The Quiet American

The Quiet American

Graham Greene

“I never knew a man who had better motives for all the trouble he caused,” Graham Greene’s narrator Fowler remarks of Alden Pyle, the eponymous Quiet American of what is perhaps the most controversial novel of his career. Pyle is the brash young idealist sent out by Washington on a mysterious mission to Saigon, where the French Army struggles against the Vietminh guerrillas.

As young Pyle’s well-intentioned policies blunder into bloodshed, Fowler, a seasoned and cynical British reporter, finds it impossible to stand safely aside as an observer. But Fowler’s motives for intervening are suspect, both to the police and himself, for Pyle has stolen Fowler’s beautiful Vietnamese mistress.

Originally published in 1956 and twice adapted to film, The Quiet American remains a terrifiying and prescient portrait of innocence at large. This Graham Greene Centennial Edition includes a new introductory essay by Robert Stone.

“One of my favorite novels of all time – challenging, exciting, this is writing at its best”.
– Tom Rob Smith, author of “Child 44”, “The Secert Speach” and “Agent 6”

Click to view The Quiet American trailer (2002):

The Quiet American - In the press

The Hebrew-language edition of Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene will be published September, 2012. First ...

The Quiet American - Reviews

“The Quiet American is a must read for all free spirited readers. The story describes how noble causes, supposedly democratic and moral, can be overturned swiftly and metamorphose into dictat...

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Weekend Supplement, Makor Rishon

“The Quiet American is a classic which still shines and is a delight to read.”

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Orit Harel, Motke

“In the The Quiet American, Graham Greene describes a world without masks: a land burning with blood, a heart at war and a relationship that moves from male heroism to disillusionment”

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Amihai Shalev, Ynet

“The new Hebrew translations of Graham Greene’s works provide us with an annual treat.”

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Iris Abramovich, Pnai Plus

“Greene’s witty and extremely well written story describes war. All wars bring to the surface corruption, attract the inhumane and immoral, the power thirsty and the profiteers.”

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Talma Admon, nrg

“In the times we live in, when major decisions are reached behind the closed doors of the political elite, it is amazing to return to this classical spy thriller which condemned Graham Greene...

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Yedioth Ahronot

“The Quiet American, his love story set in the chaos of 1950s Vietnam, shows him (Greene) to be the greatest journalist there ever was.”

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Zadie Smith, Guardian

“No serious writer of this century has more thoroughly invaded and shaped the public imagination than Graham Greene.”

Time