One of my all time favourite Greene books and all time favourite books is the End of the Affair by Graham Greene. The book is set just after World War 2 in London and mainly features three characters: Maurice a crippled cynical writer, Henry a boring civil servant and Sarah his wife with whom Maurice is having an affair. Sarah has to choose between her Christian religion and her love for Maurice. Ultimately she dies near the end of the book of illness, partly brought on by her misery (at not being allowed to be with Maurice). Maurice seems to be paralyzed by insecurity that he will lose Sarah or is not good enough for her even when he has her love completely (meets her regularly, has her affection). In typical English fashion each of the main characters are very reserved in their moments of anger, emotion and affection. You might be reading this and taking a dislike to Maurice but the protagonist is so honest and emotionally intelligent it’s difficult to dislike him. I have read this book many times but I have read the first few chapters just before writing this blog post to remember why I like it.

Anyway on to the reasons why I like this book: 

Firstly the backdrop. It’s set in London after World War 2. The story starts with Maurice bumping into Henry a year after Sarah abruptly breaks off the affair. Maurice bumps into Henry on The Common (doesn’t say which Common this is, as London has many parks). The weather at that time is rain, rather characteristic British weather for summer even. Maurice invites Henry for a drink at their local bar spontaneously and Henry begins to confide in Maurice about his own fear that Sarah is having an affair with another man (which brings me onto another reason why I like this book, which I will talk about in the second point). The pub itself is called The Pontefract Arms and is packed full of people (just as it would be in real life in London on a rainy day) in a cheery atmosphere and even the toilets are realistically graffitied with humorous sexual innuendo. I think every English person has a special affection for London,. I myself grew up in Oban watching politicians like Tony Blair and David Cameron addressing the nation on television outside London flats. Also the BBC reporters would often report from London. It often felt like it was the centre of Britian. Later Maurice and Henry go over to Henry’s house which sounds like such a classic London property (like one that I saw myself when I was in London in 2018). The backdrop here taps into that affection. 

The second reason I like this book is the characters. Firstly Maurice has an uncanny ability to get other characters to open up and confide in him. Now maybe there are people in the world who have this ability? I personally find it slightly unrealistic. Greene never explains to us why Maurice has such magnetism. It’s almost like a Marvel superhero’s special power. Maurice is also very honest about his own weaknesses as I mentioned earlier. All the people Maurice gets to open up are interesting and rich characters. Henry is boring and dependable and slightly slow when it comes to cottoning on to the fact his wife is having an affair with Maurice. Sarah is mature, caring and loyal to the point of her own death. Maurice’s cynicism is also beautifully English, similar to that of Fowler’s in a Quiet American.

Finally I love the British restraint of the characters that I referred to in my introduction. There is a saying about the English. That there are two reasons why they have had such success in the world: 1) they are very good at violence and 2) they are very good at hiding the fact they are good at violence. In one scene Maurice obstructs Henry from leaving as he confronts him and taunts him to strike him. Henry’s response is characteristically (and loveably) restrained. As Maurice repeatedly approaches Sarah on the street she repeatedly asks him to go, all the while we learn in her diary she is actually in love with him.

I grew up in Oban, far from London and far from the world Greene describes, and yet this book has always felt oddly close to me. There is something about characters who feel things deeply but cannot quite express them that translates across any distance of time or place. I will probably read it again in a few years and find yet another reason to love it. That is the highest compliment I can pay any book.