Pyle, the American, represents the idealistic principles that the Americas brought in the Vietnam war and the lack of guilt for the damage they had created by their innocent causes. The British does not want to get involved in the war, and he is deluding himself that he is only an indifferent spectator. The two main characters are symbols of the American and British participation in Vietnam. Reading this book was a great way to learn more about the First Indochina War. This is a cautionary tale about the involvement of America and Britain in the French War in Vietnam. I've been praising this novel for some time and I do not understand why I only gave it 4stars. This Graham Greene Centennial Edition includes a new introductory essay by Robert Stone.ĭecember 2020: After some thought I decided to upgrade my rating to 5*. But Fowler's motives for intervening are suspect, both to the police and himself, for Pyle has stolen Fowler's beautiful Vietnamese mistress.įirst published in 1956 and twice adapted to film, The Quiet American remains a terrifiying and prescient portrait of innocence at large. As young Pyle's well-intentioned policies blunder into bloodshed, Fowler, a seasoned and cynical British reporter, finds it impossible to stand safely aside as an observer.

Pyle is the brash young idealist sent out by Washington on a mysterious mission to Saigon, where the French Army struggles against the Vietminh guerrillas. 'I never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused,' Graham Greene's narrator Fowler remarks of Alden Pyle, the eponymous 'Quiet American' of what is perhaps the most controversial novel of his career. Graham Greene's classic exploration of love, innocence, and morality in Vietnam

The quiet american author