Describing his obsession with Graham Greene in black and white, or rather the things that lived within him, Pico Iyer beautifully reflects how every turn of his life has been touched by Greene in one way or the other in his subtle, comically spirited, and knowledgeable new book titled The Man Within My Head. With feelings this complex, Iyer puts across a strong narration how the ghost of a complex person like Green can haunt its living counterpart.
With just Greene’s books to lay down the foundation of his journey, Iyer, having never personally met the Englishman or his family, recalls various surprising coincidences through out this book that made his obsession with Greene grow stronger. Like Iyer’s birth in a house at a 5 minutes’ distance from Greene’s, him and Greene’s son attending the same elementary school, and Iyer and his friend taken to a ride by a stranger who rides them around Santiago de Cuba, an experience experienced by Greene 35 years ago; all this made Iyer more inclined to think as if their fate was somehow twined together, and he began viewing everything in a way Green must’ve viewed them.
Partial admiration, partial psych-play, partial voyage and a partial piece on mixed feelings, The Man Within My Head is meant for the intelligent reader. With this book, Iyer has not only dug up the haunting ghost of Greene, but has also given us a glimpse into his relationship with his philosophical father. With Iyer clubbing these two concepts together, the story seems to go out of hand at places, with every complicated yet strong idea puling the story towards itself, but kudos to the author for his craftiness, having it proceed in tandem.
Having never read a single prose of Greene myself, it was indeed quite refreshing to learn of him through someone else; and now that I know how he can create art with words, I may as well go check Greene’s The Man Within, the very same book to which Pico has paid a salutation through his book’s title.
Order your copy of The Man Within My Head here: 
Describing his obsession with Graham Greene in black and white, or rather the things that lived within him, Pico Iyer beautifully reflects how every turn of his life has been touched by Greene in one way or the other in his subtle, comically spirited, and knowledgeable new book titled The Man Within My Head. With feelings this complex, Iyer puts across a strong narration how the ghost of a complex person like Green can haunt its living counterpart.
With just Greene’s books to lay down the foundation of his journey, Iyer, having never personally met the Englishman or his family, recalls various surprising coincidences through out this book that made his obsession with Greene grow stronger. Like Iyer’s birth in a house at a 5 minutes’ distance from Greene’s, him and Greene’s son attending the same elementary school, and Iyer and his friend taken to a ride by a stranger who rides them around Santiago de Cuba, an experience experienced by Greene 35 years ago; all this made Iyer more inclined to think as if their fate was somehow twined together, and he began viewing everything in a way Green must’ve viewed them.
Partial admiration, partial psych-play, partial voyage and a partial piece on mixed feelings, The Man Within My Head is meant for the intelligent reader. With this book, Iyer has not only dug up the haunting ghost of Greene, but has also given us a glimpse into his relationship with his philosophical father. With Iyer clubbing these two concepts together, the story seems to go out of hand at places, with every complicated yet strong idea puling the story towards itself, but kudos to the author for his craftiness, having it proceed in tandem.
Having never read a single prose of Greene myself, it was indeed quite refreshing to learn of him through someone else; and now that I know how he can create art with words, I may as well go check Greene’s The Man Within, the very same book to which Pico has paid a salutation through his book’s title.
Order your copy of The Man Within My Head here: