(1960)Graham Greene
Finished reading: 12.2008
A famous architect travels deep into Africa with the intention of escaping fame, and possibly dying in the bush...not really caring which. He is burnt-out with a career of designing grand cathedrals, but finds a quiet renewal in a troubling situation in Africa. He is able to momentarily regain some meaning to his life.
Riding a boat down a distant river as far as it will go, Querry ends up at a Catholic church that houses and cares for villagers suffering from leprosy. The disease is new to him, and he finds himself in a struggle between the religious fathers and the atheist doctor; both want to save the inflicted people, but for different reasons. Querry leans towards atheism, but can relate to the fathers since he once shared their faith. He also struggles with anonymity in this distant country, as his fame is discovered and his past life of superficial good and moral wrong is revealed.
Both doctor and priest work together to help the suffering lepers, and Querry reluctantly offers his architectural skills for the building of a new hospital. In so doing, he gradually goes through a renewal of his own, approaching a cure for his indifference and state of being "burnt-out." He sways between faith and scepticism, never really arriving anywhere.
The Catholic fathers have a high concern for the material well-being of the Africans, doing all that they can to heal their sufferings. However, they have a relaxed moral theology, not leading the patients to reform from their sinful ways. At the end of the story, Querry is charged with a crime, but is assumed guilty though there is no proof. The double standard in moral responsibilities between the Africans and the whites is evident, and sadly I think the white priests really do feel the Africans are of a lesser sort than they, and the Africans are not expected to be able to be sanctified. There are many levels of belief and non-belief explored in the novel. In the end, after tragic events, life goes on at the hospital and lepers are continually treated for their ailments.
I was not excited about this book and did not identify strongly with anyone except for the architect, simply because he was one nominally. There are not very many stories about architects in literature, so I read them when I find them. That was certainly my reason for reading this book.
