The Quiet American - Centenary Celebration 2004

'The novel that I love the most is The Quiet American' Ian McEwan, Sunday Times bestselling author of Lessons

Into the intrigue and violence of 1950s Saigon comes CIA agent Alden Pyle, a young idealistic American sent to promote democracy through a mysterious 'Third Force'.

As Pyle's naive optimism starts to cause bloodshed, his friend Fowler, a cynical foreign correspondent, finds it hard to stand aside and watch. But even as Fowler intervenes he wonders why: for the greater good, or something altogether more complicated?

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ZADIE SMITH

**One of the BBC's 100 Novels That Shaped Our World**