deeply disillusioned.p118 At Oxford, G Greene starts drinking heavily as a “distraction” from boredom and aimlessness.p119 A series of bizarre contacts with the inter-war German Embassy starts p122 after G Greene offered his “services” as a “propagandist” for Germany.p121 At the time, he seems to have wanted some adventure and excitement and to have harbored some sympathy with the German position, post-WWI. An odd trip to Germany follows;p124 G Greene seems attracted by the craft of espionage, more than anything else,p126 but decides not to pursue it any further.
He now wants to find a “career”.p128 He has various interviews with companies in the tobacco and oil industry.p129 All of this having failed, G Greene ends up working as a private tutor for Gabbitas & Thring (“I had a horror of becoming involved in teaching” p135sqq). After some tutoring, he ends up on an assignment in Nottingham,p138 working for the local paper, the Nottingham Journal.p140 G Greene mentions Vivien, his future wife, for the first time.p142 He also dwells on religion, his focus being on Catholicism.p142 to p147 G Greene is a reluctant believer, as he is, at first, a skeptic, but various priests have some influence on him and this leads to his first confession.p147 He is 22 and “fresh from Oxford” at the time.
In parallel, G Greene plans or starts or actually writes various novels.p149 When he lands a job on The Times of London as a sub-editor, however, he is happy.p150 He now lives in Battersea. He talks about the General Strike of 1926.p151 to p153 G Greene feels “accepted” at the newspaper – perhaps for the first time in his life.p154 He is still writing novels and discusses the trade and psychology of the novelist:p160 There is “a splinter of ice” in the writer’s heart (cf. incident of the child who died in hospital, witnessed by G Greene p162).
G Greene discovers that he may have been diagnosed with epilepsy when a young man, but was not told by his father.p164sq G Greene is now married, works at the newspaper, and writes his novels.p167 But he remains restless: so long as he will not have managed to have a successful novel published, he will feel that he is living in failure and, unlike some of his peers, he cannot satisfy himself with that state of affairs; he will discover later on that having one ‘good’ novel published is not enough, as the second one may be as much of a struggle to produce, or more... G Greene dwells on having one’s first novel accepted by a publisher and the world of publishing.pp168-9
Eventually, to focus entirely on his budding writing career, G Greene decides to resign from The Times;pp170-1 it is 1929 and he lived to regret it. At the time, he had been given an advance by a publisher to write a number of novels and felt his career as a writer was taking off and could be lucrative. As he was to realize, this was “a false start” in the wake of his first novel’s success.p172 G Greene discusses his foray into literature at the time.p173 to p176