3/28/2006
Again, it is a story about betrayal between men and women. Brenda had been married to Tony for seven years, with a lovely son. They lived in a county close to London. This quiet and peaceful life was not perfect for Brenda though. She liked parties, dancing, flirting with young men, and being the center of eyeballs, which were all missing from the country life. The visit of John Beaver from London, a totally loser, with no job, no friends, no money, who was liked by nobody except his mother, started the turmoil of Brenda and Tony’s life. Brenda seduced John. She rented a flat in London so she could stay with John and told Tony that she could not come back to their country house because she wanted to take some economics courses in London. As always, the husband, Tony, a man with true love and trust, was the last person to know the affair of his wife with John. Their son died accidentally and Brenda told Tony she wanted a divorce. Only by then, Tony realized that he had lost his wife. Nevertheless, he still had hope and longing deep inside his heart that Brenda only made a mistake and would come back to him after she realized how stupid she was to leave him for John Beaver. Only when Brenda asked for tons of money and accused him of various misbehaviors for the purpose of divorce, which were not true at all, Tony realized how heartless and ruthless Brenda was. He refused to give Brenda a divorce and stopped affording her expenses. Soon Brenda fell into economic difficulties and John Beaver left her. So far it seems that Brenda was punished for her betrayal and ruthlessness.
The second part of the book is too much of a surprise. Tony decided to leave his hometown for a while so that he would not be bothered by the acquaintances. It is inconsistent with his personality to me that he chose to go together with an explorer. He went to Amazon forests, looking for a missing city. The trip was not only unpleasant, but also dangerous. His partner lost his life in the forest, while Tony was caught by continuous fever. Although he was rescued by some Indian from the fever, he was forced to read Dickenson for the Indian for the remaining of his life. The news about his “death” came to London soon. Brenda was married to another rich young man, who was one of Tony’s best friends.
Tony is the only victim of Brenda’s affair. Love often makes people blind. Especially those who love deeper in the relationship, want to believe that those who they love so much will love back equivalently. It is probably human nature. However, there are men and women, like Brenda, who only want to take advantages of others’ love. They make love a dangerous trap for those with true love and trust. It is not worthwhile to sacrifice ourselves for such relationship. Being hurt is not all bad if it helps you see through the illusion.
