The Quiet American
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.
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In 1952 Saigon, jaded English correspondent Thomas Fowler shares an apartment with the young Vietnamese woman Phuong when an idealistic American economic attache named Alden Pyle arrives in town with a copy of York Harding under his arm. Pyle decides he loves Phuong, and the country starts to burn.
The Quiet American was written by Graham Greene and published in 1955. It is widely considered one of his major novels alongside The Power and the Glory and The Heart of the Matter.
Yes, twice. The 1958 film starred Audie Murphy; the 2002 film directed by Phillip Noyce starred Michael Caine, who was nominated for an Academy Award for the role.
The Quiet American is 223 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Quiet American takes most readers 3 to 5 hours to finish.
The Quiet American is a standalone novel by an unknown author, not part of a series.
The Quiet American is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
