Ten of the best explosions in literature

At the Guardian, John Mullan named a list of ten of the best explosions in literature.

One book on the list:

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene

There's a big bang at the heart of Greene's tale of adultery in wartime Clapham when a tryst between Bendrix and his lover Sarah is interrupted by a flying bomb. Bendrix disappears under the masonry and Sarah tells God that, if her boyfriend is spared, she will give up sex for religion. Bendrix is fine – so Sarah dumps him in favour of God.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The End of the Affair also appears on Mullan's lists of ten of the best umbrellas in literature, ten of the best novels about novelists, and ten of the best priests in literature, and Douglas Kennedy's top ten list of books about grief.

--Marshal Zeringue