Seasons of the Pearl

About the Book

The Oriental Pearl is a bistro in Saigon during the peak American years of the war. Historically, Saigon has been known as the pearl of the orient, prompting the name of the tiny establishment. The Pearl is a bar where Americans frequent at the end of their day to wash down the military atmosphere they have endured for so many long hours. A place to help wind down the one-year tour to which most of them are obligated. Even though Saigon was thought of as a fairly safe haven during the war years, that one year was a long time to the GIs, the press corps, and other foreigners in a land plagued by daily conflict. These folks make the one-year processions through these swinging doors, finding new friends in each other and in the pretty young Vietnamese ladies who are known as the Saigon bargirls.

Some of those bars are a bit rough around the edges and at times nearly as perilous as the enemy jungles around the city. The Oriental Pearl is different. It is a fun place with customers and bargirls sharing a mutual respect and friendship. It is where Sammy and Bugs found humor in a war. Others like Clark and Stick were part of the humor in that war. Tag and Savannah even found love in the same war. Mimi, Jade, and the other ladies will make you laugh with their Pidgin English and unique views on life. Honey, who is the first to let you know that she is not a bargirl, will charm you with her near grasp of the English language. And who cannot help but love Lan, the singer, and her manner of telling historic tales of old Vietnam?

Others will drift in and out of the Oriental Pearl bringing with them a whole gamut of emotions from joy to pathos. Enjoying Seasons of the Pearl is to experience an odd year in the lives of a dozen or so diverse characters. But experience it you will, within the pages of this unusual look at an almost forgotten time in our history. It was a time of tears and sadness but the Pearl people will mostly make you laugh.

About the Author

Gary Riedel is a former Military Intelligence Technician who lived and worked for many years in Southeast Asia. After graduating from the Department of Defense Foreign Language Institute in Monterey, California, he arrived in Vietnam for the first time in 1968. Gary now lives in Southern, California, where he is working on his second novel.