Getting to Know the General by Graham Greene. Short summary

5 seconds

French journalist Marie-Claire Duval was given an editorial assignment to interview a general. The guards did not immediately let her in to see her boss.

1 minute

Marie-Claire Duval had a serious quarrel with her husband, Jean, and went to meet her work colleague Fouquet at a restaurant in Paris. Fouquet, as editor of a left-wing newspaper, suggested that Madame Duval travel to a Latin American country to interview a general. Wishing to temporarily disappear from Paris, Marie agreed to Fouquet’s proposal.

After some time the journalist arrived at her destination. For a long time Marie tried to prove to the general’s guards that she had come to interview the latter. The situation was complicated by the fact that the guards knew only Spanish, while Duval spoke only English and French.

Soon a sergeant who knew both Spanish and English invited her to meet with the general, but before doing so, he took away her tape recorder to record the interview, telling her that his actions were a precautionary measure. The sergeant acted as an interpreter during Marie’s conversation with the general.