The Quiet American - Graham Greene

...religion, politics and morals within the modern world. Greene was a convert to Catholicism which provided a lot of material for his literary works. He suffered from bi-polar disorder and later abandoned his wife, whilst never divorcing due to religion.

He was also recruited into MI6 by his sister due to his frequent travels and worked as an agent in Sierra Leone during WWII. The prominence of religion and Catholicism in Greene's work ...
...his experience reporting in Vietnam. The book begins with the ending and moves between different periods of time.

The protagonist is an English reporter, Fowler, who is world-weary and doesn't seem to believe in anything. He is separated from his religious wife who won't give him a divorce and lives with a young Vietnamese girl, Phuong. Fowler is portrayed as jealous and selfish for most of the novel.

Phuong remains an enigma ... more

Graham Greene is an author whose works explore religion, politics and morals within the modern world. Greene was a convert to Catholicism which provided a lot of material for his literary works. He suffered from bi-polar disorder and later abandoned his wife, whilst never divorcing due to religion.

He was also recruited into MI6 by his sister due to his frequent travels and worked as an agent in Sierra Leone during WWII. The prominence of religion and Catholicism in Greene's work began to wane in his later years to be replaced with a humanistic approach. He attacks America's imperialistic attitude in later works and "The Quiet American" criticises their policy in Vietnam.

"The Quiet American" was written in 1955 and draws on Greene's experience as an agent in WWII as well as his experience reporting in Vietnam. The book begins with the ending and moves between different periods of time.

The protagonist is an English reporter, Fowler, who is world-weary and doesn't seem to believe in anything. He is separated from his religious wife who won't give him a divorce and lives with a young Vietnamese girl, Phuong. Fowler is portrayed as jealous and selfish for most of the novel.

Phuong remains an enigma throughout the novel and never seems to have a voice of her own. Both Fowler and Pyle have their own idealized versions of her but we are never sure what her true character is. Most of her decisions are made by her elder sister who wants to marry her off to a foreigner. Phuong accquiesces to the needs and wants of the men who claim to love her. All she appears to want is protection and financial security.

Pyle is the "Quiet American" of the title and is young and idealistic. He believes that he can help shape Vietnam into a type of democracy through the "third force" which is an ideology he has read about. He believes that he is in love with Phuong and wants to marry her because he believes he can give her a more stable future than Fowler. Pyle has come to Vietnam as part of an Economic mission but he soon gets in over his head due to his ideals.

I found this an odd book as Fowler was fairly unlikeable as the protagonist whilst Pyle is oddly naive. Fowler constantly protests Pyle's innocent frame of mind and yet he doesn't even like him.

Pyle, on the other hand, continually says that Fowler is his best friend and wants to believe that he is more honourable than he really is. However, he also wants what Fowler has - Phuong - and accordingly takes her.

The attitude that Phuong has no say in her own life is something that I found a bit irritating. However it probably was true of a young girl's life in 1950's Vietnam - her elders would make her decisions for her. Marriage to a foreigner was one of the best opportunities they would have for a better life.

Greene paints a picture of Vietnam as a weary place with everyone just going through the motions. The French are fighting to retain their hold over the country whilst the Communists continually make incursions into French territory. There is an air of futility throughout the novel. Fowler lies to Phuong about the possibility of obtaining a divorce in order to keep her with him. Pyle wants to improve the country but only adds to the bloodshed. The journalists are told what to write and the truth is not something that comes out often.

Fowler keeps mulling over his role in Pyle's death and tries to justify it to himself throughout the entire novel. (The fact of Pyle's death isn't a plot spolier as it is revealed in the first few pages of the novel).

Vigot is the French inspector investigating Pyle's death and he questions Fowler in the belief that he knows more than he is telling. He knows that there is more to Fowler's involvement but he also knows that finding out what it is probably wouldn't do any good.

I enjoyed reading this book as it was interesting but I didn't have much background knowledge about Vietnam and the French so was quite confused by it.

The characters were well drawn although we remain almost exclusively immersed in Fowler's thoughts and feelings throughout. Pyle never really develops as a character - he is an American but he is also an anomaly as he is a "Quiet American". We never really know what he is up to, except that he ends up doing more harm than good. His lack of judgement is shown through his relation to Fowler in that he thinks Fowler is his friend when Fowler doesn't particularly like or trust him. He is contrasted with a fellow American - Granger - who is brash, loud and obnoxious.

Fowler is almost repellent in contrast as he is only interested in himself. He betrays Pyle although he believes that he is doing it for the greater good. He lies to the people around him and claims that he does not get involved. He believes in nothing and no-one and his life is shown to be sad and empty. Even Phuong is just there to fill a space and make up his opium pipes.

I think this was an interesting look at Vietnam and was worth reading, although the main focus is on morality, idealism and betrayal rather than the war the French were fighting. We see the beginnings of the American intervention through Pyle and his ideals but also that this intervention could have tragic repercussions for both the youth of America and the people of Vietnam.

I just couldn't warm to the characters in the novel but perhaps the intent behind the writing of the novel was the cause of this. I would recommend this as it held my attention and explores different areas rather than just war and death.

This review is also posted on dooyoo.co.uk. 

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