It has been awhile since I picked up a book, and as I lay in bed, last night, I realized just how sad that was. I remembered that I still had a box of books in the back of my car I picked up from my best friend's house several weeks prior. I thought I would rummage in the morning. I would venture to say that most of these books belonged to my brother. Some of titles included, Wise Blood" by Flannery O'Connor, "Screwtape Letters" by C. S. Lewis, "Confessions" by St. Augustine, and one that I had never heard of, "The End of the Affair" by Graham Greene.
Andrew had a love affair with Graham Greene. "The Power and the Glory," a book that Andrew brought home a year or so into his seminary course, was also written by Graham Greene. The premise: the civil war in Tabasco, Mexico in the 1930s. That was the setting. The plot: two priests, the "whiskey priest" and Padre Jose. But it was more than just two characters, it was about the demons that plague those who wear or wore the collar. I think Andrew wanted his demons to be accepted because he couldn't accept them alone.
But, this isn't about that book. It is about the one I found in the back of my car. It was the second to last book I found in the somewhat large box, and the one that because of the title caught my eye. "The End of the Affair." This simply because Ben Howard has a title track on his new album with the same name. Well, of course I am going to read something by Graham Greene and Ben Howard with the same title! I would be considered foolish not to.
Graham Greene writes in a dirty, raw form. With his opening line of, "A story has no beginning or end:..." lets me know that I am in for another novel with little to no comfort or respite from the gripping world of which we live today. And, as I continued to read, I had a thought, "Perhaps, there is a correlation between Ben Howard and Graham Greene." I did realize they are both from England, but in the end that really doesn't have to do much with anything, but it was a lead I was willing to take to find out.
Sometimes, I underestimate the power of Google. I typed in two words: ben howard graham greene. And, my world burst forth in light. They exist together. Or, Graham Greene exists in the world of Ben Howard. How little faith did I put in the idea that this could even be a thing. When I clicked on the first article, I just imagined that someone like me who enjoys both and who recognized that they have art of the same title would correlate their work together. But, I was mistaken. It wasn't coincidence.
I knew there must be something deeper here. I didn't want to get too excited, but I also felt like telling the world of what beauty I had just discovered. It was something I not only wanted to keep hidden in my heart I but also wanted to shout it as loud as possible. Before I got deeper into the correlation between the two, I decided to look into the plot of the book I just picked up. I knew I was only 2 chapters in, but I really needed to know if there was some true connection.
The story is of a man who has an affair with another's wife. Seems fitting for the title. But, when she abruptly cuts off the affair, he is left without purpose or direction. He hires someone to follow her and find out if his jealous tendencies have an appropriate outlet or reason..that perhaps she is secretly loving another. Of course, she was seeing someone else...but he never thought it would be Him.
The song suddenly had a whole new meaning. No longer was it just the end of a lover's affair for the sake of pain ensuing. It was the end of the lover's affair because God willed it. I am still only 7 short chapters into this book, and I anticipate the journey I go on with Greene in the next week or so. How funny that my music lover was greatly influenced by the "bad Catholic" that was Graham Greene. Perhaps I shouldn't be as giddy as I am, but I can't help. GAH!
Andrew had a love affair with Graham Greene. "The Power and the Glory," a book that Andrew brought home a year or so into his seminary course, was also written by Graham Greene. The premise: the civil war in Tabasco, Mexico in the 1930s. That was the setting. The plot: two priests, the "whiskey priest" and Padre Jose. But it was more than just two characters, it was about the demons that plague those who wear or wore the collar. I think Andrew wanted his demons to be accepted because he couldn't accept them alone.
But, this isn't about that book. It is about the one I found in the back of my car. It was the second to last book I found in the somewhat large box, and the one that because of the title caught my eye. "The End of the Affair." This simply because Ben Howard has a title track on his new album with the same name. Well, of course I am going to read something by Graham Greene and Ben Howard with the same title! I would be considered foolish not to.
Graham Greene writes in a dirty, raw form. With his opening line of, "A story has no beginning or end:..." lets me know that I am in for another novel with little to no comfort or respite from the gripping world of which we live today. And, as I continued to read, I had a thought, "Perhaps, there is a correlation between Ben Howard and Graham Greene." I did realize they are both from England, but in the end that really doesn't have to do much with anything, but it was a lead I was willing to take to find out.
Sometimes, I underestimate the power of Google. I typed in two words: ben howard graham greene. And, my world burst forth in light. They exist together. Or, Graham Greene exists in the world of Ben Howard. How little faith did I put in the idea that this could even be a thing. When I clicked on the first article, I just imagined that someone like me who enjoys both and who recognized that they have art of the same title would correlate their work together. But, I was mistaken. It wasn't coincidence.
I knew there must be something deeper here. I didn't want to get too excited, but I also felt like telling the world of what beauty I had just discovered. It was something I not only wanted to keep hidden in my heart I but also wanted to shout it as loud as possible. Before I got deeper into the correlation between the two, I decided to look into the plot of the book I just picked up. I knew I was only 2 chapters in, but I really needed to know if there was some true connection.
The story is of a man who has an affair with another's wife. Seems fitting for the title. But, when she abruptly cuts off the affair, he is left without purpose or direction. He hires someone to follow her and find out if his jealous tendencies have an appropriate outlet or reason..that perhaps she is secretly loving another. Of course, she was seeing someone else...but he never thought it would be Him.
The song suddenly had a whole new meaning. No longer was it just the end of a lover's affair for the sake of pain ensuing. It was the end of the lover's affair because God willed it. I am still only 7 short chapters into this book, and I anticipate the journey I go on with Greene in the next week or so. How funny that my music lover was greatly influenced by the "bad Catholic" that was Graham Greene. Perhaps I shouldn't be as giddy as I am, but I can't help. GAH!
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