The Quiet American

A brilliant novel of love and war, The Quiet American is set in the early 1950s as the French fight their own Viet Nam war. English foreign correspondent Thomas Fowler, exiled from a failed marriage, lives a life of quiet cynicism, reporting on the war, sleeping with his Vietnamese mistress and smoking opium. Into this comes the quiet American of the title, Alden Pyle, who may or may not be OSS or CIA.

Pyle is all clean cut American idealism, believing that a “third force” can break the deadlock and end the war. Covert operations, bombs and killings derail his plans somewhat, but his steadfast belief in American Imperialism is undaunted.

Pyle falls for Fowler's mistress, Phuong, much to the delight of her sister. Fowler, his world falling apart, investigates Pyle's covert actions - with awful consequences.

Greene's writing is superb. He captures both the futility of the war, of all war, but also the desperate human interactions, the triangle of Pyle, Fowler and Phuong. Fowler is disgusted by Pyle, who in turn cannot understand Fowler's cynicism. Caught in the middle is Phuong, who simply wants a better life.

A great novel.