Journey Without Maps - Graham Greene

Read January 2022

This is one of Greene's early works, a travelogue documenting his travels across Liberia over several weeks in the the mid-1930s. Managing to travel such a distance at this time was a feat, and sadly would still be impressive today.

Greene, true to his later work, spends much of the time on social, political, and religious observations. The most interesting of which center around religious practices in the villages he passes through.

Ultimately, despite the fascinating subject matter the book is a product of it's time, and the writer is clearly a product of the late British empire. Though compared to other writers of the same period, he has moments of shocking enlightenment. More often than not these quickly regress to almost comically horrible takes on the effects of American and European colonialism in Western Africa.

Overall, good writing, interesting, with valuable insights into the effects of colonialism on the inhabitants of Liberia.