The Quiet American

I have almost finished my third Graham Greene novel, The Quiet American. I have also read Our Man in Havana and The Power and the Glory, but I have to say that this one is my favorite so far. The book is about the relationship between two men, one American and one British, and their love for the same woman. Although, the book is not directly about religion there are still many references to the Catholic religion and many others like many of Greene's other novels. The main character, Fowler, repeatedly states that he does not believe in Gold. However, his friend Pyle claims to be a unitarian.

Many critics said that the novel was anti-American. They thought that the character of Pyle showed Americans in a negative light. Pyle seems to be the opposite of the stereotypical American. He is quiet and intellectual. Also, many Americans did not like the character or Fowler, the British man. However, I identified with and liked the character of Fowler much better than Pyle. Pyle wanted to date the woman Fowler was currently dating. He thought that as long as he talked to Fowler about the situation then Fowler had no reason to be mad at him for taking his girl. I think Pyle was very self-centered and innocent.

The novel is mainly about the love triangle between the two men mentioned above and a young woman named Phuong. The woman is a young Vietnamese woman. She switches between the two men multiple times and does not seem to be committed to either man. The woman seems to represent the country in which they are fighting, Vietnam. The fact Pyle wants her represents that the Americans did not want Vietnam to be under communist rule. She is also very underdeveloped. Other then when she is seen with the male characters she is not really shown. She never voices her opinion, just like the country she comes from never states its opinion.