The Third Man and The Fallen Idol

Paperback, 160 pages

English language

Published June 25, 1981 by Penguin (Non-Classics).

ISBN:
978-0-14-003278-9
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3 stars (4 reviews)

Initially written as a screenplay Greene later transferred the film treatment to novel form as a novella, published together with The Fallen Idol. Set in post-war Vienna the story concerns the mysterious Harry Lime, a black market trader thought by the authorities to be dead.

4 editions

Review of 'The Third Man and The Fallen Idol' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

"The Third Man" is an unpolished sketch of a novel, intended as the raw material for the fine film of the same name. All in all, I'd recommend the film over the sketch. "The Fallen Idol" is a more-polished short story, originally published as "The Basement Room," but then expanded into the film "The Fallen Idol." Though it's a more well-crafted read, I think that plot-wise the film improves on it, and in a way that's respectful to the original and to the general Greene spirit.

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3 stars
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4 stars

Subjects

  • Modern fiction
  • Literary
  • Fiction / General
  • Literature - Classics / Criticism