The End of the Affair

By: Graham Greene

Narrated by: Colin Firth

Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Winner, Audiobook of the Year, 2013.

Audie Award Nominee, Best Solo Narration, 2013.

Graham Greene's evocative analysis of the love of self, the love of another, and the love of God is an English classic that has been translated for the stage, the screen, and even the opera house.

Academy Award-winning actor Colin Firth (The King's Speech, A Single Man) turns in an authentic and stirring performance for this distinguished audio release. The End of the Affair, set in London during and just after World War II, is the story of a flourishing love affair between Maurice Bendrix and Sarah Miles. After a violent episode at Maurice's apartment, Sarah suddenly and without explanation breaks off the affair.

This very intimate story about what actually constitutes love is enhanced by Mr. Firth's narration, who said "this book struck me very, very particularly at the time when I read it and I thought my familiarity with it would give the journey a personal slant. I'm grateful for this honor," Firth said when this production was recognized by the Audie Awards as Audiobook of the Year for 2013, "and grateful for the opportunity to narrate one of my favorite stories. A great novel told in the first person makes for the best script an actor could imagine. None better than The End of the Affair.... Theater and film each offer their own challenges and rewards, but narration is a new practice for me and the audiobook performance provides exhilarating possibilities for both actors and listeners. I'm thrilled to be involved in bringing this remarkable work of fiction to a wider audience, and thankful to Audible for offering me the opportunity to perform it and to engage with so many who share my passion for storytelling."

©1951 Graham Greene (P)2015 Audible, Inc

Much too obsessed with God

The narrator was exceptionally good!
Too much hesitation btw compulsory faith and disbelief ín God

Baptism of desire

I rate this tale of a woman who leaves her lover for God as Graham Green's masterpiece. Structurally it is sophisticated, framed as a novelist's first-person recollection of his affair with the wife of a civil servant, laced with flashbacks and with an extended section in her voice as he reads extracts from her stolen diary. I had to read it through again once I finished and found it much the richer once I understood the structure. The three-cornered drama is shot through with ironies and missed opportunities, with a tragic climax and an odd coda in which a supernatural element comes close to the surface. Some may find the overt religious themes off-putting but as a way into the big questions of life, love, and death it has never been equalled in Greene's opus. Colin Firth's reading - performance, really - is riveting throughout. His virtuosic variations of pacing and tone perfectly match the narrator's turmoil of mind. He effortlessly differentiates the characters with the subtlest shades of timbre and colouring. The minor characters sparkle, too, particularly the sentimental gumshoe Parkis. I can't resist re-quoting St Augustine's beautiful dictum "Time flows out of the future, which does not yet exist, into the present, which has no duration, into the past, which has ceased to exist." Time with this gem of an audiobook is well spent indeed.

Loved it!

Beautiful narration by Colin Firth. Fell asleep to his voice a couple of times even. This is my first time listening to an audio book as well as to this story, and i must admit, it was a sensational experience! 5*!

Truly Emotional

Whew! What an emotional read this was, truly brought to life by a powerful performance by Colin Firth.

To be honest, I only purchased both the novel and Audible versions because I love Colin Firth. The performance was excellent from the beginning, but I had a bit of difficulty getting into the story itself, and I left it for some time before I continued again. At first I didn’t like Maurice’s character very much, but drawn to Firth’s magnificent performance and, at some point I can’t quite recall, the story began to grasp my emotions. I wept a lot the second half of the book, and my heart broke for all the characters in it. I found it a really sad story.

It’s not surprising Colin won an award for this audiobook. There’s just enough subtlety in his accents and acting out each different character to recognize someone else is speaking, but it’s all Colin. He is just so very good. This wasn’t simply a narration—it was a brilliant execution of his talent in the arts.

Highly recommend.

Excellent

Loved it! Colin Firth was delightful. My favorite thus far! A must buy from Audible.

so many feels

you are almost fooled to think that Sarah is Colin firths Long lost love and this is merely his own hate and confusion being related

excellent rendition o

I liked Collin firth's rendition of this story. such a wonderful read about relationships. he characterised the protagonists well

Excellent adaption, Excellent writer.

Well worth downloading. I recommend listening to it at nightime in the dark, gloomy atmosphere of a winter!!

Not just a story...

I thoroughly enjoyed this almost lyrical novel. The poison/passion drips from his pen as he writes, his heart splayed out honestly within the pages.

Contemporary and much needed

The End Of The Affair is extraordinary in content and provoking thoughts for a long time after the The End. I think it is a much needed view from every angle about faith and not believing in today’s world. Very cleverly the reader is put through every possible question about God or no God. And it is serious, not a simple love story.
Colin Firth‘s performance is superb. I wish he would read more books. He brings the characters to life and his voice is a gem. Thank you very much for the recording of this book Mr. Firth.
Highly recommended.