"The Strongest Love..."
T. Lawrence Harrison
- "THE
- STRONGEST
- LOVE..."
- has
- as
- its
- tag
- line
- the
- observation
- of
- W.
- Somerset
- Maugham
- that
- "The
- love
- that
- is
- the
- strongest
- is
- the
- love
- that
- is
- not
- returned."
- Following
- the
- format
- of
- Emile
- Zola's
- "For
- a
- Night
- of
- Love"
- its
- author
- T.
- Lawrence
- Harrison
- begins
- with
- the
- title
- novella:
- The
- powerful
- and
- provocative
- story
- of
- a
- Catholic
- priest
- whose
- life
- is
- turned
- upside
- down
- when
- he
- chances
- to
- meet
- an
- aging
- and
- dying
- African-American
- porn
- actress
- and
- prostitute,
- who
- is
- raising
- her
- teen
- son,
- while
- waiting
- to
- catch
- a
- flight
- at
- an
- airport
- terminal.
- Though
- he
- risks
- his
- life
- and
- is
- willing
- to
- sacrifice
- his
- vocation
- for
- the
- shallow
- -
- strangely
- heroic
- -
- prostitute,
- she
- "will
- not
- settle"
- for
- his
- love
- and
- hopes
- in
- vain
- for
- a
- miracle
- that
- will
- heal
- her
- body
- and
- erase
- her
- past.
The
- second
- novella
- is
- "ADAM'S
- PEAK"
- and
- is
- a
- "Maugham-like"
- tale
- of
- unending
- love
- heavily
- influenced
- by
- T.
- Lawrence
- Harrison's
- own
- life
- journey.
- It
- is
- the
- story
- of
- a
- man
- of
- many
- achievements,
- but
- no
- real
- success,
- other
- than
- his
- marriage
- to
- a
- beautiful
- young
- woman
- from
- the
- Island
- of
- Sri
- Lanka
- thirty
- plus
- years
- earlier.
- When
- she
- dies,
- suddenly
- and
- unexpectedly,
- from
- a
- rare
- and
- aggressive
- uterine
- cancer
- he
- sets
- out
- to
- make
- the
- journey
- to
- the
- top
- of
- Adam's
- Peak
- to
- fulfill
- a
- promise
- he
- made
- to
- her
- years
- earlier.The
- third
- and
- final
- novella
- is
- "ALL
- BOXED
- IN"
- and
- is
- the
- moving
- story
- of
- a
- young,
- gay
- veteran
- of
- the
- War
- in
- Afghanistan,
- who
- returns
- to
- his
- home
- in
- conservative
- Orange
- County,
- California
- a
- national
- hero
- -
- only
- to
- quickly
- find
- himself
- "all
- boxed
- in
- with
- no
- where
- to
- escape"
- by
- the
- expectations
- of
- his
- wealthy
- family
- and
- its
- powerful circle-of-friends.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
