The Quiet American
Critique • Quotes
First editionFirst publication in book form
1955
Literature form
Novel
Genres
Literary
Writing language
English
Author's country
United States
Length
Approx. 59,000 words
Notable lines
After dinner I sat and waited for Pyle in my room over the rue Catinat; he had said, "I'll be with you at latest by ten," and when midnight had struck I couldn't stay quiet any longer and went down into the street."
— First line
"God save us always," I said, "from the innocent and the good."
To be in love is to see yourself as someone else sees you, it is to be in love with the falsified and exalted image of yourself. In love we are incapable of honour—the courageous act is no more than playing a part to an audience of two.
"Thought's a luxury. Do you think the peasant sits and thinks of God and Democracy when he gets inside his mud hut at night?"
Everything had gone right with me since he had died, but how I wished there existed someone to whom I could say that I was sorry.
— Last line
Critique • Quotes
