The end of the affair, by Graham Greene

I was haunted by the conviction that I had already read this book when the Dickensian character of the private investigator, Parkis, and “his boy,” who he is bringing up in the business, made their first appearance. But later, reading David Sedaris’s collection of essays, one of which relates his and his partner Hugh’s very different reactions to the recent movie adaptation of the novel (Hugh sobs uncontrollably throughout it, David wishes the heroine would hurry up and die), I realized that it must be the movie I was remembering. This short but complex story is a study of romantic love and the love of God, and the difficulties inherent in both. Better than the movie! 192 pp.