Is this meant to be one of the great classics? Really? I am sorry, but The End of the Affair wasn’t for me. Not for me at all.
Maurice is looking back on his affair with Sarah, who is married to the faithful and rather naive Henry. The affair has ended, but Maurice can’t let go. He overthinks, analyses, obsesses, hates and suffers from extreme jealousy.
With great honesty, Maurice owns up to his short-comings in the relationship and the motives underlying his behaviour. Always realising the affair would eventually come to an end, he behaved badly towards Sarah, sub-consciously struggling between wanting to bring forward the inevitable end, whilst at the same time fearing it more than anything. Also, Maurice possesses a good portion of self-irony. Otherwise, I might have given up on him. Despite the powerful, concise writing, which builds up a convincing picture of a very real character (inspired by Greene himself), I can’t say I enjoyed this part. Perhaps, I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind for a self-centred, whiny, middle-aged, obsessed writer (is there a right frame of mind for this?)
At some point, the story changes to Sarah’s point of view. This happens via a journal, which Maurice gets hold of by hiring a detective. Up until then, Sarah had barely come across as a real person. She was just the object for Maurice’s obsession and everything was about him, not Sarah. I quite enjoyed this part of the book, which offered a different perspective and also explained, why the affair had come to an end.
This led to the last part of the book, where the author in my opinion lost the plot. Graham Greene was an atheist / agnostic, who converted to Catholicism as an adult to be able to marry his Catholic girlfriend. Apparently, he had a tortured relationship with his faith, which inspired several of his novels. In The End of the Affair, we are treated to a series of minor miracles, hardcore atheists suddenly starting to doubt their beliefs and first and foremost endless anger towards and dialogues with this God, whose existence they are still not convinced of. I guess all this reflects Greene’s own experience with his faith, but to me it was neither believable nor interesting.
I do acknowledge this novel being well-written. Greene brutally illustrates how love and hate are two sides of the same coin, which can flip with a moment’s notice, both towards our lover and our God. The portrait of Maurice was powerful and honest. For sure, he wasn’t likeable, but he was oh so human and I could certainly feel his pain and understand his motives.
But I didn’t enjoy it. 2 1/2 stars is all I can manage. Clearly, this is a case of the wrong reader being matched with the wrong content and perhaps this will teach me, not to download uncritically next time there is an audiobook sale. Or maybe not…
Title: The End of the Affair [1951]
Author: Graham Greene
Format: Audiobook, narrated by Michael Kitchen
Genre: Classics, Fiction
The End of the Affair features as number 31 on BBC’s list of The 100 greatest British novels. For a less serious side of Graham Greene, see my review of Our Man in Havana.
It’s very many years since I read this, and I can remember nothing whatever about it – other than not enjoying it very much. But it certainly doesn’t have the makings of a Good Pandemic Book.
Well, I wouldn’t recommend a reread to see if you changed your opinion – pandemic or not! π
Thanks π
Oh dear doesn’t sound very good at all!
No, it wasn’t any good at all! π Well, you can’t win them all… π
Ha! It’s always so validating when someone else feels the same way about a book as you do! I love Greene usually but honestly thought this was a major miss and can’t understand why so many people count it as a favourite. When he got to all that mystical nonsense at the end I would have found it laughable if I hadn’t been so irritated by then. Even his brilliant writing and insight into jealousy couldn’t save it for me. One I was glad simply to get to the end of…
Yes, I was glad to get to the end as well. I was quite disappointed, but haven’t given up on Greene entirely. It may be a while though, before I try another of his novels. All the mystical stuff annoyed me especially, since I read this book just after Klara and the Sun, where Ishiguro for completely inexplicable reasons also introduced mystical stuff (which felt even more misplaced in a book about AI).
Iβve read a couple of his books. They didnβt wow me.
Sounds like we are on the same page.
Really interesting to hear your thoughts! I’ve never read any Graham Greene before but my boyfriend absolutely loves his books. I’m quite tempted to give him a go…
Other bloggers tell me that they got on better with some of his other novels. So if you go for it, perhaps avoid starting with this one? I haven’t given up on him entirely yet, and may try one of his other novels as well.
Thanks for the advice! I was considering maybe starting with Brighton Rock so I’ll let you know my thoughts! x
Sounds good! You can try it out for me. π
Will let you know my thoughts! x
Excellent! π
I totally agree with you! I have given up on reading his books. It’s so boring to read about someone else’s religious fervour. Brighton Rock is worth reading but then that was before his conversion.
Exactly, I might give up on him soon as well. Although, I might look into Brighton Rock, if you think it’s worth it. But I probably need a bit of time to recover from this one! π
I think Brighton Rock is worth reading because it’s famous and there are some interesting characters. I don’t remember it being Catholic π
Sounds much better!
Thanks for this review. Does not sound like my kind of book at all.
You are welcome and no, I certainly won’t recommend it!
Middle aged, whiny, self obsessed writer lit. Just what Iβm in the mood for. π
Great review. Sounds dreadful. Iβll be skipping this one.
I know! I really know how to sell the stuff, right?! π
π
Ouch! I’ll bear your opinion on mind if something ever possesses me to try this out – forewarned is forearmed, I’ll steer clear!
Haha, if you should ever, for inexplicable reasons, decide to pick it up – don’t say I didn’t warn you!! π
Hello Stargazer. I was interested to read your review. Greene was one of my favourite authors and I read nearly all his books. I agree with you – I did not like this one at all. I didn’t like the movie either although Stephen Rea was terrific as the cuckolded husband. My favourite Greene novels were The Heart of the Matter, and The Power and the Glory. I can still feel the heat and smell the dust in both those books.
Very interesting to hear your opinion, especially since you’ve read most of his books. I guess it was a bit unfortunate, that I decided on this one. However, I am still open for giving Greene another chance, perhaps with The Heart of the Matter. I love books, where you can feel the heat, smell the dust, etc. It really adds a lot to the reading experience!
Yes, try The Heart of the Matter. The main character is called, Scobie. I never forget him.
It’s a good sign that you will never forget the main character. Definitely a strong recommendation!
I liked the writing, especially at the beginning, but disliked the characters and the plot
Sums it up pretty well!
I never read this book, but strangely enough, your negative review kind of intrigued me π It sounds like maybe it’s not a bad book, just has unlikable characters? Either way, perhaps I’ll try to read it and see for myself
Yes!! Even my bad reviews can tempt readers! π€£ Actually, I’ve tried this myself, where a really negative review made me want to read the book. But just in case you don’t enjoy it: Don’t say, I didn’t warn you! π
Hahah, don’t worry, I won’t blame you for my potentially bad choices π
Phew, that is a relief!
I’ve not read a lot of Greene although I did read The Quiet American this year and quite enjoyed that. A bit different to The End of the Affair in its setting although it deals with a man who may be obsessed with holding on to a particular girl. I quite liked the colonialism of the book probably more than the story.
Hmmm, I might give Greene another chance, but ideally I would want a book, which is very different to The End of the Affair. An interesting setting always helps!
You know, Stargazer, if you read another Greene, I’ll reread The Great Gatsby. I am convinced that I must have been slightly wrong in my interpretation of it and with my new older oxymoronic head on, maybe, just maybe, I can believe the hype?
Haha, I will read another Greene, although not sure when. I will try to remember to notify you though, so don’t feel to sure, that you won’t end up rereading The Great Gatsby! π
It’s a deal!
I am pretty sure I saw this movie many years ago? But thereβs nothing memorable about it which kind of sounds like the book? Thank you for this thoughtful review, Stargazer. I do want to try the author at some point.
Perhaps, you should start with one of his other books? I haven’t seen the movie and not sure I am going to either, even if I really like Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore. But I can’t bring myself to sit through that story again! π
I have never heard of this author nor this book until now. Maybe because I’m not such a fan of the classics. Too deep for a shallow person like me! Haha It’s ok if you didn’t enjoy this book, and sometimes you can get really good deals from sales! Don’ t let this book spoil the sales ‘pot’ for you π Brilliant review, Stargazer!
I don’t think classics would be too deep for you, seeing what you normally read, but I fully understand they are not for everyone and many people prefer to read more contemporary literature. I’ve mostly enjoyed the classics, I’ve read, but of course there has been a few bummers here and there, including this one. Haha, yes I do like a good audiobook sale and will probably apply my usual power-shopping style next time there is a sale as well. Thanks! π
You certainly made me laugh, Stargazer! And now I’ll confess that I have this from Audible and was pretty much geared up to listen to it on my next long journey. What to do now that you’ve warned me? π¨ A quick check of my audible library and all is well… My version is read by Colin Firth. That’s bound to make it all ok! π (Though I am a fan of Michael Kitchen too.)
Haha, I am sure Colin Firth should be able to enhance your reading (listening) experience considerably! π I’m not sure though, that even Firth will be able to save this one. In any case, don’t feel discouraged about my review, it seems that lots of people love this novel.
Time will tell! π
Sounds like something rough to get through but it’s nice that it wasn’t all bad. I like the context you give us of your experience though. Hope your next book turns out to be a much more enjoyable experience! Great review. π
Yeah, it wasn’t a feel good read or anything I would recommend, but when I’m in my generous mood, I am able to acknowledge it did have certain qualities. Thanks Lashaan, I hope my next book will me more enjoyable as well! π