Home Quote by Tatjana Soli
““Helen's Saigon had always been about selling - chickens, information, or lovely young women, it didn't matter. It had once been called the Pearl of the Orient, but by people who had not been there in a very long time. Saigon had never been Paris, but now it was a garrison town, unlovely, a stinking refugee shantyville filled with the angry, the betrayed, the dispossessed, but she had made it her home, and she couldn't bear that soon she would have to leave.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Saigon: A Novel by Tatjana Soli, 2013
The city is depicted as a place of exploitation and decay, yet the narrator finds personal attachment despite its harshness.
In simple terms: Saigon is both corrupt and home to the narrator.
Key Takeaway
Accept love for a place while confronting its flaws.
Themes
attachment
place
disillusionment
survival
identity
Mood
melancholy
reflective
bittersweet
Type
literary
reflective
critical
When to use this quote
- war reporting
- personal memoir
- urban exploration
Key Concepts
urban decay
colonialism
refugee experience
Questions to Reflect On
- What does it mean to love a place that harms you?
- How can one reconcile personal attachment with moral judgment?
A Different Perspective
The romanticization of a place can blind one to its suffering.
![“One book that I heard was circulating the Green Zone was "Bureaucracy Does Its Thing" by Robert Komer , who worked for President [Lindon] Johnson in Saigon. This book is about the inevitably of screwing up when a country takes on a war with so little understanding of the country they are fighting.” quote by George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/49e/george-packer-2917_book_one-book-that-i-heard-was-circulating-th_474756.jpg)
![“No matter that they had been together for years, always a feeling of formality when they first saw each other again, even if the separation had been only hours. It had something to do with the attention [he] paid to her – the fact that he never took anyone’s return for granted.” quote by Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ebc/tatjana-soli-16563_appreciation_no-matter-that-they-had-been-together-fo_555270.jpg)
![“I don't like being away from home. That's one reason why I don't work as much as I used to [when I started my career], because so many things are on the road. I just don't want to be away from my husband, my dogs and my home. I don't sing that much any more because that also takes you on the road.” quote by Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/07c/jane-powell-36243_away_i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s_278.jpg)
