An Odd Moment in Hanoi

I was strolling around Lake Hoan Kien which is a lovely place (see photo below) but you can’t avoid being swarmed by postcard sellers, etc., while being there because it is a big tourist spot. I had ignored the usual suspects calling out “postcard, postcard” and “motorbike, motorbike” (if you want to pay for a ride somewhere) but I was caught offguard by a young man selling books. Although he could barely speak English he was offering to sell me a copy of (very clearly enunciated) “The Quiiiiet Americaaan by Mister Graham Greene”.

I looked at the book, and it was a brand spanking new Penguin edition. I was tempted. But it felt like such a cliche to buy that book in Indochina. So I passed. But I think I’ll always hear that young man’s voice saying “The Quiiiiet Americaaan by Mister Graham Greene”.