The Sheltering Sky
Expatriate dislocation, a failing marriage, and disaster without moral meaning.
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The Heart of the Matter
A colonial officer’s unhappy marriage, affair, and guilt close around him in West Africa.
- 1948
About Graham Greene
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeA British colonial officer in West Africa becomes trapped between his marriage, an affair, religious guilt, and the consequences of trying to spare pain.
Why we recommend it
Quiet self-destruction far from home
Heat, foreignness, loneliness, and moral exhaustion close around Greene’s characters as steadily as Bowles’s fatalism.
What this book explores
Book editions
- Paperback
- 9780142437995
Reader reviews
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References
References
The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document The Heart of the Matter, its publication, and its place in literary history.
1The Heart of the Matter — Open Library ISBN catalogue
Official recordOpen Library, Internet ArchiveUsed forOpen Library ISBN catalogue used to verify the title, ISBN, and publication metadata.
2The Heart of the Matter — Google Books edition record
Official recordGoogle BooksUsed forGoogle Books catalogue record used to cross-check the title and edition metadata.
3The Heart of the Matter — Internet Archive ISBN catalogue
Official recordInternet ArchiveUsed forInternet Archive ISBN catalogue used to cross-check the edition and its availability in library holdings.
4The Heart of the Matter — Library of Congress books catalogue
Official recordLibrary of CongressUsed forLibrary of Congress books catalogue used to cross-check the bibliographic record by ISBN.
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The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.
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