• The End of the Affair

  • By: Graham Greene
  • Narrated by: Colin Firth
  • Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (11,391 ratings)

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The End of the Affair  By  cover art

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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    5,471
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    3,222
  • 3 Stars
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Performance
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Story
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Masterful stuff from Graham Greene. The story of the struggles with faith and love are brilliantly brought to life by Colin Firth.
The characters are vividly drawn as one would expect from Greene but the most compelling pieces are not about them but about the struggle many go through in trying to understand love and what it means to us and to those we love. Personally, I've never had a struggle with my lack of faith but I recognize many of the feelings and thoughts his characters go through.

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

The most beautiful, heartbreaking love story

Where does The End of the Affair rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among my favorites. Colin Firth and Graham Greene, there is nothing not to love in this beautiful and sad, yet sharp and witty book.

If you could take any character from The End of the Affair out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Sara, of course. Sara, the inexplicable, beautiful, complex Sara. I'm fascinated.

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

The end drifted away....

I chose the Graham Greene book because Colin Firth was the narrator.
the setting in London during the second WWII was fascinating. The
Characters went right along with their work, dalliances, dates, and going to restaurants. The bombing just happened to be a slight inconvenience. Review:

Leona. Barker.













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

Much ado about a lot.

Smart, wrenching, tiresome, brilliant internal writing. Firth is just right to get narrator's quibbling tones without giving up on book.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • SB
  • 07-30-15

so much more than what I thought it would be

I got this audiobook because of a sale. I am so glad I did. It was so much better than I thought it would be. I enjoyed this deep and thought provoking story, and was reminded once again of God's love for us and how He pursues us in all things.

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

The Things I Do for Colin Firth

Any additional comments?

Honestly, I got this just because Colin Firth was narrating. I read The End of the Affair many years ago in school and didn't recall particularly enjoying it. The narration is divine, but I can't say that I particularly like the story itself. I really just didn't care about the characters or what happened to them.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Me
  • 11-16-12

Too marvelous for words

Wonderful writing. Unbreathably articulate. Some of the best delineation of God, man and that chasm. I only wish I had yet to listen so I could begin again.

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

one of the best audiobooks

this audiobook is a pleasure from beginning to end. Graham Greene is working with consummate skill. Colin Firth's performance is nuanced and subtle. The book is a touching exploration of faith and depravity.

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

Love love love Colin Firth

Great story and amazing narration. Could not stop thinking of this beautiful story. Colin made it come alive.

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

Fabulous narration by Colin Firth

Story by Graham Greene is good but I personally prefer a couple of his other novels. The performance by Colin Firth is excellent, however, and well-worth the listen.

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