The Lawless Roads

by Graham Greene

Release Date: October, 1993

Edition: Paperback

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The Horrors of Mexico

The Lawless Roads is the second non-fiction travel book of Greene's that I've read, and the other, Journey Without Maps was also a great book about travel in Africa. Greene is a brilliant travel writer; he makes detailed observations about the countryside, people, and customs of Mexico. The way he traveled in the 30s makes you appreciate modern infrastructure and the advances of civilization that make godforsaken places livable. He was on assignment for a paper to report on the anti-clerical government that was persecuting the Catholics. It was form this experience that Greene wrote The Power and The Glory, which germinated from an antecdote he heard in Mexico about a whisky priest while on assignment.

A grim and gritty travel masterpiece

Tabasco and Chiapas in the 1930's - not a nice place either to live or to visit. Greene's explorations provided background and some characters for his great short novel or tale, The Power and the Glory. If you are a student of fine writing, read the novel first, then read this to see how he gathered and used material. Or read this first for background that adds depth to the novel. If you are an armchair traveler or student of Mexico, enjoy Greene's adventures and be grateful he went through them so you don't have to do it yourself. This is truly a classic of travel writing.