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Sign up todayThe Quiet American
Narrator
Joseph Porter
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Length
6 hours 41 minutes
Language
English
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. His friend Fowler, a cynical foreign correspondent, looks on but soon finds it difficult to remain simply an observer. 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 war. Questions surrounding the moral ambiguity of the involvement of the United States in foreign countries are as relevant today as they were fifty years ago.
Graham Greene (1904–1991) was an English novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. He was an ardent convert to Catholicism, and all of his writings reflect his religious views. His novels are set in places in a state of seedy decay, and many of his locations, such as Vietnam in The Quiet American and Cuba in Our Man in Havana, became international crisis spots.
Joseph Porter studied acting at the Moscow Art Theatre and Depaul University before graduating summa cum laude with a BFA from Wayne State University.
Reviews
“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.”
“A continuously intriguing piece of storytelling....Greene has brought into vivid relief...the fearful price of innocence—and has shown that behind innocence there lurk unconscious arrogance and a self-righteous streak of moral blindness.”
“There has been no novel of any political scope about Vietnam since Graham Greene wrote The Quiet American.”
“Greene at his best. The hand of the master is clearly revealed in the structure of the novel, which rises to a magnificent climax.”
“An intensely observed portrait of Vietnam on the eve of French defeat…Part novel of intrigue, part mystery, part love story, The Quiet American remains as powerful today as when it was first written.”
“Masterful…[a] brilliantly constructed novel.”
“Written with Greene’s great technical skill and imagination.”
“The best novel written about the war in Indo-China.”
“Explains our past, in Southeast Asia, trains light on our present in many places, and perhaps foreshadows our future if we don’t take heed…A heartrending romance…haunting and profound.
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