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  • The End of the Affair

  • By: Graham Greene
  • Narrated by: Colin Firth
  • Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (11,430 ratings)

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The End of the Affair

By: Graham Greene
Narrated by: Colin Firth
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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.

Explore more titles performed by some of the most celebrated actors in the business in Audible’s Star-Powered Listens collection.
©1951 Graham Greene (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Go Behind the Scenes with Colin Firth

An accomplished stage and screen actor embraces a new medium: audio performance.
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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.

Explore more titles performed by some of the most celebrated actors in the business in Audible’s Star-Powered Listens collection.
©1951 Graham Greene (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
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Our favorite moments from The End of the Affair

Jilted lover and oblivious husband at the pub.
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The first glimpse of Sarah.
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Is he loved? The dour Bendrix has doubts.
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The thrill is gone, or so Bendrix jealously fears.
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  • The End of the Affair
  • Jilted lover and oblivious husband at the pub.
  • The End of the Affair
  • The first glimpse of Sarah.
  • The End of the Affair
  • Is he loved? The dour Bendrix has doubts.
  • The End of the Affair
  • The thrill is gone, or so Bendrix jealously fears.

About the Performer

Colin Firth was heart-stoppingly perfect as Darcy in BBC’s Pride and Prejudice, won an Oscar for playing the tongue-tied king in The King’s Speech, and continued to gain fans with his roles in Bridget Jones’s Diary, A Single Man, Love Actually, and many more films. In addition to having a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Firth won Audiobook of the Year in 2013 for his narration of The End of the Affair.

About the Author

Graham Greene, widely recognized as one of the most important writers of the 20th century, was born in Hertfordshire, England, and studied history at Oxford. A restless spirit, he traveled the world before settling in London and starting to write novels, including The Heart of the Matter, The Quiet American, Our Man in Havana, and many more. Later recruited as a spy for his government, he based several of his novels in the shadowy world of double agents. But love and passion also caught his imagination, and he explored them from the perspective of an "agnostic Catholic" whose interest in Catholicism also played a big role in his work.

What listeners say about The End of the Affair

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Colin Firth

I would never have read this book if it had not been for the reviews. They were right; Colin Firth makes this book come alive. The book was good and certainly worth reading, but Colin makes it like going to a play. I will listen to this over and over again. Take a chance - you will be glad you did.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

quality writing, dull reading

i found the story, the plot and narration extremely monotonous in the way of many classics that you force yourself to get through.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Can it get any better?

Colin Firth reading The End of the Affair, what more can I say? It’s as good as you’d suspect.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully enchanting

The story, the Mesmer narration by Colin Firth—just lovely, so revealing about human nature and our relationship with God.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Graham Greene at his best, brilliant performance by Colin Firth.

I did not want it to end. A psychological thriller, twisted romance and study of human nature.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Finally read it!

It's a beautiful written story about our suffering and struggles with emotions. I thought it was sad but then there was the hidden treasure underneath all that. God is the center of the story and ours doubts. Colin Firth is amazing narrator. I could listen to him for long time. highly recommend.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

This review has NO beginning and NO end!

This review has no beginning and no end. I should probably start then with the obvious -- I love G.G.. I love his Catholic novels (now having finished the fourth of that group). Greene's strength is his ability to make his flawed characters both repellant and lovely (or said simpler: human) at the same time. He approaches his thesis through unconventional approaches. Who but Greene would illuminate man's relationship with God with an affair as the novel's structural metaphor? Greene's relationship with God and his Catholicism is complex and uneasy at times and that is what transforms his novels into Art

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47 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Exquisite

The prose of Graham Greene as narrated by Colin Firth are a sublime experience. I'm so glad I bought this. My only hope is that Audible can convince Mr. Firth to go back into the recording booth to do more.

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18 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable! I could listen to Colin Firth all day!

What made the experience of listening to The End of the Affair the most enjoyable?

I have to say, I purchased this book because Colin Firth was the reader and I was not disappointed. Once I got into it, it was a good story as well. I thought the characters were interesting and the plot played out unexpectedly for me.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I must say that I did not expect the way the story turned.

What about Colin Firth’s performance did you like?

I'm not sure what exactly I liked, his voice was very easy to listen to and it kept my attention.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When I realized what was really going on, I immediately felt bad for the two main characters.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Colin Firth’s narration is outstanding

Colin Firth’s narration made this fabulous book a gratifying and delightful experience. He pulls out every nuance of expression and treats the text with the greatest care and respect.

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2 people found this helpful