Cuba

3M said, "I plan on reading Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene for Cuba. I haven't read it yet, though, so I can't vouch for it." Bonnie's response, "I just looked it up and discovered a couple of GOOD things about the book: (1) it's a comedy, and (2) it's just been released in a new paperback edition on July 31, 2007. Thanks for the suggestion, 3M, because I plan to read this book."

This is from an Amazon reviewer who gave the book FIVE STARS:

This 1958 novel was a complete surprise to me. I'd read three books by this author before and found them dark and introspective. But Our Man in Havana is a satirical spoof and I found myself giggling throughout. It deals with a theme that Greene has revisited on many occasions - that of a spy in a foreign country. But this time, it's all in fun, although between the 220 pages of this slim volume, he manages to say a few important things about social class, the Catholic Church, and the absurdity of international relations.

The hero of the story is Jim Wormold, a divorced vacuum cleaner salesman from England in pre-Castro Cuba. His 17-year-old daughter is growing up fast and he finds he needs money. So when the British Secret Service recruits him, he invents a whole world of secret agents and intrigues just to keep the money flowing. He is even sent a secretary, which introduces a bit of romance to the outrageous plot. All of a sudden, the lies he has invented seem to be coming true and the plot thickens, moving along at a breakneck pace. I was totally involved, and found myself laughing out loud at times. What a delightful read! Highly recommended.