The End of The Affair.

I was desperately looking for a new book to read as Dracula was hard work. As I scanned the shelf I saw the book; a small novel but I recognised the author as a result of his other book “Our Man in Havana.”  So I decided to give it a go. I must thank whatever part of my brain may be in charge of that sort of decision making because I am so glad I did. One line in the book that stands out in the first page is “this is a record of hate far more than of love” is one of the many lines in this book that point to its protagonist’s bitter and angry stance. The book is based around Maurice Bendrix: a writer and his relationship with the married Sarah Miles. A tempestuous and physical relationship which starts during the years of the V1 bombs dropping on London in the late parts of the Second World War.

Sarah is a complex character, her husband Henry: a lifelong civil servant; provides little in the way of excitement. Yet despite her many infidelities Sarah can never break away completely, whether the reason for this is guilt, shame or something more, is up to the reader to decide. Of her many lovers Bendrix becomes one and her encounter with him becomes more than just a random affair as she finds herself drawn to him and his misery. Bendrix: while exuding a cold exterior, is tortured by his feelings of self worth and resentment towards anyone he feels intellectually superior too. He is not an easy lead character to like as you are made aware of his dislike of certain people which borders on sociopathic however just when you think he has no redeeming qualities his human side is revealed, all be it briefly, it is enough to make the character human and sympathetic.    

Greene captures the feelings of jealousy and bitterness that come with the breakdown of a relationship with such a stark realism you feel this story must have been something he had lived through. Bendrix anger at Sarah spews from the page in the beginning; as he re-lives the early days of his relationship and his jealousy towards Sarah’s husband, then includes her various encounters. The books ends with a theological theme, as questions of religion and our relationships or lack of them with God are bought into question.

I found the book moving and thought provoking, how we behave in the light of human relations and their breakdown is brilliantly but sensitively written.  The characters are revealed in a very clever way as you see the story from Bendirx’s view as the first person protagonist and then through Sarah’s eyes by way of her diary; give the story a great deal of depth. The story ultimately begins as one of anger, resentment and bitterness towards a lover. It ends asking far deeper questions about more than just our relationships with each other.