The End of the Affair
The classic tale of love, hate, and faith from one of the 20th century's greatest novelists
"This is a record of hate far more than of love," writes Maurice Bendrix in the opening passages of The End of the Affair, and it is a strange hate indeed that compels him to set down the retrospective account of his adulterous affair with Sarah Miles. Now, a year after Sarah's death, Bendrix seeks to exorcise the persistence of his passion by retracing its course from obsessive love to love-hate. At first, he believes he hates Sarah and her husband, Henry. Yet as he delves further into his emotional outlook, Bendrix's hatred shifts to the God he feels has broken his life, but whose existence at last comes to recognize.
Originally published in 1951, The End of the Affair was acclaimed by William Faulkner as "for me one of the best, most true and moving novels of my time, in anybody's language." This Penguin Deluxe Edition features an introduction by Michael Gorra.
Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Community Reviews
overall interesting and well written as is always the case with greene, but ultimately the ending strains credulity and caricatures atheists in a too-neat character arc notable only for its absence of the generic cliche (think Kevin Sorbo in God's Not Dead converting after getting struck by a car while a preacher happens to be walking by). Withholding that nicety keeps it feeling more mature and interesting, and maintains the theme of love and hate being two sides of a similar passion, the comparison of romantic and religious love, and the relationship between insecurity and existential doubt and notions of ownership, obligation, and the ways our minds react with denial, punishing ourselves. But these things didn't really get tied together in a very satisfying way.
[Review from 2017.] This novel has been my favorite novel for a decade now. I think Greene is a genius.
Outwardly, there is this passionate love story during wartime. The story itself is exciting and well-paced, but sentence by sentence, Greene is trying to convert you. I went along for the ride feeling entertained the whole way, and then suddenly I felt as though Greene has changed my insides forever. I'm due for a reread, but I carry this book inside me all the time anyway.
Outwardly, there is this passionate love story during wartime. The story itself is exciting and well-paced, but sentence by sentence, Greene is trying to convert you. I went along for the ride feeling entertained the whole way, and then suddenly I felt as though Greene has changed my insides forever. I'm due for a reread, but I carry this book inside me all the time anyway.
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