The End of the Affair
First published 1951 · English · 192 pages
- Novels
- War
- Love and romance
Set in London during and after the Second World War, this novel is narrated by Bendrix, a writer who had a passionate affair with Sarah, the wife of a civil servant. The affair ended abruptly, and years later Bendrix meets her husband and finds his jealousy and curiosity renewed. As he tries to learn why she left, the book becomes a probing account of love, hatred, memory and belief. It is one of Greene's most intimate and emotionally direct novels.
Quotes
I hate you, God. I hate you as though you existed.
To be is to be perceived.
You have to understand. I'm jealous of everything that moves. I'm jealous of the rain!
Pain is easy to write. In pain we're all drably individual. But what can one write about happiness?