The Collected Novels Volume Two

From "the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man's consciousness and anxiety," three novels exploring colonialism, faith, and the mysteries of desire (William Golding, Nobel Prize–winning author of Lord of the Flies).

The Heart of the Matter: In a British colony of West Africa, Henry Scobie is a pious man charged with securing borders. But when he's passed over for a promotion, the humiliation hits hard—for his wife. To make it up to her, Henry accepts a loan from a black marketeer to secure Louise's passage out of Africa. His indiscretion quickly leads him into a web of blackmail, adultery, and murder.

"A powerful, deep-striking novel . . . of a spirit lost in the darkness of the flesh." —New York Herald Tribune

The Quiet American Vietnam: British journalist Thomas Fowler is covering the insurgency against French colonial rule and doing what he can to protect his Vietnamese lover, Phuong. Alden Pyle of the CIA believes in bringing American democracy to Vietnam by any means necessary. But when his ideas of conquest come to include Phuong, pride, passion, and blind moral conviction collide with terrible consequences.

"A heartrending romance . . . Haunting and profound." —All Things Considered, NPR

The Power and the Glory: In 1930s Tabasco, Mexico, Catholicism is being outlawed. As churches are razed and devotees are executed, a member of the clergy known only as the "whisky priest" flees. When a peasant begs him to return to Tabasco to hear the confessions of a dying man, the whisky priest knows it's a trap. But it's also his duty—and possibly his salvation.

"A thriller—but also a novel of ideas . . . A book I would have simply died to write." —Scott Turow, New York Times–bestselling author