A Burnt-Out Case (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin)

Querry, a world-famous architect of churches, is burned out by his professional success, contemptuous of his clients, and guilty about the suicide of his mistress. Needing time and a place to recover, Querry, through sheer chance, travels to what he deems the end of the road, a leprosery in remote Africa. There, he hopes to live in obscurity, without connection to his peers, and to die. But, in the leprosery, Querry develops relationships with a doctor and patient, oversees a few basic construction projects, and gradually, to his surprise, finds happiness and contentment. Unfortunately, a priest at the leprosery, a fanatical lay Catholic in a nearby village, and a slimy journalist--each for his own reasons--insists on interpreting Querry's service to the leprosery as self-sacrificial Christian devotion. In many respects, the drama in A BURNT-OUT CASE explores the clash between the exhausted Querry and those who attribute his actions to Christian generosity.At his best, Greene writes about ordinary men whose lives unexpectedly acquire a profound moral dimension or political significance. Here, Greene's prototypical character is the venal whiskey priest in THE POWER AND THE GLORY, who acts heroically and self-sacrificially to bring Mass to the common people of Mexico, even though he has profound doubts about his Catholic faith.In ABOC, Greene modifies this template. Instead of having an ethical crisis emerge and forcing Querry to make a choice, Green starts ABOC after Querry has made his choice--that is, he will withhold himself from his fame and life. Essentially, the book is about the refusal of others to accept that there is no moral dimension in his actions. As usual with Green, this leads to an ironic and deadly conclusion.ABOC is not my favorite Greene novel. Largely, this is due to his treatment of ethical heroism, which exists in ABOC as a negative. This makes Querry and his adversaries into small characters, not admirable but flawed men like the whiskey priest, and restricts the scope of the book.Furthermore, Greene uses matters of faith to explain Querry's decision to narrow his life. To simplify, Greene says that Querry, a believer, loses his faith and thereby loses the engine that makes his great architecture possible. But to this reader, this explanation for Querry's burnout seemed overly conceptualized. While a character, Dr. Colin, ultimately gives a secular explanation for Querry's creative and personal exhaustion, Greene, for the most part, presents Querry's difficulties as a religious crisis. For non-believer me, this made the character Querry remote, abstract, and never quite persuasive.Nonetheless, I would encourage all Graham Greene fans to read A BURNT-OUT CASE. As usual, it features Green's deft knack for sketching, in just a phrase or two, amazing parallels in dissimilar characters. Further, the novel does operate on an ironically ethical level, creating a story with depth, delusion, and despair. Not his best but well worthwhile.

"Have you never come across a leper, Father, who is afraid of striking his fingers because he knows that they won't hurt anymore?" - M. Querry, Architect"I've known men who rejoice when the feeling returns, even pain. But you have to give pain a chance." - Father SuperiorA passenger, Querry, rides a dilapidated steamboat up the Congo. He is a renowned architect of cathedrals in Europe but is no longer interested his work. He arrives at a leprosy colony run by Dr. Colin and the Father Superior. Deo Gratias, one of Colin's patients, has been cured but is 'a burnt-out case', a leper who has lost fingers and toes and is not able to work anymore. Querry does odd jobs and journeys through the jungle to deliver medical equipment and supplies.When he returns it had been discovered who he is. Rycker, a colonial plantation owner, recognized him. Colin is in need of an architect to design a new hospital building but Querry refuses. Design was an act of love that couldn't be done on demand. He had renounced religion as well as architecture but has an epiphany and relents. Deo disappears into the jungle one night and is rescued by Querry. People whisper Querry is a saint sent to build a new African church.As with Deo's disease, Querry had been cured of belief but lost his ability to love. In Greene's analogy he is 'a burnt-out case'. An English reporter, arrives at the colony to write a series of articles on Querry's activities with the mission and exposes his past personal scandals. Ryker is married to Marie, a girl half his age. She becomes pregnant and Querry takes her to the city to find a doctor. Ryker chases after them, convinced that she had an affair with Querry.By 1960 Graham Greene had entered his agnostic period but this book is permeated with Catholic imagery and themes. It is less fun than his prior thriller 'The Quiet American' or his comedy 'Our Man in Havana' but is still not bad as a drama. Like those previous novels this one has a cinematic feel. Greene visited Congo leper colonies in 1959. It was during the independence movement which unfortunately isn't part of the story. He was in the right place at the right time.

This is not the usual kind of book I read; however, it is considered a classic and was recommended to me by a friend. Surprisingly, I thoroughly enjoyed this strange story about a man (Querry) who even though he has had professional success as a famous architect he becomes depressed after his mistress kills herself.He decides to escape his guilt and ends up at a Leprosery colony in remote Africa. In spite of his dedication to helping people at the colony and the good relationship he has with the doctors and helpers, and the peace he finds at the time; a conflicts develops with a lay Catholic Priest at a nearby village which creates many problems for him.I never give away too much information when reviewing any novel but if you are a fan of Graham Greene’s books you will love this beautiful human interest story.Rating: 4 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Martial Art and Warrior Haiku and Senryu).

This book was chosen by a member of my Book Club.It is beautifully written and raises lots of interesting discussions. However a lot of the book is about catholic guilt which may or may not be your thing. It is also about a colony at the end of the colonial era. It was written quite close to the time it was setting and some of it may not of aged that well. However the book produced an enormous amount of discussion and was generally well received by the book club.I’m very pleased to have read it.

Greene is more reflective in this novel than in his thrillers, and this makes for one of his best books. There are no strained attempts at keeping the reader’s interest through contrived plot developments, like in 'The Quiet American' or 'Travels With My Aunt'. Here, the writer gives us a situation, with different character types, and events take their course. This type of narrative shows what a skilful writer Greene is.Religious faith is at the centre of much of the narrative. But Greene does not preach and does not even show whose side he is on. For me, the hero is Doctor Colin who has no religious faith and simply gets on with his job in the leproserie.The descriptions of travelling in Congo show a love for the country, and this is what makes it one of his best books: Greene had an emotional connection with the location and its people and he brings this instinctive and uncalculating side to his writing; something he did not do often enough. The Rider SongThe Rider Song

Classic Graham Greene, Loved the underlying examination of Who the burnt-out cases actually are. Querry? But the fathers hold out hope for him. The lepers? Yet some were cured and better drugs and facilities are being developed. The fathers had their faith, the atheist doctor his medicine. Perhaps the wife, who was desperate to leave her desolate ex-pat marriage and return home. The journalist, who could only tell distorted stories that his editor would accept. A bleak story, well told and not without some hope…

I have read a number of books by Graham Greene and continue to seek out those I am not familiar with. This title gave the impression of being a mystery set in Africa. However I was surprised to discover that it was actually referring to something completely different to what I had supposed. I enjoy Graham Greene's books for the thrill of characters being placed in settings unfamiliar to me. I enjoy travel but from the safety and security of my armchair. I love the descriptions of exotic environments and how the characters deal with their difficulties within the constraints of the communities in which they are placed. I found this book absorbing on a number of different levels and although not a cheery novel it kept me interested until the last page.

Greene himself was, probably, unduly attached to this novel (his first attempt at first person narrative) but it does convey a sense of place and time, some memorable characters and a sense of quiet desperation.