The End of the Affair

By: Graham Greene

Narrated by: Colin Firth

Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

Audie Award Winner, Audiobook of the Year, 2013

Audie Award Nominee, Best Solo Narration, 2013

Academy Award-winning actor Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) won the Audie for Audiobook of the Year in 2013—for his first audio performance, The End of the Affair. The love affair at the center of this 1951 classic novel takes place in the bomb-strewn last days of World War II, and just after. Bendrix, a writer in war-torn London, has fallen in love with Sarah, the wife of an acquaintance. Though unhappily married, Sarah won’t leave her husband; she ends their affair and abruptly vanishes, reducing Bendrix's inner life to rubble. His investigation of Sarah’s disappearance reveals the role her newly-awakened Catholic faith played in her decision to leave, and other startling truths.

The End of the Affair mirrors Greene’s own relationship with a married woman, and positions religion as a pivotal element in both the inner turmoil and outer destruction occurring in his life at the time. Firth brilliantly conveys Greene’s characteristically bleak emotional terrain in an intimate, nuanced, and unhurried performance.

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©1951 Graham Greene (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

This is the best audiobook I have ever listened to

If you ever doubted that Colin Firth was a great actor or that Graham Greene was a great writer, this audiobook will change your mind. It is truly engrossing and hearing it read brings so much to the story.

Brilliant novel, Perfectly read

Would you consider the audio edition of The End of the Affair to be better than the print version?

No. Graham Greene is the greatest novelist of his generation and The End of
the Affair his greatest novel. The trick for a narrator in this case is to be
transparent. Colin Firth is just that. He doesn't do different voices
yet the characters are totally distinctive because they were written that way.
Mr. Firth said that Greene is his favorite British novelist and The End of the
Affair his favorite Greene novel. It shows. A profound novel and an exquisite
reading.

Which scene was your favorite?

Only Graham Greene could make a scene with a miracle work. It works
because the protagonist is an atheist.

Any additional comments?

If you're looking for a thriller, get Graham Greene's This Gun For Hire.
If you are looking for a profoundly human story by a major writer and
an superb narrator this is one.

Wonderful narration of an unforgettable story

What did you love best about The End of the Affair?

I loved the passion that seeps from every page.

What did you like best about this story?

Tragic, unconventional love that is doomed to failure is always irresistible to me, but in this particular story there is infinitely more. The narrator struggles with his love and hate (often not knowing the difference himself), his desire, his own faults and judgments, and while he dismisses faith and passionately hates its manifestations, he battles with the very God he doesn't believe in. The end of his affair makes him angry and bitter, and the revelation that he never did lose her lover's love and that ultimate happiness was incredibly close makes him impatient and greedy and propels the story towards its inevitable ending. Things happen at the wrong place and the wrong time, and we are reminded that so much of human happiness depends on sheer luck and coincidence.

Which character – as performed by Colin Firth – was your favorite?

Colin Firth did an incredible job sympathizing with the characters, their feelings and their personal stories. He is a wonderful story teller and seems to live through all the emotions which the book supplies without forcing his person or his interpretation on the reader, I mean listener. I thought I'd be distracted by his sexy voice (the way he says "already" gives me infinite amounts of pleasure for example), but from the beginning I was lost in the story and felt like I was on an unforgettable trip with an intimate friend. Thank you, Colin, thank you!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wish I could have listened in one sitting! But I started taking the long walking route to work, so I could listen in longer stretches and when I was done, I went right back to the beginning.

Any additional comments?

This was my first audio book, and now I am scared to begin another in fear that nothing can come close to the experience I've just had.

Colin Firth is an Excellent Narrator!

What does Colin Firth bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

The range of emotions that Colin Firth manages to express by his mere voice is extraordinary.

Forget 50 Shades-This is a Sexy Story

I love Graham Greene, but had missed this one. His insights into love, sex, jealousy and mourning are profound. This is an enthralling listen and an ideal antidote to the pathetic sentences that pass for writing in the book mentioned above.

At times I wished Colin Firth's pace was a tiny bit livelier, but think you could also make the case that he does a remarkable job of guiding you through the novel without getting in its way. A real treat.

My heart was wrenched right out of my body.

If you could sum up The End of the Affair in three words, what would they be?

Infinite sadness exists.

What did you like best about this story?

The description of love.

Have you listened to any of Colin Firth’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've only heard him in his films.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes.

Any additional comments?

Colin Firth's was the perfect voice for this story.

Incandescent Narration

This is without question the most beautifully narrated book I have experienced in the 10 or more years I have been listening to audio books. It also shows how an exceptional audio book can be so much more effective than prose on a page. I had tried and failed to read The End of the Affair a couple of times in the past, always succumbing to boredom over the unlikable characters, turgid story, and narrow emotional range. (I realize that I'm swimming against the stream here, but even heartfelt anger becomes tedious after a while.) Still, with an actor as gifted as Colin Firth as the narrator, I felt it was worth investing in one more try.

I am so glad I did! Firth made you feel the pain of the characters, pain that had merely seemed self-indulgent when written on the page. His voice gave depth to what otherwise felt like a shallow story line. And while I still found the end of the book to be mawkish, the narrator's many layered voice won't leave my head. That is what a superb audio book can do.

Best fiction audiobook ever!

My husband began listening to this book during a roadtrip and we were just addicted to it. We finally reached the city and weren't able to find the time to drive a long enough distance together in order to finish the lSt few chapters, but 10-20mins at a time, we finally did it. It did not disappoint! I don't think it was written to be a comedy, but it had us chuckling the whole time. It was deep and instrospective, I'll be purchasing the hard copy in order to be able to highlight some thought provoking phrases that are still extremely relevant to the human psyche even now in modern times. Also, the narrator is amazing.

Surprised

I read this book out of curiosity, as a friend (who never reads fiction) was really taken by Graham Greene's writing. Not psyched by the beginning. But the story grew and grew on me. This book is a good dose of what a really skilled writer is capable of. And the reader was perfect. I will definitely seek out more by these two.

Introspective and sad

Graham Greene's narrator, through much introspective internal dialogue, tells the story of the end of his affair with a married woman. Religion enters the picture, and his animosity turns towards the God of the Catholics for taking her from him. Well-written, albeit lugubrious, story.