"The believer will fight another believer over a shade of difference; the doubter fights only with himself.”It is December 2021, or to be precise, almost the end of December and also of another year at that. Two years ago, I had just finished reading Graham Greene's "Monsignor Quixote" for the first time, and had promised that I would return to it again in due course of time. In these last two years, a lot of things happened - mostly terrible and devastating and still a few so good that they can...

First Impression: An interesting novel.The Reason:It is about belief and doubt. "Doubt and belief are two halves of the same hinge, neither is defined without the other." - Miguel de Unamuno. This quote was apparently in the first draft of Greene's Monsignor Quixote. Later when he revised it, he removed it. I doubt that it would make the theme of the book blatantly very explicit.There are two important characters in the novel: Monsignor Quixote, a Catholic priest recently elevated to the rank of...

‘Monsignor Quixote’ (1982) by Graham Greene is a contemporary re-imagining/repositioning of Cervantes brilliant classic ‘Don Quixote’ – the story is still set in Spain, but now in the 1980’s rather than the 1600’s.‘Monsignor Quixote’ is very clearly intended as a parallel or companion piece to ‘Don Quixote’ and the reader will surely benefit greatly from having read, or at least being significantly familiar with Cervantes original novel. Whilst I am not convinced how successful Greene’s novel wo...

I simply had to finish this book in one go. Though "Monsignor Quixote" only spans 194 pages, reading it feels like a great adventure. The book is the last one of Graham Greene's religious novels and centres around the priest of the parish priest of the village El Toboso who claims to be a descendant of Don Quixote. After an encounter with a mysterious Italian bishop he discovers that he's been promoted to the rank of Monsignor. After encountering the wrath of his bishop, Monsignor Quixote sets o...

Greene’s picaresque novel, a take on Cervantes’ Don Quixote, is a delightful read (and mercifully, much shorter).The newly minted Monsignor Quixote of La Mancha sets off on a trip across Spain with Communist ex-Mayor Sancho, and strangely encounter similar perils and pitfalls as their celebrated fictional namesakes of four centuries ago. The Bishop is ostensibly on a shopping trip to buy his new vestments and the ex-mayor is looking to get away and bury his hurt from losing the last town council...

I didn't really enjoy reading this novel compared to his famous "The Power and the Glory" for some reasons so my rating is around 2.75, not 3. The first reason is that this one is rather obscure to me, I have never known that it exists, thus my reading motive is a bit shaky. The second one is concerned with my knowledge of Latin focusing on some functional ones related to my field of study, that is, I have known only those Latin phrases or abbreviations used in academic circles, for example: via...

One of the insights I have gained from reading Greene is that we do not see eye to eye when it comes to being fascinated by religion. It is a topic that holds little interest for me. Unfortunately, Monsignor Quixote is very much focused on the "religious". I'm describing the topic the "religious" because at the heart of the book is a dialogue between Monsignor Quixote, a Spanish priest, and Sancho, who used to be the major of the Monsignor's home town. Sancho is a communist whose faith in Marx,...

Although one of Greene's later novels, Monsignor Quixote is his most dated work. In the story, Quixote is promoted from village priest to Monsignor Quixote via an error. His accompanying travelling comedian is Sancho, a Communist former-mayor. Although a clever homage to Cervantes' work, this novel relies heavily on exploring Catholicism and theology. Unfortunately, the themes are tired and dated for modern day readers. And for many non-Christian or even non-Catholic readers, may even border on

From BBC Radio 4 - 15 Minute Drama:Dramatised by Stephen WyattGraham Greene's comic 'entertainment', set in rural Spain a few years after the death of Franco. Father Quixote makes a friend of an Italian bishop, with unexpected consequences.2/10: Father Quixote receives some unwelcome - and very surprising - news from his bishop.3/10: Newly appointed a Monsignor, Father Quixote and his friend Sancho set off on their quest for purple socks.4/10: Father Quixote and his friend Sancho arrive in Madri...

Crisp dialogue, a story not muddied with useless and monotonous description. It was hilarious; a priest in a brothel, a porn theater all unbeknownst to him until its too late, traveling with a communist mayor, the exchange of religion and faith and politics and human error, is both funny and thought provoking. My first Greene novel, and will be reading the Quiet American next and if its as engrossingly funny as this he will surely jump to the top of my favorite author list.In a deeper review of

A lovely dialectic between belief and faith, politics and religion, plain old human feeling. As I read it, it occurred to me that the two main characters, Father Quixote and the Communist mayor, Sancho, must have represented two sides of GG's personality. Sweet and charming, two words I never thought I'd attribute to any work by Mr. Greene, a late work full of love, humor and forgiveness.

rosado> walkies> Read by Cyril CussackThe descendents of Quijano and Sancho go travelling. Wonderful soft adventure, gallons of wine, and the talk is of purple nylon socks, Marxism, Roman Catholicism and onanism. Many -isms, yes, but gentle philosophical fun. Loved it but you wouldn't necessarily think it was from Greene's nib. Highly recommended if you are looking for a modern-day tilter.Cross-posted to anobii and librarything.

Especially amusing as a variant on the classic Don Quixote story. This is more of a fable than a novel. The mild tone is striking, because the central theme is tolerance. Nice to contrast this work with 'Don Camillo and Peppone', by the Italian writer Guareschi, that also confronts a priest with a fanatic communist.(rating 2.5 stars)

Although I do not completely agree with the theology in this book, the deeper meanings and heart of this story is so well done. Also, this is the first Greene book that I have laughed in. The way Greene worked in Don Quixote, Sancho, Rosinante, and the rest of the gang was worth the read even if you weren’t also moved by the spiritual story. I’m a Graham Greene fan for life.

Father Quixote was peacefully tending to his parishioners at El Toboso when he received a letter from his bishop. The Holy See was promoting him into a monsignor, and all because he was endorsed by a bishop (a different one) who was once aided by Father Quixote in a time of need. This was a surprise, all the more for his superior who considered the priest's ways to be bent and misguided. He and the bishop did not always see eye to eye, but the Holy See had the final say and that's that.With his

A lot of drink driving goes on here. For me, Greene's lessons in Catholic theology are much clearer and more charming here than in his other novels. Monsignor Quixote and his companion the Communist Mayor are worthy bumbling heroes. Quixote is an innocent, almost a heroic idiot - something along the line's of Dostoevsky's Prince Myshkin in The Idiot. The Bishop and Father Herrera are entertaining hypocritical villains and the Guardia Civil are like the Tontons Macoutes boogeymen from The Comedia...

I enjoyed this Graham Greene novel set in post Franco Spain. The story about a priest and the communist mayor of a small village and their friendship. The story is about moral doubt and the two embark on a trip in the priests antiquated car. Coupled with the priest descended from Quixote and with the same name with his friend the mayor called Sancho’s they have their own funny adventures with the guardia, erotic films, a bank robber and the bishop. Lots of wine, cheese and conversations are had

This proved a lively tandem read with the Mrs. A priest is taking a sightseeing drive through Spain and winds up in the company of a communist politician. Atrocity studies are compared, as if Torquemada and Stalin can be discussed over a quaint lunch. What, they can? My mistake. This is My Dinner With Andre on a more political bend. Given its fluidity, I'd recommend it to just about anyone, despite it being second-tier Greene.

I agree with the review by Broken Tunes on Goodreads about religious writers. I will always love Graham Greene, but I felt disappointed in him in this book.

'Monsignor Quixote' is simple, loving, matter-of-fact, a meditation on doubt and faith, a critique of post-Franquist Spain, a critique of hierarchy, and funny in the most joyful of ways. It's a reimagining of Cervantes' Don Quixote where the books of chivalry are replaced by lives of the saints, where Sancho Panza is a Communist ex-Mayor and the windmills are the forces of the Guardia Civil. Faith - whether in scripture or the writings of Marx - is not an easy thing. And yet.I thought this was a...

Reread for an upcoming episode of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast and found it just as delightful this time around. Original thoughts are below.==========I can't remember where I heard about this take on Don Quixote by Graham Greene but it sounded like a fairly cheerful introduction to an author whose books always sound depressing. And it was. Father Quixote is a descendant of the famous book's hero. Yes, he knows the book is fictional. When he's promoted to Monsignor he goes on a road trip...

A very weak book by Greene's standards. There is no plot, and little by way of character study. The comparison between the protagonists, a humble priest and a Communist mayor, and the heroes of "Don Quixote" feels belabored. The central themes are doubt and its opposite, absolute belief. Living with doubt is unbearable, but absolute belief is elusive, yet, once attained, stifling. Such meagre insights hardly make this clumsy parable worth reading.

My first taste of Greene, and it reeled me in. Contains one of my favorite book passages EVER!

A Catholic priest and a Communist walk into a car...

I have not yet read Don Quixote, and I suspect that if I had, I would have enjoyed this novel even more. I plan to reread it after reading Cervantes.Nevertheless, the novel is very good. It's a pastiche and homage to Cervantes' iconic book. Father Quixote is unexpectedly named a monsignor, and he sets off with his good friend and communist ex-mayor on a journey to purchase the purple socks and perchera appropriate to his new station. Along the way the two have adventures, some of which are occas...

Every time I read this book it gets better. Graham Greene's novel of faith, doubt, sin, and charity is one of the best of its kind. The idea of a Spanish priest promoted to the office of monsignor after a chance encounter with an Italian bishop is funny enough, but when Greene makes that priest the descendant of Don Quixote and gives him a Sancho Panza of his own in the form of a former Mayor who is also a closet Communist, it quickly becomes outrageous. Like, Monsignor Quixote blowing up condom...

This beautiful little book is a picaresque novel depicting the travels of fools and rogues all the while shimmering like a well cut diamond.More than any other writer I know, Greene subjugates style for story, and himself to what he wants to say. Cast on a spinnet of Cervantes Don Quixote, with the Bible and various communist tracts as bedfellows, this beautiful innocent wanders Spain with his Sancho Panza, in his little car, the seat 600. But it is not Spain that these two traverse but the whol...

Leave it to Graham Greene to write about something I don't particularly care in a place beyond my eyesight and still made me hooked. Perhaps this is because no matter what the setting or who the character is, there's always the underlying love stretching through the whole story. Not necessarily romantic one nor is it always shown clearly, it's just there even under the most depressingly hopeless conditions. I suppose this is what makes me hooked with his stories, his love for humankind.Another t...

I read this book for my local book group and it wasn't one I'd have chosen. Father Quixote, descendant of Don Quixote of Cervantes's tales, impresses a visiting bishop and is elevated to be a Monsignor. He requests a holiday, from his own bishop, and takes to the road with his friend, the recently deposed Mayor of the town.Although I found the character of Quixote naively funny, the whole road-trip concept seemed to be merely a hook on which to hang a philosophical discussion about Christianity

I had some interest in this book, because I've read Don Quixote, and also I'm interested in reading about Spain. It seemed to me to be a vehicle for Graham Greene to discuss Communism and Catholicism, their theory and practice. I've already read plenty relating to Communism, and I think I would have found the bits relating to Catholicism more interesting as nonfiction.I didn't think it was anywhere near as good as the other books I've read by him.