Manic Monday Giveaway

Sorry, I am not giving away the 1986 Bangles album. Or should I be apologizing?  I want to make your Monday a bit better than maybe it already is, so I have two things that never fail to cheer me: a little love story and a good book. The two are connected; just hang in there, you'll see.

Today's giveaway is a beautiful collectible 1973 copy of Graham Greene's book The Honorary Consul.  Some of my readers might recognize Greene as the author of Brighton Rock (hopefully you are familiar with the literary version, not the cinematic). This British playwright, author, and critic was very prolific, and at times, controversial. If you Google his name you will likely find a mix of praise and condemnation, articles hailing the Catholicity of his writing and articles blasting his promiscuous life. As with most extremes, there is some truth. Greene was a Catholic convert, he did include many Catholic themes and characters in his writing, and yes, parts of his life were dissolute and politically questionable. From my reading of his works, Greene seemed to know the truth about life, a truth which he struggled to live up to it in his personal life. It is this very tension between spirit and flesh that seems to give dynamism to much of his work. That being said, The Honorary Consul is one of his less "Catholic" novels and may be termed a tragic thriller.  Please check out any of his works if you enjoy literature, philosophy, theology, politics, or humanity. So, that should cover about, well, everyone.

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Okay, I know you really are more interested in the love story. My first introduction to Graham Greene occurred six years ago. Let me set the stage. It was mid way through my senior year of college. I was single (hard to believe, I know).  I had just returned from Christmas break at home with my family in Indiana and a friend of mine invited me over. He said he had a little something for me since he had missed my birthday (Dec 21).

Now, this friend, who was a grad student, had been my friend for almost two years. We were friends, just friends, but I was starting to feel a little bit uncomfortable, starting to feel like maybe he was a little more interested in me than I was in him. Maybe a lot more interested. Throughout our (very casual) friendship we had dated others, and looking back on it now, our friendship mainly consisted of him being very helpful to me. Helping me move, helping me go to Florida for spring break to see a friend, even helping me by introducing me to someone I had a "crush from afar" on (but that's a much longer and slightly more embarrassing story, so, another time!). When home over break, I had resolved to tell him that we just couldn't hang out any longer, that it just wasn't fair to him. I cringed at the thought of this, because I did enjoy his company, and he was so helpful, and fun, and attractive, but I had to do what [I thought] was right.

Well, I went over to his place and he presented me with my birthday gift: a sampler pack of Unibroue beer (all the way from Quebec City) and two books by Graham Greene, The Power and the Glory, and The Heart of the Matter.  In one deft act he gave a nod of recognition to so many elements of my personality - my love for good drinks and foreign places, my desire for new things and experiences, my guilty pleasure of high ABV beers, my love of reading and learning, my thirst for cultivation and philosophical understanding, and my Catholicism, which stands at the very core of who I am... And I couldn't do it. I couldn't tell him.

{Simple Heart Photography}

The End.

Oh, yeah, don't forget to enter the giveaway. If you have any difficulties doing so, please leave me a comment and I'll see what I can do.

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