"Scholar, critic, travel companion, confidant.... For over twenty years Father Leopoldo Duran played all these roles in the life of Graham Greene. Their journeys together provided the inspiration for one of Greene's greatest novels, Monsignor Quixote, which is dedicated to Duran. But above all they were friends, and it was their mutual admiration and common faith that bound these two spiritual men together." "In Graham Greene, Duran uses the chronicles of their twenty-seven-year relationship to expose and reflect upon the very private Greene kept hidden from his fans and critics alike. During their annual pilgrimages through Spain and Portugal these two men formed a friendship unparalleled for Greene. Duran draws on the letters, notes, and journals that document this relationship to offer glimpses into Greene's personal life and to reveal the humor, warmth, and sensitivity of this cultural icon." "But it is Greene's controversial postures on faith and ideology that interest Duran the most, and these serve as the common thread through Duran's anecdotes and musings in Graham Greene. Although a convert to Roman Catholicism, Greene had notorious differences with the Church that were never publicly reconciled. By recalling their private conversations, Duran covers all the incendiary topics - from contraception and celibacy to Communism." "It is apparent from their first meeting, when Greene asks, "Do you think I have true faith?" how much he valued Duran's judgment. Green's later statements, "I can fully trust you to present me as a living person," and "I do hope that... you will be able to continue writing and lecturing on my work - for no one knows better than you do its nature and its source," are further evidence of his complete confidence in Duran." "Graham Greene is the book that Greene wanted to be written about himself, the book that illuminates the soul and the spirit of this remarkable man."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved