The first Graham Greene I’ve read. The one that
made me wish I could teach a course based on his writing about the early Cold
War. Surely most historians of the Vietnam War probably cringe at the mention
of a “Third Force” theory, but the book was written in 1955 and its insight is
undeniable.
The book is about rich white Westerners playing
god in the rest of the world (something we normally do oh so well…). Despite
the fact that it’s clear that neither Fowler nor Pyle will die when they find
themselves in the watchtower, those pages remain incredibly gripping and tense.
Again, nether one of the two is likable – yet the reader (or, at least, the
European leader) wants Fowler not just to survive, but to be happy wherever he
is, be it Vietnam or the UK.
I am sure in real life Graham Greene must have
been a snobby and stand-offish arrogant bore, but man could he write…
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