Reviews

I have only read three other Graham Greene novels: Brighton Rock, Our Man in Havana and The End of the Affair. The first two were pretty damn good but The End of the Affair was a masterpiece. So, I was expecting great things from The Quiet American and - thuds the cliché - I wasn't disappointed.

Greene's writing manages to combine the straightforwardness of the detective novelist with the depth of a philosopher. The Quiet American is about two men and a woman, but it is also about colonialism. Phuong, is the woman. A Vietnamese girl loved and kept by Fowler, a British journalist in Indo-China covering the flailing end of France's Empire there. An American, the Quiet American indeed, Pyle falls in love with Phuong. Pyle has good intentions and a certain over-educated naivety. He sees the Vietnamese as uncomplicated as children, but as Fowler says, "Find me an uncomplicated child, Pyle."

Fowler's cynical. He's come to feel Indo-China is his home more than England, but he knows - eventually - he'll have to go back. His credo is, "I'm not involved." Indeed, early in the book he says, "You can rule me out...I'm not involved. Not involved." Yet, this is the story of how he becomes involved. Perhaps too involved.

You can see Pyle as America and Fowler as Europe too if you like. Pyle, looking at France's failure in Indo-China, and convinced the people who hate their colonialists will love Americans.

Anyway, enough of this. It's a fine book. Read it.

slintangel's review

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challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

cess_lavie's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

lambsears's review

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3.0

I saw this on a bookshop shelf when I was in Cambodia a few weeks ago. I thought I should have read it before I went there, so read it after.
It is bleak, cynical and depressing.
It's prescience is harrowing, but I think Greene was generous in his evaluation of naivete.
Too generous.

lesserjoke's review

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4.0

This 1955 novel reads as a prescient (though obviously unheeded) critique of colonialism and American-style foreign intervention, following a journalist and an intelligence officer in the 'Indochina' region at the start of the Vietnam War. It draws on author Graham Greene's own experience as a war correspondent there, and is full of racism and sexism that generally seem to be consciously unflattering presentations of his characters, rather than reflections of the writer's own bias. The most surprising thing about this book is its clear-eyed perspective on bloodthirsty Cold War diplomacy and western disdain for the third world; the least is its apparent condemnation for being 'anti-American' upon initial release.

The plot here unfolds over two time periods: the present, which begins when the protagonist is informed that his colleague and former romantic rival has been killed, and flashbacks to the past exploring the two men's personal acquaintance with one another. Although fictional, it appears to capture the then-contemporary setting well -- at least through this particular British chronicler's eyes -- and is just as interesting as a historical document on that front as for the story of cavalier cruelty at its heart.

[Content warning for slurs, gun violence, bomb violence, gore, war crimes including murder of children, and mention of rape.]

[I read and reviewed this title at a Patreon donor’s request. Want to nominate your own books for me to read and review (or otherwise support my writing)? Sign up for a small monthly donation today at https://patreon.com/lesserjoke !]

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tomwyllie's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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