Travels with My Aunt

Critics

• The Uncompleted Dossier

  Mr. Greene’s new novel begins in England and ends in Paraguay. The narrator, Henry Pulling, is a retired bank manager with “a weakness for funerals” and an affection for dahlias. At his mother’s funeral he meets his aunt, Augusta, his mother’s sister ... (read full critics)

  nybooks published on Thu, 26 Aug 2010

4 Reviews

• 

  Close to home

  this book has some real laugh out loud moments. while the characters seem to be almost of another England, I can associate the 2 main characters (Pullen and his aunt) with people from my own family. Yes the language, situations and actions seem very very dated, but then again here Greene wasnt writ ... (continue)

  this book has some real laugh out loud moments. while the characters seem to be almost of another England, I can associate the 2 main characters (Pullen and his aunt) with people from my own family. Yes the language, situations and actions seem very very dated, but then again here Greene wasnt writing about living in hip, swinging 60's London, but instead of characters in their middle/later years in times and places that were not really relevant to them. Instead we follow an elderly woman (with an apparent lively love life) and her nephew around the globe on her hunt for loves lost but never forgotten. Out of the story comes a series of vignettes relating to her history, his childhood, and opportunities for their lives going forward. The end strikes me as slightly bizarre (its one of the final senteneces not the plot that catches me off guard - I'd almost expected the long lost love to come swooping in to find him), but overall very enjoyable and a side of Greene I didnt know existed.

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  John Trigg said on Jul 28, 2011 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

• Travels With My Aunt was my first visit to Greeneland, aged about 14, and in all honesty, we didn’t click. Aside from a desultory adolescent canter through Brighton Rock, I turned to other things, and didn’t try Greene again until my 40s.

  And (of course), they’re brilliant. Our Man In Havana, The ... (continue)

  Travels With My Aunt was my first visit to Greeneland, aged about 14, and in all honesty, we didn’t click. Aside from a desultory adolescent canter through Brighton Rock, I turned to other things, and didn’t try Greene again until my 40s.

  And (of course), they’re brilliant. Our Man In Havana, The End Of The Affair, The Heart Of The Matter – sublime grown-up books. The Confidential Agent, England Made Me – mad 30s tales. I’ll read a Greene a year, so that there’s still plenty to look forward to. Now, however, it’s time to have another go at Travels With My Aunt, in which septuagenarian Aunt Augusta takes her retired bank manager nephew on a wild ride around the world’s hotspots.

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  Philip Downer said on Jun 30, 2011 | Add your feedback

• 

  It seems to me that the old professional brothel system was far healthier than those exaggerated amateur distractions. But then an amateur always goes too far. An amateur is never in proper control of his art.

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  Maurizio (videogioco) said on Oct 24, 2010 | Add your feedback

• 

  Oh what an enjoyable book. The quiet existence of the middle aged protagonist is overturned by his aunt who has had quite an adventurous life. They embark on a long journey that will give an unexpected turn to Henry's life. The African servant, Wordsworth, craks me up!!!! Good, enjoyable read!

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  Lilyofthevalleys2000 said on Sep 8, 2010 | Add your feedback

Book Details

• Rating:
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• English Books
• Paperback 288 Pages
• Edition: Reprint
• ISBN-10: 0143039008
• ISBN-13: 9780143039006
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Pub date: Sep 28, 2004
• Dimensions: 1355 mm x 968 mm x 129 mm Just how big is that?
• Also available as: Mass Market Paperback, Hardcover, Audio Cassette and eBook
• In other languages: other languages Livres Français, Deutsche Bücher, Libros en Español, Libri Italiani

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• The Collective (146)

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