Author:Graham Greene
'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**
The novel that I love the most is The Quiet American
—— Ian McEwanThere has been no novel of any political scope about Vietnam since Graham Greene wrote The Quiet American
—— Harper'sA master of storytelling
—— The TimesOne of the finest writers of any language
—— Washington PostA superb storyteller - he had a talent for depicting local colour, a keen sense of the dramatic, an eye for dialogue, and skill in pacing his prose
—— New York TimesIt might be nearly 60 years since The Quiet American was first published, but it still evokes the exotic promise of the Orient, and the troubled relationship Vietnam has with the West
—— WanderlustIt's a blast.
—— Peterborough Evening TelegraphGlittering characterisation, sharp and eloquent writing.
—— Sunday TelegraphAn important 20th-century writer who paints a complex relationship between gender and power with wit and sensitivity.
—— Lauren Elkin, author of FlâneuseLush and lyrical - and darkly funny even at its most gut-punching - Olivia Manning's Balkan Trilogy manages to simultaneously be a sweeping panorama of a Europe in crisis and a discomfitingly intimate portrait of a no-less-broken marriage.
—— Tara Isabella Burton, author of Social CreatureAn addictive, gripping literary saga ... A sharp portrait of a young marriage under pressure and a vivid picture of being a Brit in an increasingly hostile and impoverished corner of Europe.
—— The TimesOlivia Manning takes autobiographical writing to a refreshingly new dimension. In The Balkan Trilogy she follows the well-worn mantra that authors should write about what they know, but she does so without sounding self-centred, a quality that so often dogs memoirs. Her's reads like wholly invented fiction with made-up, yet believable characters. It has been such a joy to re-read Manning's Trilogy...Manning's characterisation throughout the Trilogy is excellent. Her most astute depiction of a person in genuine inner conflict with himself is Guy Pringle...The author's depiction of Bucharest and the places Harriet and Guy visit are bold and colourful.
—— BookmunchA twisting murder mystery combined with a chillingly plausible alternative history of a divided Cold War London. Brilliant
—— Mason Cross, Richard and Judy bestselling author of The SamaritanRubin constructs a tantalising alternative world with 1950s Britain riven apart by its own version of the Berlin Wall - and all because the D-Day landings failed. Against this dystopian nightmare, the author overlays a murder mystery that's sure to appeal to fans of SS-GB, The Man in the High Castle, and Fatherland
—— David Young, CWA Dagger-winning author of Stasi ChildA gripping murder mystery set in an alternative 1950s Britain. Rubin's London, split between American and Soviet zones after a disastrous World War Two, is vividly realised and his story is elegantly constructed. One not to miss
—— William Ryan, author of The Constant SoldierIn the great tradition of SS-GB and Fatherland, Rubin's alternative-1950s murder mystery takes an ingenious premise - the Americans and the Soviets have carved up Britain between them after rescuing the country from the Nazis - and makes it come alive through sheer storytelling skill
—— Jake KerridgeStrange and haunting.
—— Robert Collins , ProspectArguably his best…. A must-read
—— Victoria Moore , Daily MailStunningly simple and profound.
—— Will Gore , Catholic HeraldThe strength of this masterly novel is that it illuminates without pretending to explicate.
—— Ronan Farren , Belfast Telegraph MorningIt’s signature Amis at his most inventive, and it is through…inspired and irreverent fluency that his dead-serious purpose is realized.
—— Tova Reich , Washington PostMost fiction would break under the weight of so much self-reflection, but The Zone of Interest does not even bend... Deft, ironic and horribly funny... A brilliantly believable account of an episode which is beyond belief.
—— Frances Wilson , OldieThe Zone of Interest succeeds because in it Amis is seriously funny - that is to say, funny for serious purposes.
—— Ben Cooke , Cherwell NewspaperMartin Amis’s best novel in years
—— Ian Rankin , GuardianIt’s a brilliant feat of imagination and chutzpah.
—— Viv Groskop , ObserverIs the Holocaust a fit subject for fiction? … The only proper response is to read this remarkable, deeply disturbing and quite original novel.
—— Alan Taylor , HeraldMartin Amis’s The Zone of Interest achieved the near impossible, confounding his detractors with this horrifying glimpse into the heard of Nazi darkness.
—— Bert Wright , Irish TimesThe Zone of Interest is Amis at his boldest and best.
—— Allan Massie , ScotsmanWhat would be otherwise be light entertainment…becomes sinister and strange, warped by the enormous atrocities happening just offstage.
—— Lev Grossman and Radhika Jones , Time MagazineMartin Amis’s best novel in years.
—— Ian Rankin , Guardian WeeklyIt is always hard to read factual material about the Holocaust but in fiction Amis has shined a light into this darkness which offers no answers but is still profoundly moving.
—— Richard Jaffa , Birmingham Jewish RecorderIt was very, very good.
—— Joseph Connolly , LadyI think everyone should read it – it is so horrific.
—— Kirsty Wark , LadyA well-received return to form
—— Charlotte Heathcote , Daily ExpressAstonishingly bold novel… [It] is Amis’s best work in years
—— Mail on SundayAmis’s best work since Money
—— Richard Susskind , The Times