The End of the Affair in Reading 1001

Aug 22, 2017 Anita Pomerantz rated it it was ok

Definitely not my cup of tea.

This book starts off being about a love triangle (of sorts) that encompasses unlikable Maurice and angst ridden Sarah and her snore fest of a husband, Henry. The story begins about two years after the affair has ended, but eventually the details of the affair and its demise are revealed. I don't want to spoil the book for other readers, but let's just say that Sarah finds religion mid-affair, and her relationship to God and how it impacts her relationships ends up b ...more

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May 22, 2017 Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... rated it liked it

Shelves: classics, 1001-books

Jealousy. This book is not about love or hate; it is all about jealousy. The jealousy of man and the jealousy of God.

I listened to the audio version, read by Colin Firth and that was exquisite. He earns a solid five stars! I wish I could give the book the same rating. I loved the first two thirds of the book but the ending third went off course for me. For me there was so much emotion mined from the relationship between the three lead characters. It was a wonderful examination of what it means ...more

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Aug 02, 2017 Kristel rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, 1001-challenge, audio, religion, existential, 2017-botm

The story is told on many levels. On surface it is a story of an affair and the love triangle. We have Bendrix the narrator, author, Sarah the wife/lover and Henry the husband. It is also about search for meaning and God as well as a story of being a writer. This story according to the narrator is the story of hate. The narrator is unable to trust and is full of insecurities and I question whether he ever knew love. He knew desire, jealousy and insecurity leading to meanness but he never loved. ...more

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Sep 08, 2019 Karen rated it it was ok

Shelves: 1001

2.5, meaning the writing was fine. Greene is a good writer, I didn't really like the characters in this book, I found myself frustrated by them. ...more

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Jul 21, 2009 Nanosynergy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british, fiction, reviewed, 1001-boxall, saw-the-movie-tvshow, fiction-1950s, 2013read

Well written. Like the first half of the book better than the latter. Memorable cast of characters. The relationship between Henry and Maurice was unexpected. However, I'm not sure Greene pulls off the 'miracles' associated with Sarah. Book would have been stronger if this would have been approached differently.

Finally saw two of the movies based on this book - one from 1955 and the recent 1999 version. As always, movies generally don't do most books justice and these were no exception. The 195 ...more

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Nov 23, 2018 Tiffany rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, religion-atheism, fiction

I remembered loving the movie many years ago and it turns out I remembered the story pretty well, but the book leans way more heavily on the god stuff than even the movie did. I mean, clearly the plot concerns a three-way with god, but I don't remember the god stuff being so heavy handed in the movie. There were parts of the novel where I just didn't think my eyes could roll any further into the back of my head. Parts of Sarah's journal read like "Mere Christianity" and any self-respecting athei ...more

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Jul 06, 2020 Andrew rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction

Not my favourite Greene novel. It all seemed a bit wooden and arch, and the none of the characters particularly interesting. Maybe I missed something.

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