The quiet American

186 pages

English language

Published Aug. 6, 1962 by Penguin Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-14-001792-2

(2 reviews)

One of Graham Greene's best works. The story is set at the time of the French war against the Viet Cong and tells the story of liberal British journalist Thomas Fowler, his mistress Phuong, and their relationship with American idealist Pyle. The latter is an earnest young man indocrinated with geo-political theory and whose attempts to shape the world to American ideals ends in his own personal tragedy and drastically alters the lives of the other two participants. Written before the US involvement in Vietnam this is a strangely prophetic work and seriously encapsulates the British viewpoint towards that conflict. A beautifully written book and highly recommended.

46 editions

ogd5XOt@bookwyrm.social reviewed The quiet American by Graham Greene

Authentic and Beautifully Written

5 stars

Graham Greene served with MI6 during World War II and traveled the world extensively both before and after. His experiences really come across in this novel, where the narrator can zero in about the small details of a locale that make it special, as well as provide some insights into life in war zones that only someone with legitimate been-there-done-that experience would have.

While the plot itself centers around a love triangle between a journalist, a Vietnamese woman, and an American operative, that almost seemed like background noise to me. What made the book special was the first person narration - a voice that was reflecting on life in general, life in Vietnam, war, intrigue and numerous other details with an authenticity that can't be fabricated.

Beautifully written and filled with realities of conflict (internal, interpersonal, and between opposing forces) that continue to resonate.

Fionnáin reviewed The quiet American. by Graham Greene (The Library Edition of the works of Graham Greene)

Review of 'The quiet American.' on 'Import'

4 stars

Greene tells a drmatic story in one of his most famous novels, but what is particularly amazing about this book is how prescient it was. Written in the early 1950s, The Quiet American seems to predict with surprising accuracy the future of US intervention in Vietnam long before they were actively involved in the conflict there. It also carefully deals with colonialism, racial stereotyping and post-war politics while telling a tense story (in part-metaphor) of war, love and loss (albeit still occasionally a victim to the prejudices of the time when it was written).

The narrator, a journalist, is trying not to be engagé, to be a neutral observer as the war goes on around him. He constantly reminds those around him (particularly the brash American Pyle) that the people of the country that they are in are suffering, and that they have their own motivations and desires, despite …

Greene tells a drmatic story in one of his most famous novels, but what is particularly amazing about this book is how prescient it was. Written in the early 1950s, The Quiet American seems to predict with surprising accuracy the future of US intervention in Vietnam long before they were actively involved in the conflict there. It also carefully deals with colonialism, racial stereotyping and post-war politics while telling a tense story (in part-metaphor) of war, love and loss (albeit still occasionally a victim to the prejudices of the time when it was written).

The narrator, a journalist, is trying not to be engagé, to be a neutral observer as the war goes on around him. He constantly reminds those around him (particularly the brash American Pyle) that the people of the country that they are in are suffering, and that they have their own motivations and desires, despite what the western powers believe. The moral and social tale that he is part of (and that is told around him) is told with the fluid dialogue of an author who understood his craft well.

Subjects

Modern fiction
Fiction - General
Fiction / General
Fiction