The Quiet American

By: Graham Greene

Narrated by: Joseph Porter

Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Alden Pyle, an idealistic young American, is sent to Vietnam to promote democracy amidst the intrigue and violence of the French war with the Vietminh, while his friend, Fowler, a cynical foreign correspondent, looks on.

Fowler's mistress, a beautiful native girl, creates a catalyst for jealousy and competition between the men and a cultural clash resulting in bloodshed and deep misgivings.

Written in 1955, prior to the Vietnam conflict, The Quiet American foreshadows the events leading up to the Vietnam War. Questions surrounding the moral ambiguity of the involvement of the United States in foreign countries are as relevant today as they were 50 years ago.

©1983 Graham Greene (P)1993 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"There has been no novel of any political scope about Vietnam since Graham Greene wrote The Quiet American." ( Harper's)
"Greene is a superb storyteller. He evokes the most actual streets, the most vivid skies, and individuals who can have a lacerating reality as they search the labyrinth of their lives." ( Newsweek)

Brilliance vitiated by buffoonery

Graham Greene possessed a capacity for genuine brilliance, in my opinion. At least one of his books I have read dozens of times, and several I have truly loved. This particular book is a very insightful exploration of the nefarious effects of naive self confidence and the hubris of good intentions, and it was prescient about American intervention in Vietnam in many ways. The only problem here is the narrator, who seems to affect an accent from no real place for any character, and descends into an accent for more than one character that sounds indistinguishable from Cleveland on Family Guy. Unbearable. Read the book and wait for another narrator to do the audiobook justice.

Vietnam before the United States

Written 5 to 7 years before the United States became involved in Vietnam. Mostly entertaining but you have to wade through the characters, extracurricular activities, women and booze to get just a snippet of the authors true intention. Written through the eyes of a British reporter, who has an obvious biased against the United States. This book revolves around a Vietnamese woman whose affections are sought after throughout the entire book. In that regard, it’s a little disappointing. I really thought there would be more to it than sex and booze and smoking opium. The only point in the story where the author forms an opinion is basically when he says the Vietnamese just want to be left alone. It does make one question why we were there in the first place because most of the characters that you run into are just every day plain Janes and ordinary Joe’s. communism, and taking over the world is the last thing on their minds. It’s sad to think that nearly 60,000 Americans lost their lives after the locals got pissed off. What has war ever accomplished?

Joe Lilley

The story was convoluted.

The reader had an annoying voice. He was hard to listen to. And the storyline was hard to follow. I the story shifted from different time frame works in a manner that was difficult to follow.

Narrator distracts from the tale.

Graham Greene fans will be enthused by this book but I wish I had read it rather than listened.

1) I do not speak French and thus feel I'm missing some of the nuances as there is the occasional line of French in the book.

2) The narrator's missteps really distract me from enjoying the book. I believe the character Alden Pyle is said to hail from Boston but the accent given him by this (I believe) British narrator sounds like rural Texas. It would be amusing if it were not so irritating.

Choosing titles to listen to rather than read is tricky. This one was a mistake for me.

A brutally honest indictment of America in Vietnam

America learned nothing from the French disaster in Vietnam. And now the insanity is returning in the form of Donald Trump.

A Really Great Novel From The 1950s About Vietnam

The Quiet American is an excellent novel composed by an iconic British author about Vietnam in the 1950s. The story is set in Vietnam and the protagonist is a British Journalist. The story involves an American who is working for the American Government. The story predates American intervention in Vietnam. There is fighting, primarily by the French. In that the novel was written in the 1950s it seems sadly visionary to me.

I read the Kindle while listening to the audiobook simultaneously. The audiobook is excellent and faithful to the Kindle. The narrator has a British accent and the protagonist is British. I have read about some criticism of the narrator. I disagree. I felt the narrator was excellent.

I completely enjoyed this novel. It is not a fast paced story. There is some romance, adventure, and political intrigue. There is a certain amount of symbolism in the novel. There is a Spark Notes on the novel and I read that also. It was available on line for free. Personally I am glad that I read, listened, and studied the novel. Thank You...

Poor performance of a decent story

This is probably some of the most non entertaining reading I’ve ever heard. Very flat, dry and monotone. It’s a distraction from a fairly decent story.

Voices

It was a bit hard to understand, specially when it came to making different voices. Overall seemed ok.

Stands the Test of Time

Keeping the “lens” of 1950’s culture while listening to this book, I enjoyed it immensely. Unsurpassed writing requires careful attention, but it does not disappoint. I will continue to revisit Graham Greene’s novels because they instruct, intrigue, and engage. Highly recommend.

Terrible accents, echo in background

And the story was overwritten. The narrator often assigned the wing accents and it became confusing.