The Quiet American review

 

THE QUIET AMERICAN BY GRAHAM GREENE

 

This book is a short novel of 180 pages with an engaging story that will make you reflect upon your own life as well as the lives of the people who were subjected to Colonialism.

The novel goes straight to one of the most important events in the whole book, the death of our quiet American, a serious boyish entrepreneur, and diplomat called Pyle. Thomas Fowler, a middle-aged reporter, is interrogated on suspicion of having played a part in the violent death of his supposed friend. We quickly learn that he had a reason for having acted against the Quiet American, as he ended up losing his beloved Phuong for the younger wealthier fellow.

Then, in a series of flashbacks, we come to understand the intricate relationship between the two men, and their disagreement on the view they had of the Indo-China war. The dangers of Colonialism and the interventionism from the US are feared by Fowler, whereas Pyle sees everything in a very straightforward business-like way, thinking that democracy can be restored by supporting  general Thé,  considered by Fowler a troublemaker who will make the natives suffer and will set up an autocracy.

Though at one point in the story Pyle saved the life of Fowler, we end up realizing that he is involved in a plot to raise a third force and that he is heavily involved in a series of shocking explosions that severed the lives of dozens of people. Fowler is shocked by the civilian casualties which are considered necessary casualties in the quest for restoring democracy by Pyle, and he decides to act against him through a group of Vietnamese that wants to regain control over their country.  

By the end of the novel, we come to know that everything has gone better for Fowler since The Quiet American’s death: he is free to marry Phuong, has been given one more year to stay in Saigon, and everything is going smoothly because nobody seems to keep questioning his involvement in Pyle’s assassination.

The Quiet American is a fantastic story that allows us to think of a historical moment while telling us an engaging story of a defeated middle-aged man who finds a moment of triumph in the convoluted world he takes part in.