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.

Perfect Match of Styles

It was not possible to detect a moment when Mr. Firth's performance was not in complete harmony with the author's style. A truly compelling listen.

Outstanding. The narrator was absolutely great..

I listen mostly to non fiction but took an opportunity to listen to this novel because of the narration by Colin Firth, the actor. I was not disappointed! Of course, this novel was also extremely moving and dealt with issues of life, death, and the existential notions of its period.

Rainy, claustrophobic, guilt soaked...

...but fun. Odd-ish story, but thoroughly enjoyable for aging Anglophiles. Not quite typical subject matter for Greene. Colin Firth absolutely perfect.

Wrestling with God

The novel is beautifully written. Its themes are not those we find often in novels today - sin, prayer, faith, pain, punishment, redemption. These are handled with such deftness that they kind of sneak up on one, until you find yourself contemplating questions of purpose and eternity. Living in the universe of Graham Greene, while a deep dive, is nevertheless a welcome getaway from the swirling chaff of events today.

tour de force

Would you listen to The End of the Affair again? Why?

Firth reading end of the affair is an amazing performance in its own right. The story itself is a nuanced and absorbing depiction of the rise and fall of obsession, and the pervasive nature of grief and loss.

What about Colin Firth’s performance did you like?

It was like listening to the thoughts in your own mind, so natural.

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

A little long of listening to all inr one sitting but I hated for it to end. This is one you can listen to more than once.

Colin Firth has ruined it for every other narrator

OMG I never want to listen to another audio book unless it is read by Colin Firth! Just amazing. He makes each character distinctive without resorting to phony accents or odd intonations. It is a wonderful book, but I would listen to Colin Firth read the phone book!

After recently listening to a couple of excellent new novels (And the Mountains Echoed and The Orphan Master's Son) that were ruined, or nearly so, by heavy, inappropriate (the Greek characters in And the Mountains Echoed were read by a man with what sounded like a Slavic accent) or even made up (I'm convinced none of the readers of The Orphan Master's Son can possibly talk like that in real life) accents, listening to The End of the Affair is a stunning experience.

Sucked in

I really didn't like this book very much, yet I couldn't put it down. the emotion of the characters were so raw, I just had to know the end.

A Great Escape...

A masterpiece of storytelling and prose. This book dissects an affair and how it affects everyone involved. The writing pulls you into their world from the moment you start reading.

Beautiful book read with feeling.

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

Firth brings the story alive with such depth of feeling that it breaks your heart.

What did you like best about this story?

How beautiful the author makes the pain of the main characters come to life.

There's nothing better than listening to Colin Firth's narration of this sorrowful reflection ...

This was a heartbreaking and poignant story of a man who is grieving the numerous losses of his former lover. The story offers us an inside perch into his sorrows, his struggles and his attempts to reconcile and understand the roles that God plays in our lives. How fascinating that we all walk this Earth together and yet we all follow such dissimilar paths towards happiness and peace as we attempt to create what can only be for each of us, an existence of personal meaning and salvation... I won't forget the grief and the lessons endured through this story as I travel the path of my own life!