[JH] #03: What books can do
What a book can do
Last week I read The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. It is a typical Greene book, at least it reminded me of The Power and the Glory, which I read two years ago. These books dive deep into the lives and anxieties of flawed but relatable people. Much like Greene himself, they struggle to live with the faith which they simultaneously, and stubbornly, refuse to give up.
They are the broken people, but they are so in a way that shows, between the cracks, the paradox of power revealed in weakness. They fall, they fail, they turn away, they try again, but somehow they survive. Of course, the affair between Bendrix and Sarah ends, it has to, but it ends to reveal love.
Crucially, Sarah and Bendrix learn to give themselves fully to love. But they give themselves away so completely, that they have nothing left. They don’t just fall in love, but they fall into the source of all love, into the ultimate act of self-giving.
I wonder why this book touches me. I am no Bendrix, just as I am not the whisky-priest from The Power and the Glory. But there is something deeply relatable about these characters and their struggle with faith. In my experience, it is not easy to keep faith alive. It is a miracle there is any faith at all. Yet, at the same time, it is undeniably true, good, and all I ever want. It is strangely comforting to discover that I am not the only one who is struggling with this. I knew that already, but it helps to get those reminders every so often.
But books such as The End of the Affair are more than just this communion of sinner-saints. It does something which very few books do, it awakens, re-awakens, a deep longing within. As someone once put it, “it makes you want to be good.” It makes me want to belong to this holy madness. Even though it doesn’t quite make sense, I want to belong to this truth, this goodness. This book makes me cry with Thomas, “My Lord!”
Do you have that experience? Which books evoke this kind of response for you? I would love to hear from you.
Other Things
The Visual Commentary on Scripture is an interesting website with Scripture-related visual art. During Advent, they share a daily link to a light-related artwork and its associated commentary, which can be found here: https://thevcs.org/Advent2023
The English priest-poet Malcolm Guite publishes poetry around the liturgical calendar as well, sometimes including audio! You can find it here: https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/blog/
The featured image is a picture of the wallpaper of Pécs Cathedral, Hungary