The Quiet American

Rating:
Summary: Talk about premonition
Review: This is THE story about the beginnings of America's involvement in the mess that became the Vietnam War. Graham Greene had future vision and even in 1955 knew what would happen. He both explains and predicts the future in The Quiet American, a beautiful book set in Vietnam in the 50s. The book is told from the point of view of Fowler, an aging British journalist. Fowler's beautiful but opportunistic Vietnamese mistress, Phuong (who is herself a metaphor for the country itself), is coveted and for a while, claimed by a seemingly innocuous American named Pyle. Slowly, Pyle's real purpose in the country is discovered, and Fowler's servant upsets his determinedly neutral, uninvolved stance by saying, "There comes a time when you must choose sides."
Absolutely wonderful, profoundly thought-provoking, multi-layered book.

Rating:
Summary: Sooner or later one must take sides...
Review: While Graham Greene's writing is noticeably without flashiness, it is also without flaws. Always subtle and graceful, with each novel he wrote he quietly established himself as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. The Quiet American is no exception. It is a perfectly balanced novel. Greene expertly juxtaposes the character of Fowler, the British journalist, with Pyle, the American aid worker. Fowler is older, more reserved, more experienced. Pyle is young, more ambitious, and seemingly more naive. Fowler lives his life by the journalist's number one rule - stay impartial, don't take sides, just report what you see. Pyle, by contrast, is passionate about making a difference in the struggle against communism in Vietnam. They serve as beautiful foils for one another, and together they guide the reader through a profound exploration of the importance of being committed to a cause. As Greene writes, one must eventually take sides in order to truly live. This book is also an elegant comparison of two different cultures. One learns lots about Vietnam within minutes of arriving, Greene points out. And it is also a tender love story, though not a traditional one. Greene masterfully blends this love story with a powerful and morally complex political scenario in a way that few modern writers could pull off. As with all of Greene's work, this is excellent fiction.