Rating: 
Summary: The Greatest Novel of the 20th Century?
Review: In answer to my own question, quiet possibly. On an obvious level, the novel is an intense investigation of the nature of love. Furthermore, as most other reviewers have noted, there is the bizarre love triangle of Bendrix, Sarah and God. But, more fundamentally, I read the book as a exploration of the relationship between Love and Hatred; far from being opposites, they are revealed by Greene to be quiet close indeed. After being spurned by Sarah, Bendrix conceives a hatred for her so intense that, for example, he commits the dispicable act of denying her her last wish of a Catholic funeral. The intensity of Bendrix's love, when held in opposition to God, is perverted into evil in a manner so inexorably subtle as to be easily missed - in Bendrix's life, and in one's own! Ironically, the ardent anti-theist Smythe may well be one over through the goodness in his heart, whereas the initially indifferant Bendrix elects to 'reign in hell, rather than serve in heaven.' As the book concludes: "You've failed there Sarah, I thought... I'm a man of hate... Oh God, You've done enough, You've robbed me of enough. I'm too tired and old to learn to love. Leave me alone forever." Whoever you are, do yourself a favour, and read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: emotions, theology and ethics
Review: If you made a promise to God, from the bottom of your heart and the depth of your soul, would you keep it if He answered your prayer? What do you think would He do if you did not keep your end of the bargain? We can see through most of it, but there is still that cloudy interior which pretty much sums up Bendrix's writing style. The novel written by Graham Greene, is very interesting to read. I like also the romantic and sad parts. The end is very unexpected. I can recommend this novel to everyone who likes to read things which deal with a lot of emotions, theological and moral problems.
Rating: 
Summary: A Misunderstanding?
Review: I think it is quite an interesting novel. It is not one of those typical novels about "love-affair", which all have a happy ending. For a reader there are so many things and problems you can think about (for example what is the relation between an affair and religion). I mean, it is not a normal affair with the typical problems of an emotional mess. Naturally, jealousy is very important in the book. For me, Henry is the most interesting person in the novel because I admire his character. He knows that he is not a very good husband for Sarah and that it is logical that since Sarah misses real love in her relationship she tries to find it in the affair with Bendrix. But Henry is not angry with his wife because he understands her and he knows that he is not able to give her what she so desperately needs. At the end he says to Bendrix that he knew all the time that Sarah had an affair with him. Now he is almost glad to know that her lover was Bendrix. This fact shows that he wanted only the best for his wife. Religion is also very important in the novel. At the beginning, Sarah, who was baptized as a Catholic, did not believe in God at all. But after the bomb-raid she prayed for the first time in her life and made a vow. After this event she thought that God existed. She also tried to convince Bendrix to believe in God. It think it is quite interesting to see how somebody changes his her mind so abruptly.
Rating:
Summary: You can't put the book down
Review: As the title says already the author tells us the story of an affair - the affair of the married Sarah Miles and the young author Maurice Bendrix. Sarah, who suffers from the lack of excitement and true love in her marriage, finds in Bendrix the man who can satisfy her desires. But the bliss of the two lovers comes to an end during the bombing of London. While Bendrix wants to check the situation at the frontside of his house Sarah is waiting for him in his flat. But at that particular moment a bomb hits the frontside of the house and makes it collapse. Bendrix is burried under a door that falls in. Sarah concideres Bendrix as dead and therefore starts to pray to a God she doesn't really believe in. She makes a vow promising the Lord to put an end to the affair if only He makes Bendrix live again. When Bendrix enters his flat covered with blood (but alive) she she is so touched by that miracle that she as well wants to stick to her promise. That's where the end of the affair with Bendrix starts. But there was another „affair" to begin: the relationship Sarah started to build with God. What is interessting about the book is that we learn about the events from different points of view: on the one hand of the narrater Bendrix and on the other hand of Sarah's diary and of letters written by different characters appearing in the story. Once you get into the story you almost can't put the book down.
Rating:
Summary: Odd
Review: It's an untypical love story, because the characters act very reasonably and don't just follow the voice of their heart. There is a tension, because the reader wants to know how the relationship will develop. The fact that there are several subjects in this book, for example religion, makes the novel more exciting. The end of the novel is very surprising, because you wouldn't expect these events at all. It's a book that you should read yourself. I can recommend if you don't like the usual love stories.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting
Review: The story was very exciting and interesting because it does not contain only one theme. One of the main theme is the love affair but other important themes are the religion or faith, the literary- work of the main character Maurice Bendrix. Also the reflections of Bendrix and Sarah ( who is writing a diary ) are brought close to the reader. You can see the development of love turning into obsession during the story. We recommend this novel because of its different aspects that give a certain tension.
Rating:
Summary: If You've Been Dumped . . .
Review: If you've been dumped and still angry about it, this book is for you. Read with an open mind because some of Maurice Bendrix's (the one who was dumped) feelings may also have been felt by the person who dumped you.This book is very well written and much more superior than the movie version. I only give it four stars because of the darkness of this book.
Rating:
Summary: An Exhibition of Jealousy
Review: The book is well written. The very style of it-colon after colon, is worth my time. I compare it to the literature of Sartre. As well, this book is written "philosophically." The narrator, Maurice, is telling the tale of his love affair. Along the way, he makes observations about life: the nature of jealousy, suffering, religion, being-for-others, and so on and so forth. It's not simply, "And Dorothy walked to the mall." The story is commonplace: the wife Sarah cheats on her husband. Maurice, the one responsible, has his head full of jealousy and what he calls "hatred." His love of Sarah is foiled by petty circumstance: she happens not to have the courage to leave Henry. She has the security of Henry, though Henry will not sleep with her for some unknown reason. There are tinges of atheism throughout. Until, nearing the end, Sarah comes to believe in God. Her new loyalty to God overshadows her lover Maurice. And Maurice develops a resentment of God. I could say more, but giving away the plot is not something I want to do. You're to read the book! To sum up, I can say that the Greene is unusually clever. His dialogue has wit, the characters are believable, humour is prevelant, physical descriptions are mystical and tidy, and things work up to a general climax. In the end, it can be seen that Greene is another Sartre, or Sartre another Greene. As it stands, Greene was born 1904, while Sartre 1905. Sartre died 1980, but Greene lived another decade. They are, essentially, negative. I cannot, for the life of me, ascribe myself entirely to the doom and gloom of Greene and Sartre. I can however marvel at their presenting one side of the story.
Rating:
Summary: Places in the Heart
Review: Here is my take on "The End of the Affair" which I found to be deeply moving, yet at the same time disturbing. In "The End of the Affair" by Graham Greene, Maurice Bendrix documents what he considers a "record of hate". Incapable of dealing with rejection, Bendrix yields to a life of self-destruction, inexorably revealing his hate for anyone or anything that belongs to Sarah Miles, the root of his torment. Yet, if one reads between the lines it becomes clear that this is not so much a record of hate, as it is one of fear. Bendrix leads a lonely existence. There is no account of any healthy friendship outside the sphere of memories in which he miserably languishes; no one to distract him from that which distresses him. Yet, more than his loneliness, Bendrix fears tackling new ventures. He is not ready to move beyond the pain. "If one is lonely," he himself admits, "one prefers discomfort" (7). As a consequence, rather than pursue new relationships, he finds it safer to wallow in the recollections of an ended affair. He feels it is easier to loll in the familiar, and hope for a return to the original state of things, than to face new, unexplored adventures and other possible rejections. Thus the anger and suffering, which could have been temporary, instead found their residence in his heart. It is because of this that Bendrix becomes consumed with obsessive, ruinous behavior. He cannot live without Sarah, whose inexplicable abandonment of their adulterous affair leaves him bewildered. Yet, as long as Sarah is unhappily married to Henry, Bendrix feels he stills has rights over her. Her sudden reticence, however, propels him to uncover her secret. He cannot cope with the fact that someone with whom he had once been intimate has now become a complete mystery. He will stop at nothing to discover her secrets, penetrating her private life in the most pathetic manner, like a "patient, sick enough to try the famous shock treatment for jealousy" (20). His thoughts about Sarah, whether endearing or hateful, could only serve to fill his void if he knows that their unhappiness is mutual. If he loses this connection, he would have nothing left to hope for. Sarah's newfound happiness, if there was one, would break every last link between them, and their love, which was once passionate and real, would become a fading, uninspiring memory in Sarah's mind. Worse yet, Bendrix would be forced to face his emptiness. What Bendrix does not know, however, is that Sarah's secret transcends physical love. Her stolen journal reveals more than her undying love for Bendrix. From it, Bendrix learns that the obstacle which keeps Sarah from him, is none other than God. In exchange for Bendrix's life, Sarah commits herself to her faith. Her conflicting feelings, however, are Bendrix's driving force, yet, his numerous attempts to win her back are futile. God proves too powerful to conquer. Still, even after Sarah's death, Bendrix is unrelenting. Desperately and callously, he tries to disprove Sarah's serious commitment to God. He even tries to destroy the evidence of it in her journal. Yet, it is clear that this is his last attempt to beat back loneliness. Her half-torn journal is the only thing he has left of Sarah. Without it, he would be left "more completely without her" (191). Without her memory, he would be alone, ". . . sick with life . . . rotten with health . . . afraid." (182). Leon Bloy writes: "Man has places in his heart which do not yet exist and into them enters suffering in order that they may have existence". Bendrix, whose persistent reluctance to move beyond the familiarity of his pain; whose anger and suffering found residence in his heart, lends perfect credibility to this statement.
Rating:
Summary: Moving, Haunting Story of a Unique Love *Quadrilateral*
Review: God - particularly in his Roman Catholic emanation - is never far offstage in "Greeneland", as critics have dubbed the fictional landscape of Graham Greene, England's greatest novelist of the 20th century. (It is a disgrace he never won the Nobel Prize for Literature.) Thus we have in this story set against the background of London during World War II not just your normal love triangle - hapless husband, frustrated wife, passionate lover - but also a fourth player to complete the love *quadrilateral* - God, the other apparent "suitor" of the wife. In other words, we have in this book a traditional love triangle inside a most untraditional love quadrilateral. In assessing the book we should ask how well the author has evoked both of these character configurations. The love triangle is utterly convincing - indeed, the passions and practices of the lovers (he is a writer) strongly suggest a foundational event not in literature but in life. As for the love quadrilateral - the reader in Greeneland must acclimate himself or herself to this environment, fused as it is with Catholicism. Some will welcome it, others will be put off by it. Personally I think Greene pulls it off brilliantly. He makes the reader care - deeply - about the religious questions (not answers) which are at the core of the story. This is no mean feat; it would be so easy to be preachy and sententious. Greene, however, is neither of these; his sense of religion's role (if any) in human life is rooted in a deep and forgiving compassion for the sinner and his or her ways. A final word about the new movie version of this book - it is faithful to the story until near the end when the movie adds invented material concerning a post-affair affair. However in the end it returns to the material of the book. If you have not seen the movie, read the book first. And when the story evokes that love quadrilateral on top of what seemed to be a semple love triangle, take out your roadmaps: you are in Greeneland now.
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