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The End of the Affair

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The End of the Affair

By: Graham Greene
Narrated by: Johnny Flynn
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

The love affair between Maurice Bendrix and Sarah, flourishing in the turbulent times of the London Blitz, ends when she suddenly and without explanation breaks it off. After a chance meeting rekindles his love and jealousy two years later, Bendrix hires a private detective to follow Sarah, and slowly his love for her turns into an obsession.

© Graham Greene 1951 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

 20th Century Classics Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological
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Critic reviews

Incredibly intense, passionate, and taking an unexpectedly moving…religious turn… Greene captures vividly the sense of being consumed by lust
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A very good narration, but a little short-changed by the lack of a female voice.

An exquisite depiction of the duality of love and hate.

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I was waiting for this audiobook for a long time. One of my all time favourite books, so I was wary in case it didn't live up to my expectations. I needn't have worried. It is well read and brings post war London to life.

Wonderfully written

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Johnny Flynn’s narration is possibly the best I’ve ever experienced on Audible. His range - the number of characters he brings to life - is extraordinary. Flawless. His pacing is perfect and he manages to sound ‘of the time’ (the 1940s) while not sounding grating (as many actors of that time actually did). Perfection.

Johnny Flynn - Exceptional

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This is a beautifully written story about love in the midst of the second world war. The main character seems to me to be well drawn and not initially a likeable character. He is driven to drive to find who his former lover, the wife of an acquaintance,is now sleeping with, perhaps what they have given her that he could not. This book is also about God, the nature of a vow, and the loneliness of a man who has lost his love.but is not a religious book by any means. The story is powerful and surprisng and is one of the best books I have ever read.

The narration was good too, though I would have liked a female voice to have read Sarah's part.

A story of love, jealousy and hate.

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What stayed with me most about The End of the Affair was how much of our lives we spend trapped inside our own minds, having conversations that never actually happen, imagining what others think or feel, and convincing ourselves that we already know the answers without ever finding the courage to ask.

Sometimes, out of fear, insecurity, or our own emotional complexities, we create entire narratives in our heads. We convince ourselves that things are worse than they really are, that someone no longer loves us, or that we understand their intentions, when in reality, we may be so far from the truth.

And perhaps the saddest part is that we allow these imagined conversations to replace the real ones. We let pride, fear, and assumptions create distances that could have been overcome by simply sitting down and speaking honestly.

What makes this book particularly heartbreaking is the realization that sometimes, by the time we finally understand what was truly happening in another person’s heart, it is already too late.

A beautiful and deeply human reminder that love is not always lost because it disappears. Sometimes, it is lost because we never find the courage to understand it while we still have the chance.

The conversations we never have

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