The End of the Affair, by Graham Greene
Bendrix, a writer in Britain during World War II and Sarah, the married girl from across the block, fall in love, but their affair ends quickly. As with many unbalanced relationships, I wondered what Bendrix saw in Sarah. She was beautiful, but was she that beautiful? She was often bored with Bendrix’s writings, although he felt she inspired him to be a better writer, but she didn’t seem to bring much else into the relationship. She reminded me of women I know who spend so much time worrying about how the top of their head looks they don’t ever think to worry about what’s occupying the space between their two ears. Sarah knew the true worth of her vanity-driven character; she said often, “I am a phony and a fake” but she also felt her selfish behavior had some appeal when she said, “If I am a bitch and a fake, is there nobody who will love a bitch and a fake?”
