The End of the Affair: (movie tie-in edition)

The End of the Affair: (movie tie-in edition)
The novelist Maurice Bendrix's love affair with his friend's wife, Sarah, had begun in London during the Blitz. One day, inexplicably and without warning, Sarah had broken off the relationship.

It seemed impossible that there could be a rival for her heart. Yet two years later, driven by obsessive jealousy and grief, Bendrix sends Pakris, a private detective, to follow Sarah and find out the truth.

"One of the most true and moving novels of my time, in anybody's language."-- William Faulkner

"Singularly moving and beautiful."-- Evelyn Waugh
Customer Review: Moving, Beautiful, Fluid, True
Absolutely one of the greatest, most important, most relevant books I have ever read...The only reason Greene did not receive the Nobel Prize for this effort that I can think of is that those damned snickering, closed-minded, borderline brain dead fascist God-haters who don't believe God exists (the oxymoron itself shows you how brain dead they really are) probably fought and muttered tooth and nail to suppress genius in defense of Absolute Truth. Anyway, I'm not bitter, maybe just a little sad, disappointed and altruistically fed up with demonized morons incapable of feeling...But yeah, you should definitely read this. It's very deep, yet altogether fluid, concise, moving, beautiful, readable, just a good book. They're making less of them nowadays. Books will pale in comparison when you read this....
Customer Review: Enjoying a woman with Love -- the only way
Written in four parts, this book commences with the "affair" proceeds in part two to the "end", enlightens you in part three by reading "her" diary, and ends with Greek-tragedy-like conclusion which assuredly will put any reader to tears. Greene manipulates the heart's strings in this novel as well as any other by his hand. Centering upon the view of protagonist Maurice Bendrix - called almost always as Bendrix - we learn of a peculiar love triangle between he and pal Henry Miles and Henry's wife Sarah. Nothing fantastically complicated occurs. People outgrow one another during a classic WW II and post war marriage between two British thirty-somethings. In a time and land when divorce was less acceptable, the alterative was an "affair." So the title. Miscommunication abounds, and largely because of a communication with God. The threesome evolves from the Miles and Bendrix to Bendrix, Sarah and God. And, then the issue becomes: whose God? The uncommitted version, the Protestant, or the forbidding Catholic. The end delves with a funeral rite of being either simple or Catholic - with family and friends discussing or even feuding about which would have been the choice of the deceased who exercised no formal religion during life. Like "Brideshead Revisitied", this theme emanates to a great verbal brawl and religion actually aggravates sores as opposed to providing cure. In the end, Bendrix is so disillusioned that he proclaims, "Never again would I be able to enjoy a woman without love?" Or is he merely growing up? But, Bendrix also resolutely admits, "O God, You've done enough. You've robbed me of enough, I'm too tired and old to learn to love, leave me alone for ever." A man of uncertain belief in the almighty, the once agnostic has to admit to God's existence in order to be upset and angry at Him for what was wrought upon Bendrix. The time of the novel is important in understanding these concepts. This may be a product of its time. The novel was written when Mao and Stalin aggressively challenged religion and most religious beliefs. Literally billions of people were subjected to governmentally induced programs of disbelief, while disbelieving Bendrix freely elected to believe under the most arduous of situations. And, perhaps all are sad. Written in British style, the novel is not as complicated as predecessor authors - Waugh, Forster,. . . many of whom are mentioned in this novel. Greene uses a clean and crisp style -- which more purely depicts scenes than American impressionists Hemingway and his progeny -- and his book moves quickly and effortlessly with only an occasional accent of flowery prose. Greene's sophisitcation stealthily sneaks past the reader -- proof of the genius of the writer.