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I'm trying doggedly to get into Graham Greene's "The Heart of the Matter."

I've read 7 or 8 Graham Greene novels. Two or three have been great, and the rest at least good. I bought this particular book at Half-Price Books over a year ago, but still haven't read it despite two previous aborted attempts.

This time, I'm determined. I feel confident that if I give it a good effort then I'll get into it and enjoy it, because I've had similar difficulty with a couple of his other books.

The problem is that Greene was primarily a screenwriter. His novels are very good, but the openings establish mood and bounce between seemingly unrelated characters in a manner that is very effective in movies, but drags in print. Once they get going, though, they are always worth it.