Комедианты

Set in Haiti under the rule of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his secret police, the Tontons Macoutes, the novel explores political repression and terrorism through the figure of an English hotel owner, Brown. The story begins as three men, Brown, Smith, an "innocent" American; and Major H. O. Jones, a confidence man; meet on a ship bound for Haiti. Brown, Smith, and Jones, their names suggesting a curious facelessness, are the "comedians" of Greene's title. Complications include Brown's friendship with a rebel leader, hotel guests who are politically active, and an affair with Martha Pineda, the wife of a South American ambassador. The fictional Hotel Trianon, the setting for much of the novel, was inspired by the Hotel Oloffson in central Port-au-Prince.