The Ministry of Fear

Others have commented on The Ministry of Fear's implausible precept of a cell of Nazi sympathizers hiding a microfilm in a cake. Yeah, nah. But putting that argument aside, what really elevates this book into 5-star territory is the sublime quality of the writing. This is Greene maintaining the incredible momentum he hit with The Power and the Glory and starting to cement himself in the very first rank of English writers, where he remains to this day.

The Ministry of Fear - Graham Greene

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It's the middle of the Blitz and Arthur Rowe is at loose ends. There are hints that he is for some reason beyond the pale of polite society, at least in his own mind. He sees a “fete” and decides to participate. In a scene that has overtones of “Nazi spy ring” written all over it, he is awarded a cake. It's a cake that everybody seems to want.

Before you can say “Bob's your uncle,” Rowe is in the middle of a mystery where he is being shuttled to and fro by apparently unrelated people. He is framed for a murder and is on the lam from the police, when...

And suddenly we cut to an amnesiac in a hospital. There's a woman who seems interested in him, and odd things happening.

As a reader, I could see how this story would work as a movie. In fact, “Ministry of Fear” was produced as a movie in 1943. The book was written in 1942. The movie is now part of the Criterion Collection, which speaks to its value in some dimension.

From my perspective, I enjoyed the story as it moved from set to set, but the conceit of a conspiracy so well-run as to arrange for the things that they run poor Arthur Rowe through seemed far beyond credulity unless you were in an environment where your country was in a death struggle with a totalitarian power who could have agents anywhere.