The Quiet American - Graham Greene

[Gladys]

An interesting, easy read. Am I right that the book is focused on the conflict of interest of Thomas? A conflict that reaches huge proportions by the ending.

I understood 18-year-old Phoung least, but liked her most. The book seemed as entertaining as The Power and the Glory, which I read a few months ago.

[MANICHAEAN]

Quite some time since I read "The Quiet American" Gladys, so I'm a bit fuzzy regards the plot and the characters. I remember mainly that it was pre Viet-Cong days in Vietnam which Greene captured in his excellent style and the American was in an US Intelligence undercover role.

Was there not a relationship between the older guy & a young local, that developed into a "menage a trois" involving the American?

Must read it again because I know I enjoyed it.

"The Power & the Glory," with the wiskey priest was my favourite of all times and I must say I have willingly read that at least six times. It caused quite a few ripples in the Catholic Church at the time.

Might I suggest "The End of the Affair," as your next one, if you have not already read it, written roughly at the time Greene was breaking up with one of his more serious lady friends.

[Gladys]

Thanks for the reading suggestion.


Was there not a relationship between the older guy & a young local, that developed into a "menage a trois" involving the American?

Yes. The stable relationship between the long-separated Thomas Fowler and teenage Phoung is undermined by the naive, American, agent provocateur Alden Pyle. Thomas at first seems gracious in defeat, but becomes increasing less so. After Pyle is implicated in an atrocity in the city square, Thomas avenges the appalling death of innocent women and children while, fortuitously, leaving Phuong free to return to him. And, to top it off, his wife Helen finally agrees to a divorce.


"The Power & the Glory," with the whiskey priest was my favourite of all times...It caused quite a few ripples in the Catholic Church at the time.

I was entranced by the physical and spiritual predicament of whisky priest and his clerical peers. What constitutes a Christian life; what is it to love one's neighbour as oneself; or, if you will, what is involved in living a life of service to your fellow man? The novel puts these questions in a context where such service is not simply hard, but well nigh impossible. Consider, for example, the impact on the priest of frequent hostage-taking.

The adversaries of the church are not inhuman monsters: of the lieutenant or Padre José, the priest can say, "You're a good man." What does it mean to be good is constant concern of the priest and the novel. And what is to be said for all those Catholic clergy who sought sanctuary across the border at the first opportunity? Is their desertion love in action? Are they more righteous than a compromised whisky priest with an illegitimate daughter?

The saint or sinner is the unanswered question!

[MANICHAEAN]

Dear Gladys.

I believe that just as each lay person has his/her individual “ministry” according to their circumstances, so have I noted the variety that exists within the priesthood itself. My own experience is that they fall into three main categories:

1. There is an almost unreal peace about those that can forsake anything for themselves, (money, family, ambition) and devote a singular lifetime in the service of others. And yet they exist and are remarkable.

2. Then there are the failed priests who just cannot quite come to terms with living, what is basically a lonely existence, cut off in so many aspects from a life they had perhaps tasted in childhood or as a young man, whether in the love of a woman or even the companionship of a casual night out with friends.

3. Finally there are Greene's “whiskey priests,” by which I mean those with discernable human frailties that they recognize and which they are constantly fighting. These are the real heroes and the most interesting of “Gods Own.”

Regards
M.

[Gladys]

3. Finally there are Greene's “whiskey priests,” by which I mean those with discernible human frailties that they recognize and which they are constantly fighting.

I'm not so sure that Greene's whiskey priest does fall into your category 3? Where, in Greene's Mexico are the category 1 priests? Have they all fled Mexico to safety, leaving their flocks to fend for themselves?

It seems to me, within the priesthood there are those that can forsake anything for themselves, (money, family, ambition) and devote a singular lifetime in the service of others...they exist and are remarkable. I'm inclined to count Greene's whiskey priest in that number. He's no Jesus Christ, the sinless lamb of God, but merely, like Simon Peter, a repentant sinner who will ultimately find himself crucified upside-down.

[MANICHAEAN]

Guilty of oversimplification on my part Gladys.

Regards
M.