Book Analysis: the Captain and the Enemy

This fictional book called “The Captain and the Enemy”, is the last one written by Henry G. Greene, released in 1988. The author of this book was born on October 2, 1904 and died on April 3, 1991. As he lived a long life, he had a lot of experience, seen many different things, and met a variety of people which he had used very well in his books. He has won many awards such as the Shakespeare Prize in 1968, James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction in 1948, and many more. You can find the book on some reading websites for free and on Audible.

I chose this book because my parents have recommended it to me saying it was a classic from the 20th century and to be honest, it is. The cover interested me a lot as it was a more simplistic one, complicated covers don’t intrigue me as much as they can sometimes tell too much about what is in the story.

In this book, Mr. Greene has written the strange life, which was based around and after World War 2, of a young English student named Victor Baxter through his eyes. He was an outcast at school, being called an “Amalekite” by the bullies which meant he did not belong there. Throughout his whole life, Victor had not known what the word “love” meant. He didn’t know how much a person who loves can sacrifice for the person they love, or understand why they do it. As a young child, he wasn’t very connected or attached to his parents. He lived with his aunt during school holidays and was sent to boarding school by her after his mother died. His father was a mysterious man that had not cared about him, and was even referred to in the family as “The Devil”. His life changed when he met a mysterious man who he knew as “The Captain” at school. The man took Jim to live with him as he had “won” the boy at a game of backgammon with his father. He was then raised by a “friend” of the Captain, as she wanted a child after losing her own. The Captain somehow always had the money to support them when he wasn't with them, even though he didn’t state his source of income. Victor never understood why the Captain was away most of the time, communicating via letters, nor the relationship between him and his "friend". Will he ever learn the reasons where the Captain was when he wasn't with Victor and his adoptive mother, and will he meet some enemies along the way?