The Quiet American by Graham Greene
The Quiet American is a war story describing the decline of French control in Vietnam.
Thomas Fowler is a journalist sent to report on the situation. There is a love triangle between Fowler, an American C.I.A. agent, Alden Pyle, and Phuong, a young Vietnamese woman.
Written in the 1950s, it predicts the outcome of the Vietnam War under its leader Ho Chi Minh. It also reflects American foreign policy throughout the 1960s and 70s. It is worth remembering that Australia was also involved in the conflict, out of 60,000 personnel, about 523 were killed in action and 3,000 were wounded.
Alden Pyle fails to see what is about to happen to the Vietnamese people themselves. The book is excellent, and Greene was inspired to write the novel during his journey to Saigon from Ben Tre Province.
The book was adapted for film twice, first in 1958 and again in 2002. The latter starred Michael Caine as Thomas Fowler, Brendan Fraser as Alden Pyle, and the young Vietnamese actress Do Thi Hai Yen.
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