Fowler loves Phuong, but Phuong's older sister is trying to set her up with a better (i.e., more prosperous) match. Fowler is the sort of lapsed Catholic that such Catholic writers are fond of: he's a bit of a reprobate who claims not to really believe in anything, but you know those nuns are still rapping his knuckles in his dreams.įowler has a wife back home, from whom he is separated (she won't grant him a divorce, because she is a very unlapsed Catholic), an opium habit, and a mistress in Saigon named Phuong.

The protagonist, Thomas Fowler, is a British journalist covering the French Indochina War in the 1950s. The Quiet American is a cynical novel written by a cynical author who was known as a very British and very Catholic writer. Questions surrounding the moral ambiguity of the involvement of the United States in foreign countries are as relevant today as they were 50 years ago. Written in 1955, prior to the Vietnam conflict, The Quiet American foreshadows the events leading up to the Vietnam War. William Heinemann London, 1955, 180 pagesĪlden Pyle, an idealistic young American, is sent to Vietnam to promote democracy amidst the intrigue and violence of the French war with the Vietminh, while his friend, Fowler, a cynical foreign correspondent, looks on.įowler'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.

Author of the quiet american