The Quiet American

Publisher's Summary

Into the intrigue and violence of Indo-China comes Pyle, a young idealistic American sent to promote democracy through a mysterious 'Third Force'. As his naive optimism starts to cause bloodshed, his friend Fowler finds it hard to stand and watch.

©1955 Graham Greene (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Brilliantly read, brilliantly poignant

The best audiobook narrators, PARTICULARLY in stories written in the 1st person such as this, walk that fine line of an engaging clear read and an actual PERFORMANCE that isn't distracting, or doesn't betray the text. And Simon Cadell's tired & cynical tone as Fowler is absolutely pitch perfect. 'The Quiet American' is a modern classic. You'll learn more about why Afghanistan & Iraq have become quagmires for us in the West by listening to Fowler & Pyle hiding out one night in a watch-tower in the Vietnamese jungle than you will listening to any pundit on cable TV :) Highly recommended.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Foreshadowed the US involvement in Vietnam

Thomas Fowler is a middle-aged British journalist who has been living in Saigon for a number of years to report on the French Indochina War. He's left behind a wife in England from whom he's been separated for a long time, though she refuses him a divorce on religious grounds. This shouldn't be a problem for his current lover, twenty-year-old Phuong, who doesn't ask for anything and is content to live with Fowler and prepare his opium pipes, but Phuong's older sister wants her to get married to secure her future. Then a young idealistic American called Alden Pyle appears on the scene, makes friends with Fowler, and also falls in love with Phuong and decides to ask her in marriage. When the novel opens, Pyle has been found murdered, and Fowler proceeds to recount his relationship with the young man and their conflicts, both political and personal, which have somehow led to the young man's death. I can't say I was taken with this novel. It's tone was very serious and it had quite a plodding pace. The love story, such as it was, was obviously on the forefront of the narrator's mind, but the real story was about the war and the conflict between the French colonists, the communists who wanted to oust them, and the foreigners who were either there to report the war and bent on not getting involved, like Fowler, or on the contrary, invested in bringing about change according to their own agenda, like Pyle. My own disinterest in politics is to blame for my lack of appreciation here, as I can objectively say it's a very good novel, but it didn't quite satisfy this reader.

This tidbit from wikipedia was quite interesting: "The book draws on Greene's experiences as a war correspondent for The Times and Le Figaro in French Indochina 1951-1954. He was apparently inspired to write The Quiet American in October 1951 while driving back to Saigon from the Ben Tre province. He was accompanied by an American aid worker who lectured him about finding a “third force in Vietnam”. Greene spent three years writing the novel, which foreshadowed US involvement in Vietnam long before it became publicly known. The book was the initial reason for Graham Greene being under constant surveillance by US intelligence agencies from the 1950s until his death in 1991, according to documents obtained in 2002 by The Guardian newspaper under the US Freedom of Information Act."

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A truly great classic of English literature

Generally I prefer non-fiction, but came to this novel by reading that it received a lot of negative reviews in the US. That aroused my curiosity and I wasn't far into the book before it was abundantly clear why Greene and this book were unpopular in certain quarters. That apart, it is a great novel - Greene perfectly depicts the setting, and captures the atmosphere, the politics, the characters, and his command of language and cutting observations are simply superb. Men's attitudes towards women, especially Vietnamese women (as exemplified by Fowler and Phuong) and racism in general, strike a jarring note to the modern reader, but that's the way it was. Some have noted Greene's prescience with respect to the Vietnam war which was about to be unleashed, but it didn't take foresight or genius to work that out. Simon Cadell puts in a masterful performance. He has the exact voice and accent of a well-bred Englishman of the 1950s - he even sounds like Graham Greene. Not only is he a narrator par excellence, he knows French so his performance is not marred by mispronunciations.

What insight Graham Greene has

Stuff happens, sometimes it is meaningful, other times just pedestrian, but what makes Graham Greene so good is his ability to get into his characters thinking, perhaps even soul. Great writing that takes you on a journey even when nothing much is happening, action wise. Love his writing. When I read him at school I thought 'how boring' perhaps experience and time has made me wiser. He is very good and Simon Cadell is excellent at narrating this book. Well worth the listening to this book both for technical style and for real emotions portrayal.

haunting and profoundly beautiful

Like many great novels, there are so many levels on which this story can be appreciated. In particular it foretells in a sense some of the events that were coming to pass in the battle between ideological forces in Indo China. The story is narrated by a man who says he has "no politics", but whose narrative brings the personal and the political together.
On a personal level it can be seen as a meditation on war and love, a duel to the death between the leading male characters as they vie for possession of the beautiful Vietnamese girl "Phong".One of the most sad and profoundly beautiful things that Greene says in this novel relate to war and love.He says that they have always been compared, that "we get involved in a moment of emotion", and then "we cannot get out".
Simon Cadell as narrator was well chosen to read "the Quiet American". His voice has that blend of worldliness and cynicism which enhanced this story for me.I listened to it as a way of winding down as I came off of nightshift; half asleep and half awake, and loved it. Often after listening for a while and drifting off, there was the feeling of a haunting, swirling mystery. It was completely engaging and never intrusive. I recommend it to anyone who loves mysteries, or who wishes to rediscover great literature.

Love and War in Indo-China

I've seen filmed version of this book several times, but, after listening to this audio version, think the book is better. Not least because the main character, Fowler, a middle-aged foreign correspondent engages in much introspection that is difficult to depict in a film. Fowler is a typical Greene character: world weary, melancholy, with a young mistress and wife at a distance. The latter a devout Catholic which introduces ruminations about God and religion: common topics in Greene's more serious books.

Fowler is on a journalistic assignment reporting the Vietnam War. He has been living with a pragmatic young local woman for some time when he meets, Pyle, the American of the title whose official role is rather hazy but seems to have a have a hidden agenda to promote a Third Force in the area.

Fowler and Pyle surprisingly become friends and a section of the book describes a hair-raising trip they do together into the North of the country. Their friendship is strained by Pyle's desire to marry Fowler's mistress.

The story starts with the death of, Pyle, and switches back and forth in time to reveal by the end, how and why he died. On the way a number of well-rounded characters play their parts against the back-drop of the Vietnam War. There's intrigue, corruption, violence and love: a heady mixture that makes for an exciting, but sad story.

The reader of the book is excellent

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Compelling but don't expect laughs

The novel by Graham Greene follows a middle-aged, dissillusioned and depressed reporter in the French-Vietnam war. His determination to remain emotionally and philosophically uninvolved with the conflict, and life, comes under further strain by the naive American Pyle.
This novel is very well written and captures the weariness of it's generation with war and ideology. The audiobook, however, is not brilliantly read. The narrator doesn't differentiate between characters well so dialogue can become hard to follow and the tone makes a novel thats subject is already depressing even more so.
If the narration had been better I would have given this a 4 start review but as it is The Quiet American gets a 3.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Vietnam a fascinating backdrop

The performance definitely enhanced this book. The Vietnamese setting is like another character in the intriguing story, and the plot unfurls piece by well timed piece. The writing is more and more enjoyable, with especially interesting descriptions. This isn't normally the kind of book I thought I liked but I'm very glad I chose it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

poor editing and irritating reading

It's a great story, but the reading voice is so monotonous and expressionless that it sounds fake and irritating rather than disillusioned . The editing is terrible, with jumps, gaps and pauses.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A good story

What did you like best about The Quiet American? What did you like least?

The ending was superb

Who was your favorite character and why?

Not any particular favourite,

What does Simon Cadell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He brought the story alive: as though he was the character, telling his story.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

no

Any additional comments?

no

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Essence Captured by Simon Cowell

Very well read by Simon Cowell who captures both the jaded character of the narrator Fowler- a cynical british journalist - as well as the idealistic character of Pyle who is the quiet american of the story.
This is a deserved classic set in the decade before the Vietnam war when French colonial rule was on the wane and american activity and covert engagement was starting.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

One of my favourite books

An excellent story with superb narration by Simon Cadell - recommended.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A view on Vietnam

It was a struggle to get to the end of this book.
I found it very stiff, probably exacerbated by the narrator. Opium pipes, plastics, dodgy Americans and just the jaded view of Vietnam of a cynic.

Clever and thought-provoking

Western attitudes to South East Asia played out through two character's live of a Vietnamese woman. Clever, thought-provoking and builds to emotive climax.

Great read. Loved it.

Will never view Southeast Asia the same way again. Complex, rich and full of feeling.