Customer Reviews

Tears of Mermaids: The Secret Story of Pearls

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First let me say I was a bit put-off by Mr. Bloom's prose style. He is without a doubt an elegant writer, but the glib-gonzo style, which is ok in a short piece, rapidly gets under the skin when stretched out to book length.

Mr. Bloom is a journalist and though journalists are not expected to necessarily be experts on the subjects the write about, they do have a responsibility to thoroughly research the topic and get it right. There are times when Bloom does, but there are times when he does not.

His first and most egregious error occurs in his introduction. "Pearl pricing", he says, "is totally subjective ...The same strand can go for three thousand dollars or thirty thousand dollars." Nonsense! Oh yes, there is a fool born every minute, but the fact is that pearls trade in a fairly orderly market. So, absent the fool, no such gap between bid and ask prices exists (or the buyer would be soon out of business). Bloom would have been correct if he had said that there is no universally accepted hierarchical grading nomenclature. That is to say, one dealer may call the finest pearls "AAA", while another may simply start with a single "A". However the basic criteria: size, symmetry, surface, luster, orient and overtone are universal and used by all.

Bloom's statements about the people he meets in his travels say a great deal more about Mr. Bloom than they do about his sources. For example, early in the book he meets a survey group, including the celebrated former National Geographic writer Fred Ward who "seemed too important to have anything to do with me." Well, I am familiar with that group and they have one afternoon in which to survey an entire gem show full of pearl dealers. Could it be that Ward was simply focused on his work? Given the book's stated objective, one wonders why his Chapter 5, The Rana of Fresno, was included at all. Bloom takes such obvious pleasure in exposing the foibles, real and imagined, of his sources that, at times, it is difficult to tell if he is truly writing a book about pearls or just an extended gossip column.

Bloom's comparison between the pearl and cocaine trade is unfortunate, as are the constant inferences that the pearl trade, and pearl dealers in general, are really quite sleazy. Bloom spends a page and a half justifying the cocaine comparison, finally admitting that "the biggest difference is that the possession of pearls is legal." Cocaine is sold by neighborhood dealers and pearls by local jewelers, hey, no difference there! He might also have mentioned that unlike cocaine, pearls are not reduced in purity at every step along the distribution pipeline, and do not destroy the life of the purchaser-- but that would have ruined the riff.

The above issues aside, there is much of value in Bloom's book. Few have the opportunity to spend so much time trying to understand this old and arcane industry. Bloom's first chapter, covering the history of pearls from the time of Columbus, is well researched and provocative. Interesting as well is his chapter on life as a deckhand on a Pearl boat off the Australian coast, though his attempt to capture the Australian argot is ludicrous and his contempt for the working sailors palpable. Yeah Stephen, having been a deckie, I kin tell yuz dat is ezakly the way sailors are "supposed to talk."

His chapter on pearl trading in Hong Kong is excellent as is his description of diving off the Jewelmer pearl farm. A looming environmental catastrophe in the Philippines and his last two chapters about his visit to the island of Cubagua (where it all began) are thoughtful and poignant. Had he spent more words discussing real issues of this sort and less time lampooning the hard working people who made his book possible (I am one of those local jewelers), I would have enjoyed it a good deal more.

Richard W. Wise, author: The French Blue

TEARS OF MERMAIDS is a detective story, an adventure story,and a primer for those of us wanting to know what is meant by a "natural" pearl, a "cultured" pearl and a "freshwater" pearl. Spurred on by the childhood vision of his mother's pearl necklace, Stephen Bloom traveled 30,000 miles to unravel the secret story of pearls, a story chock-full of greed, cruelty, mystery and breathtaking beauty. Coincidentally, just as I finished reading TEARS, I found a circa 1936 photograph of my mother wearing a black dress and a stunning double-strand of what appeared to be perfectly matched akoya pearls. Wow! I had never seen those pearls before. Where did she get them? She grew up with modest means in a small rural town. And, suddenly, like Bloom, I was mesmerized by the pearls. Now, I have begun my own journey, unraveling the secret of my mother's pearls.

Do I own pearls, no. Did I care to -- before I started reading Tears, no. Do I love a great thriller especially when it is true, absolutely. I am a huge fan of Mark Kurlansky, especially COD and was utterly fascinated by the film, THE RED VIOLIN which followed one Stradivarius over continents and centuries. Well, Stephen Bloom has the gift. Like a great journalist, he knows how to listen, he has tenacity, he is fearless in travel, and he in an astonishing storyteller. From Las Vegas, to Japan, he China, to Australia he goes in search of pearl divers, pearl farmers, pearl sellers of every variety from the wholesalers to the internet sellers. He wants to be on the inside, to talk with the movers and shakers in the pearl world and he achieves that incredible sense of intimacy, like you are learning someone no-one else knows. When we, mankind, from the time of Columbus, used up oyster beds and divers, thoughtlessly, viciously, we moved on to mass production and made it our business to make pearls available to everyone, everywhere. You thought pearls grew, one by excruciating one at a time, in oysters? When the oysters couldn't survive the growing pollution of their waters, we discovered that mussels thrived. And, now, the Chinese are growing dozens of pearls in a single mussel -- BY THE THOUSANDS. The pearls are getting bigger, rounder, more translucent. Do I now want pearls, absolutely. I am seduced by Bloom's passion, by his compelling story of...surprise! ...greed all spurred on by the exquisite beauty of the pearl. Buy this book and then lets get Bloom to create a two week world-wind pearl tour in which we ultimately pay our way by buying and then selling (well maybe we'll have to keep some) pearls...tahitian, golden, akoya, freshwater,cultured....

I looked forward to this book, but was disappointed. There were continuous inaccuracies that will be accepted as fact by people who are not pearl experts - a great shame. The book also has plentiful and annoying typos that could have easily been caught with a simple spell-check -- where was the editor? Errors aside, the book was tedious and lacked any kind of forward movement.

The initial charm of the author's love of pearls was soon buried under the weight of his insulting questioning of (and outrageous assumptions about) the most important people in the pearl industry. Especially cringe-worthy were his exchanges with the proud and sensitive Japanese pearlers.

The cover artwork is outstanding, which makes the absence of photographs confusing in a book that covers a global trek.

I have greatly enjoyed Stephen Bloom's previous books. With Postville and The Oxford Project, Bloom presented very different insights into his skills as an author and journalist. In Tears of Mermaids, Bloom shows us that he is a great travel writer as well. This is not your typical microhistory: it is also a travelogue in which the author takes us with him on his journey across the world in pursuit of the people and places that produce this single special gem. In the process, you are treated to Bloom's wry sense of humor as well those incisive observations that make us feel like we are sharing in the experience. As usual, Bloom pulls no punches. This is journalism at its best by a writer who is at the peak of his form.

Stephen Bloom nailed this. A story of his love affair with pearls and the voyage he took to learn and uncover the mystery of "pearl world". Humble pearl farmers and egotistical pearl barons come to life and allowed him entry into their business affairs. He compares cultured pearl production, harvesting, distribution and the selling of pearls, to cocaine dealers throughout the world. This book is timeless and will always remain a great read.

If you ever wondered where your string of pearls started before it ended up around your neck, this is the book to read. It has been years since someone actually wrote about the pearl industry. Now Bloom takes you behind the scenes to look at the pearl farms in China, pearl auctions in Hong Kong, pearl brokers in Asia and in the hi tech world online. It ends with an auction at Christie's for the most expensive pearl ever sold. There is a lot of pearl history and trivia packed into this travel journal memoir, and it is definitely worth a read by those fascinated by pearls.

Please note there are no illustrations or pictures in this book except the strand of pearls on the cover.

I work in a Library and someone asked me about pearls. I had seen Tears of Mermaids come through the department and decided to read it, and ended up purchasing my own copy. As most women, I love pearls but did not know their story. This book was amazing and opened a whole new genre for me. I am now a pearl collector now having just returned from the pearl farm in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. The book was an extraordinary read, a dedicated research and you will never look at another pearl without wonder!

Stephen G. Bloom's "Tears of Mermaids" is a spellbinding journey through the world of pearls. Bloom is a born story teller and the reader is transported from the depths of the sea to pearl farms of the Pacific to sales venues round the world, and, ultimately, to appreciative purchasers. Although there are neither photos nor detailed biological descriptions of the bivalves that produce the treasures, there are detailed descriptions of the process of producing pearls and the people involved. This book is an adventure, leaving the reader to wonder who would play Bloom in a movie. My vote would be for Sean Connery, the original James Bond.

I've never much liked pearls, even though they are my birthstone, and I love gems and jewelry. I searched for a book that really told me something about the way pearls are farmed and how they get to us. "Tears of Mermaids" showed several locations and raised many questions about the fairness of "free trade." These questions are more interesting when a specific luxury item is examined closely. I enjoyed Stephen Bloom's "Tears of Mermaids" very much.
The production of the book is surprisingly poor, however. My trade paperback copy had pages that tore easily, the cover was barely thicker, and there are many typographical errors.
In comparison to other books on gems that I have read, this topic is sadly lacking because there are no maps or photographs included. This book had potential for a very beautiful copy, but St. Martin's Press did it cheaply.
Over and above the little problems, I enjoyed Bloom's story, and found a new interest in pearls, as the June birthstone, and as the production of the people that Stephen Bloom met and interviewed for this comprehensive book.