Cuando hurga en citas de eruditos clásicos de quién no conozco nada se pone un poco tedioso, pero basta pasar ligeramente sobre estos pasajes y pronto sucederá algo más animado. Having read the original story I enjoyed all the references to the illustrious Don Quixote, as well as the depiction of the political situation in Spain of the 1970s.

A pastiche on the classic Spanish novel Don Quixote with moments of comedy and also reflection on matters of dictatorship, Communism and Catholicism. All in all it’s a beautiful little book, perhaps not an Important Work by a man who is increasingly rising in my esteem with each passing book, yet perfectly executed nonetheless.

The same year the Sandinistas welcomed Pope John Paul II to Nicaragua with a giant banner in Managua reading BETWEEN RELIGION AND THE REVOLUTION THERE IS NO CONTRADICTION the late pontiff unleashed a purge of Latin American liberation theologians worthy of Josef Stalin, only without the Lubyanka and the blood. Original green cloth, lettered in gilt to spine; top edge stained green; dust-jacket by Michael Harvey; pp. Its two protagonists include, it should not be forgotten, a Catholic priest who shares the name of his famous literary ancestor and who is as chivalrous about his faith as that haplessly romantic knight errant of Cervantes' classic.

In both books, we have these dichotomous pairs where the cynic and impulsive character employs gentle, logical psychological pressure to lead the emotionally tortured one to a "revelation" and to see the "light".As a monsignore Alec feels completely out of place and goes for a holiday together with Leo McKern, who is an old communist and former mayor of the village, but who actually studied theology in his youth but turned marxist instead. In his last adventure, Father Quixote is struck down and wounded while attempting to save a statue of the Virgin Mary from hypocrites who are desecrating her by offering her up for money. Whilst I am not convinced how successful Greene’s novel would be in its’ own right – without the reader having Cervantes as a reference point or cornerstone; therein lies the paradox as Greene’s novel would not exist without Cervantes, so it is ultimately a moot point. As this 1982 review puts it, "the gentlest and most amiable of his books since Travels with My Aunt.