The quiet American

by

180 pages

English language

Published 2004 by Vintage.

ISBN:
978-0-09-947839-3
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5 stars (1 review)

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.

32 editions

reviewed The quiet American by Graham Greene (Penguin classics)

My beloved, problematic Graham

5 stars

Vietnam, 1950s. Pyle is the quiet American, young, idealist, determined to bring democracy to Vietnam. Fowler is the disillusioned, cynical British reporter. Phuong is the Vietnamese woman they both want. As a novel, it is impeccable. It also offers an insightful, complex commentary on that war, and many other wars too. The portrayal of Phuong (as a flower, a victim, a child, a servant woman), the frequent use of sexual imagery to talk about the colonies and their inhabitants are very disturbing. Even if Greene seems to be aware of it, i.e. aware that everyone is making up their own Phuong to fit their story. Does it make it OK?

Subjects

  • Indochinese War, 1946-1954 -- Fiction
  • Triangles (Interpersonal relations) -- Fiction
  • Americans -- Indochina -- Fiction
  • British -- Indochina -- Fiction
  • War correspondents -- Fiction
  • Indochina -- Fiction
  • Vietnam -- Fiction