THIS IS A hybrid BOOK CLUB--JOIN US IN PERSON OR ONLINE VIA ZOOM

"(The late) Graham Greene’s 1955 novel The Quiet American fuses a murder mystery with a scathing critique of U.S involvement in 1950s Vietnamese politics in the midst of French occupation. The story is told from the perspective of Thomas Fowler, a British foreign correspondent reporting in Saigon. It touches on his friendship with CIA agent Alden Pyle, a young idealist sent by Washington to promote democracy. Things take a turn when Pyle falls for Fowler’s local mistress Phuong—a love triangle that can be read as a political parable of the struggle for power in Vietnam. When a bomb kills and injures locals at a cafe, Fowler is sure that Pyle was involved and becomes determined to stop him—and soon a detective is investigating Pyle’s murder.

"Upon publication, the novel was controversial for its depiction of the U.S., with some readers viewing it as anti-American. But the book was dubbed one of the BBC’s 100 Novels That Shaped Our World in 2022, and it was twice adapted for screen, in 1958 and 2002. The latter adaptation, by director Phillip Noyce, starred Brendan Fraser and Michael Caine as the American and the Brit, respectively, with the latter earning an Academy Award nomination."—Armani Syed for Time

Stop by the Reference Desk after the previous month’s meeting to pick up a copy of the title, or request it through the catalog HERE.  You are also welcome to acquire your own copy.

Supplemental Reading:

Wikipedia overview of the novel and background HERE.

Join us to watch the 2002 movie on Monday, November 17 at 1:00 pm. Register HERE.

Book Club Background:

Join us in person or online to look at the history of Mystery as a book genre.

It has been almost 200 years since the publication of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” and since then, mystery as a genre has exploded in form, length, language, and more. From The Lady in White, Wilkie Collins’ novel that is considered the first of the genre, through the serialized adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the Golden Age of Agatha Christie, the advent of noir, the rise of thrillers, romantic suspense, and an international cast of characters ranging from retired police officers to meddling sleuths, some famous twins, and armchair detectives.

TIME MAGAZINE PICKS THE 100 BEST MYSTERY NOVELS OF ALL TIME

Each month we might read an article, a short story, a book, or a selection from the same author or the same country. We’ll look at award winners and debut novelists, the standard bearers and the rule breakers. We may talk about movies and TV, too.  We’ll work our way through the decades, looking at similar themes, exotic settings, and recent innovations in a genre that is both familiar and new.

Some of the authors we’ll cover: Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, Mary Higgins Clark, Alexander McCall Smith, Jo Nesbo, and more!

Check out the recent Edgar Award winners HERE.

We’ll run this group as hybrid, so anyone can join. Please click below to register for the program the first time you wish to attend. Contact the Library at HERE to request the Zoom link. Returning readers do not need to register unless they need the Zoom link. You can choose in-person or Zoom each month, as it fits your schedule!

At the end of the day, the butler may have done it, but we’ll decide if he was justified!