This book was my read for the latest Classic Club Spin. I have been wanting to read more by Graham Greene and this was a great choice. This book was published in 1955 and the events in this book took place in the early 1950s.
The story is set in Saigon, Vietnam and surrounding areas. The French Army and the Viet Minh guerrillas are fighting each other. Thomas Fowler is a war correspondent who has been stationed in the area for two years. During that time he had a relationship with Phuong, a very young Vietnamese woman; it was not clear to me whether he loves her or he just needs what she provides, sex and companionship. Alden Pyle, the quiet American, is a newcomer, working in the Economic Attaché's office. He is a young, more idealistic man. He becomes a rival for Phuong's affections. Fowler is more jaded and realistic, and much older than Phuong or Pyle.
As the story opens, Fowler and Phuong are in his rooms, waiting for news of Pyle, who is missing. Soon the French Sûreté officer Vigot tells Fowler that Pyle is dead and the circumstances. Fowler tells Phuong, who was living with Pyle at the time.
The rest of the story is relayed through flashbacks. Fowler and Pyle are also involved in some of the fighting between the French and the Vietnamese. Those scenes seemed very realistic and were quite gruesome.
My Thoughts:
This book was very very good. It has elements of spy fiction and political intrigue, but the picture of Vietnam and the fighting that was going on there in the early 1950s was more interesting for me. It is not an uplifting read, very much the opposite, but very well written, and I learned a lot about the Vietnam conflict in those years.
The relationship of these men who both want the same Vietnamese woman, for different reasons, is sad. Thomas Fowler narrates the story and it is hard to determine if he is a reliable narrator or not. Since he is telling Pyle's story, we only know his version of the events and Pyle's motivations, except for the conversations between them. In any case I had little sympathy for either one of them.
Having lived through the years of the Vietnam conflict you would think I would know more about its history, but I don't. I would like to learn more about that topic.
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Publisher: Open Road Media, 2018 (orig. pub. 1955)
Length: 190 pages
Format: e-book
Setting: Vietnam
Genre: Fiction, Espionage
Source: I purchased this book.
20 comments:
this book is unforgettable. And the last lines haunt me till date. So happy that you also liked it a lot.
I agree, Neeru. I am still thinking about it and my opinion of it improves as I think about it. I really am inspired to read more books by Greene.
Grahame Green is another of those gaps in my reading. I've only read Travels With My Aunt which is not at all typical of his books I think, so I really ought to try one of his spy books because, although I feel a bit daunted, I suspect I would enjoy it nonetheless.
Hi Tracy, I read two books by Grahame Greene, The Quiet American and The Power and The Glory. I read them so long ago though I can't recall the plot but what I do remember was how how talented a writer Greene is. I always meant to read more from Greene and now I am putting him on my list to do so.
I think this is a really effective way to convey what the war was like and what that part of the world looked like at the time. Whenever a larger story is told through personal experience, I think it makes the story that much more engaging, Tracy.
Greene wrote both serious novels and what he called "entertainments" (thrillers). Why he felt a need to distinguish between the two is beyond me. All are worthwhile.
THE QUIET AMERICAN lent its name to Eugene Burdick & William Lederer's 1968 bestseller THE UGLY AMERICAN, although Burdick and Lederer misunderstood Greene's novel, much as those who would later use the term "ugly american" misunderstood Burdick & Lederer's book.
Cath, I have only read two other books by Greene that I can remember. I read The Comedians in 2004 and would like to reread it because it has been so long. More recently I read A Gun for Sale (aka This Gun For Hire), which was more of a mystery thriller. I have a few more on the Kindle.
Jerry, I have always wondered why Greene distinguished between his serious novels and the others, and also whether I would like the serious ones. Since you think they are worthwhile I will try some of the serious ones too.
Thanks for that interesting information about The Ugly American. Is that book worth reading?
Kathy, although The Quiet American is a comparatively short book, it took me awhile to get into it. In the end, I liked the writing a lot. I will be trying more books by him also. I just remembered that I bought a copy of Brighton Rock by Greene at the last book sale. It is a longer book and I don't know much about it.
Margot, there was so much going on in this 190 page book. I was amazed. And I did like that it was based on Greene's experiences in Vietnam.
I haven't read much Graham Greene, and it's been a really long time since the last one. This sounds like a really good book to revisit Mr. Greene's work.
Tracy, it's been more than half a century since I read THE UGLY AMERICAN. It impressed me greatly at the time and I suspect it still would if I reread it today. In fact, it may strike a few familiar chords for today's reader.
I thought this one was a good one, too, though I read it years ago and don't remember any details from it. ;D
It's one of his best, though it doesn't seem to be as well known as a few of the others. I'm glad you enjoyed it - I learned a lot about the Vietnam conflict from it too.
Sam, I do think that The Quiet American is a good choice to get back into Greene's books. The other one I have read more recently (A Gun for Sale aka This Gun For Hire) was, if I remember correctly both a mystery and a story of political intrigue, and very interesting.
Jerry, the story and the structure of The Ugly American sounded interesting to me. I will be looking for a copy.
Lark, I am very glad I finally got around to reading it. Also glad that the book motivated some interest in the history of that area and the fighting there. I hope I find the time to actually follow up on that.
FictionFan, I was surprised that so many of his books were adapted to the screen. We recently watched Ministry of Fear and that made me want to read the book, which I have on the Kindle. Also The Third Man, but I think Greene wrote the screen play for that first and then the novella. And The Quiet American was adapted twice.
Good review. I'm wondering about the woman in the novel and if it gets into her thoughts much and how she's stuck between these two men. It sounds like the men aren't very likable from what you say. But what a fraught time, right? I need to read Greene.
Susan, I went back and read this review and did not realize I had omitted much about Phuong's characterization. I spent a lot of time thinking about it (while reading and while writing the review), but there is little stated outright in the book and we do not get her thoughts, it is more a matter of interpretation. Initially it irritated me that she was such a cipher and that the focus was on the men. I think that her main goal was marriage (for security) and to get out of the country; I did not see her as a gold digger.
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