A Burnt-Out Case

Random Pic of the Day.... This may seem random and it is, but this is where I'm going this summer, which is when I'll need my brand new, spiffy passport. AL took this pic and she can't say whereabouts it is. I'll tell you all about it sooner rather than later, I promise. But it's a cute pic, with the dog and all.

Last night, I finished reading A Burnt-Out Case by Graham Greene. This one was even better than Greene's The End of the Affair, which was truly moving.

One again, you cannot be misled by the summary that appears on the back of my very old, used copy. Going by that, this is a love story. Well, there is no romance here, at least not your typical romance involving two people.

I was a bit skeptical when I was first given this book. It's about a famous architect, Querry, who loses all inspiration for living - for his work and his women. He leaves it all and catches a random plane to Africa. Once there, he boards a boat and goes as deep into the Congo as he can. When the boat ends its journey, he gets off and finds himself at a mission, filled with nuns and priests...and lepers. A cure for leprosy has been discovered and the mission has founded a hospital to treat all those afflicted with this terrible disease.

Querry is given a room by the priests and he lives there, doing nothing more than changing the bandages and dressings for the lepers. Eventually, he helps them build a new hospital. At first, he comes seeking only solitude, quiet, and anonymity. He gets most of what he wants and gradually finds a kind of happiness there, among the "uncivilized" Africans. Slowly, however, the world intrudes and his anonymity is shattered.

This novel is, like a lot of Greene novels, about faith - losing it, regaining it, taking it to extremes. It's about ego, motive, and love. It's inspiring - Deo Gratias the leper, I loved - and interesting - leprosy is something you don't read about everyday. You don't have to be Catholic to read this and enjoy it - and I highly recommend it to you.