Graham Greene was a prolific 20th century English novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and journalist, renowned for his works that explore moral and political ambiguities within the modern world, often through the lens of his Catholic faith. Some of his most celebrated novels include Brighton Rock, The Power and the Glory, The Heart of The Matter, The End of the Affair, The Quiet American, and Our Man in Havana. In contrast to the somber and serious tone of these works, I chose to read Travels with My Aunt which I believe marked a departure for Greene, a blend of humour, adventure, and social commentary.
The novel follows Henry Pulling, a recently retired bank manager leading a quiet and predictable life in suburban England. Henry, in his early fifties, is not old, but accepts the offer of an earlier than usual retirement. A single man, his only interest is in caring for his dahlias, he does not have an active social life. At the start of the novel, Henry is preparing for his mother's funeral, and he feels a strange excitement, he believes people are always at their best at a funeral and finds himself looking forward to it. His world is turned upside down when he encounters his eccentric Aunt Augusta for the very first time - a memorable introductory line delivered by Aunt Augusta here (“I was once present at a premature cremation”). Following the funeral, Henry begins to spend more time with his aunt, his last remaining relative, and finds that he rather enjoys her company and her many colourful stories. She drops a couple of hints that lead Henry to believe that his deceased mother was not his biological mother but Augusta evades any further probing on the matter. It’s a truth he hopes to get from her eventually. He isn't sure about just how true all her stories are, but after a point he does not seem to care much, all he knows is he enjoys them.
A septuagenarian with a zest for life, Augusta does not care for convention and has little patience with moral judgement. Soon, she enlists Henry as companion on her travels. First to Brighton, then to Paris and Istanbul on the Orient Express, and in the final portion of the novel, Henry catches up with her in Paraguay. Far from the peaceful and slow travels one would expect with an old relative, Henry is introduced to a world of intrigue, smuggling, and unconventional relationships.
He initially resists the experience of travel and how it takes away from his sense of comfort and familiarity (and his dahlias), but then he gradually begins to shed his inhibitions. And eventually, the life of spontaneity and adventure embraced by his irrepressible aunt, seems to him the only way to live and to feel alive.
(Note: This is a novel of its time and must be read as such, some terms may be out of place in a contemporary context. The dialogue Greene wrote for Wordsworth - a genial man from Sierra Leone who is Aunt Augusta’s roommate and lover in the early part of the novel - can be a bit cringey.)