--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Helen's Saigon had always been about…" description: "\"“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 th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/tatjana-soli-16563_home_helen-s-saigon-had-always-been-about-sel_375618.png" --- # Helen's Saigon had always been about selling - chickens… ![“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…” quote by Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/tatjana-soli-16563_home_helen-s-saigon-had-always-been-about-sel_375618.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/tatjana-soli-16563_home_helen-s-saigon-had-always-been-about-sel_375618.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33c/tatjana-soli-16563_home_helen-s-saigon-had-always-been-about-sel_375618.png) > ““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.”” [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Saigon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saigon/) ## Related quotes > [“Saigon was loved precisely because it was so unlovable - its squalor, its biblical, Job-like misfortune, its imminent, hoevering doom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/saigon-was-loved-precisely-because-it-was-so-unlovable-its-squalor/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [A first novel of astonishing force, craft and beauty, The Headmaster's Wager conjures up a dizzyingly evocative wartime Saigon in the story of Percival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-y-k-lee-2/a-first-novel-of-astonishing-force-craft-and-beauty-the-headmaster-s/) Janice Y. K. Lee > [Imagine that -- a country that's supposed to be a democracy, supposed to be for freedom and all of that kind of stuff when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/imagine-that-a-country-that-s-supposed-to-be-a-democracy-supposed-to/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“Every day when I walk the streets of this city, I am just that. I am an Indochinese laborer, generalized and indiscriminate, easily spotted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-truong/every-day-when-i-walk-the-streets-of-this-city-i-am-just-that-i-am-an/) [Monique Truong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-truong/) > [Nobody gives way to anybody. Everyone just angles, points, dives directly toward his destination, pretending it is an all-or-nothing gamble. People glare at one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-x-pham/nobody-gives-way-to-anybody-everyone-just-angles-points-dives/) [Andrew X. Pham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-x-pham/) > [Saigon is hot, full of atmosphere, activity, and commerce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-fraser/saigon-is-hot-full-of-atmosphere-activity-and-commerce/) [Brendan Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-fraser/) > [In the modern operas that 'Miss Saigon' and 'Les Miz' are, nobody breaks out into song from conventional book dialogue. Everything is sung from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lea-salonga/in-the-modern-operas-that-miss-saigon-and-les-miz-are-nobody-breaks/) [Lea Salonga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lea-salonga/) > [When helicopters were snatching people from the grounds of the American embassy compound during the panic of the final Vietcong push into Saigon, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-trillin/when-helicopters-were-snatching-people-from-the-grounds-of-the/) [Calvin Trillin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-trillin/) > [Saigon was an addicted city, and we were the drug: the corruption of children, the mutilation of young men, the prostitution of women, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/saigon-was-an-addicted-city-and-we-were-the-drug-the-corruption-of/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [The International Control Commission isn't doing anything, it's never done anything. What good does it do to be on it or not? Before opening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/the-international-control-commission-isn-t-doing-anything-it-s-never/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [Saigon, U.S.A. aptly documents the birth of a new American community, uprooted in the aftermath of war and forever torn apart by the wounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nguyen-qui-duc/saigon-u-s-a-aptly-documents-the-birth-of-a-new-american-community/) Nguyen Qui Duc > [ One book that I heard was circulating the Green Zone was "Bureaucracy Does Its Thing" by Robert Komer , who worked for President \[Lindon\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/one-book-that-i-heard-was-circulating-the-green-zone-was-bureaucracy/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [“When I crawled down the rabbit hole into the pivotal event of my life--indeed the pivotal event of my generation--to write "Escape from Saigon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-pirozzolo/when-i-crawled-down-the-rabbit-hole-into-the-pivotal-event-of-my-life/) Dick Pirozzolo > ['Miss Saigon' was my first professional show. It was one of the first regional productions of 'Miss Saigon.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-donnell/miss-saigon-was-my-first-professional-show-it-was-one-of-the-first/) [Colin Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-donnell/) > [I took some voice lessons here and there as a teenager but nothing too serious. I started taking it more seriously when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lea-salonga/i-took-some-voice-lessons-here-and-there-as-a-teenager-but-nothing/) [Lea Salonga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lea-salonga/) ## More by Tatjana Soli > [“..hard to trust that after so much had been taken, so much could still be received.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/hard-to-trust-that-after-so-much-had-been-taken-so-much-could-still/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [“But now she did belong to the ravaged city - her frame grown gaunt, her shoulders hunched from tiredness, the bone-sharp jaw line that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/but-now-she-did-belong-to-the-ravaged-city-her-frame-grown-gaunt-her/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [Why did someone fall in love with you because you are one thing and then want you to be something else?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/why-did-someone-fall-in-love-with-you-because-you-are-one-thing-and/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [“Until then she had been blind, but when she saw those mountains, she slipped beneath the surface of the war and found the country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/until-then-she-had-been-blind-but-when-she-saw-those-mountains-she/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [“Too many heroes in my life. All gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/too-many-heroes-in-my-life-all-gone/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [“No matter that they had been together for years, always a feeling of formality when they first saw each other again, even if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/no-matter-that-they-had-been-together-for-years-always-a-feeling-of/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [“Clear now that she was as dependent as any addict on the drug of the war. He had underestimated the damage in her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/clear-now-that-she-was-as-dependent-as-any-addict-on-the-drug-of-the/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [“It had always fascinated her - what happens when things break down, what are the basic units of life?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/it-had-always-fascinated-her-what-happens-when-things-break-down-what/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [“This is what happened when one left one's home - pieces of oneself scattered all over the world, no one place ever completely satisfied,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/this-is-what-happened-when-one-left-one-s-home-pieces-of-oneself/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [“Something had broken inside her. No past or future, no sense of time, each day as endless as it was to a child. Linh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/something-had-broken-inside-her-no-past-or-future-no-sense-of-time/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [Sometimes you have to fulfill a promise in order to deserve the love you're given.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/sometimes-you-have-to-fulfill-a-promise-in-order-to-deserve-the-love/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [What was the point of living through history if you didn't record it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/what-was-the-point-of-living-through-history-if-you-didn-t-record-it/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [“One fell in love with geography through people, and when the people were gone, the most beloved place turned cool and impersonal. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/one-fell-in-love-with-geography-through-people-and-when-the-people/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [“Saigon in utter darkness this last night of the war. A gestating monster. Her letter to Linh had been simple: I love you more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/saigon-in-utter-darkness-this-last-night-of-the-war-a-gestating/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) > [“Before, there had been this small, shiny thing inside her that kept her immune from what was happening, and now she knew it had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-soli/before-there-had-been-this-small-shiny-thing-inside-her-that-kept-her/) [Tatjana Soli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) [Explore all 39 Tatjana Soli quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-soli/) ## More Home quotes > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-powell/i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s-one-reason-why-i-don-t-work/) [Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-powell/) > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [If your life's at a juncture and you need to think about things, there's nowhere better than home. However old you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/if-your-life-s-at-a-juncture-and-you-need-to-think-about-things-there/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [Most days, I go home and I feel rejuvenated. I feel ebullient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/most-days-i-go-home-and-i-feel-rejuvenated-i-feel-ebullient/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. 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