Book 16 - The End of the Affair by Graham Greene

I've been on a bit of a retro, old-timey kick lately - both read and watched Revolutionary Road and I'm watching a heck of a lot of Mad Men - and in line with that I recently picked up The End of the Affair by Graham Greene. I've never read Graham Greene but he's always been on my list - John Irving is a big fan don't you know.

The End of the Affair is a smallish book and a moment in time sort of story but I really loved it. I've heard folks say they were annoyed with the self involved nature of the characters or with the minutea of the plotline but I enjoyed it. Sure, the characters were self involved. And sure, there were some ugly displays of humanity, some base moments of frailty. But that's sort of the point right. Very much like Revolutionary Road, The End of the Affair is a sad little story about sad little people. The weather is dreary, the conversation is dreary, everyone is dreary and sad.

And somehow, that is perfect. I found no character who offered redemption in a meaningful way, no character without an obvious personal agenda... no interaction based on love or goodness.

It's worth a read and I can see why Irving is a fan. Graham Greene is clearly a lover of words and a lover of form - his sentences and prose are magnificent without being too much. I can't promise you'll feel the same, sentiment seems to be torn over this author.

Books Born Free was torn - loved the writing but hated the religion while Juxtabook seemed to share my opinion of the bleak, war torn book (see The End of the Affair by Graham Greene and More on Greene's The End of the Affair).