The Chieu Hoi Saloon

Overview

An emotionally scarred reporter searches for clarity in unlikely places

Set against the backdrop of the riots sparked by the beating of African American motorist Rodney King, Vietnam vet and reporter Harry Hudson wanders the city to forget his troubled past. Trying to cope with the posttraumatic stress disorder that has plagued him since his military tour, the overweight, depressed, and sex-obsessed Hudson stumbles through the underbelly of South Central LA, where he meets Mama Thuy, a Vietnamese woman struggling to run a Navy bar in a tough Long Beach neighborhood, and Kelly Crenshaw, an African American prostitute whose husband is in prison. As both women give Hudson a new outlook on life and faith, he discovers the shared humanity of all members of society. Suspenseful and thrilling, this noir-style novel is also a detailed character study of victims of racial, social, and economical tensions.

Reviews

“Harris manages an amazing and transforming affirmation—the novel floats above all its pain on pure delight in the variety of the human condition. . . . In an age less obsessed by sentimentality and mawkish 'uplift,' this book would be studied and celebrated and emulated.” —John Shannon, author, The Taking of the Waters

“In this powerful and compelling first novel, Harris makes roses bloom in the gray underworld of porno shops, bars, and brothels by compassionately revealing the yearning loneliness beneath the grime—our universal human loneliness that seeks transcendence through love.” —Paula Huston, author, Daughters of Song and The Holy Way

“Hardcore and unsparing, the story takes you on a ride. . . . One sweet read.“ —Gary Phillips, author, The Jook

“Michael Harris is one of those rare beings: a natural writer, with insight, sensitivity and enviable talent.” —Charlotte Vale Allen, author, Daddy's Girl and Mood Indigo

"It has been a very long time since a novel kept me up all night. This one did." —San Bernardino Sun

"The novel’s fractured, incremental, stuttering form creates an organic momentum as eloquent as it is uncertain, like a peasant's bicycle built from spare parts gliding into gunfire." —Seattle Examiner

Author Biography

Michael Harris is a Vietnam veteran and a former reporter, editor, and book reviewer for West Coast newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times. He lives in Long Beach, California.