Shanghai Girls: A Novel

Overview

In 1937, Shanghai is the Paris of Asia, a city of great wealth and glamour, the home of millionaires and beggars, gangsters and gamblers, patriots and revolutionaries, artists and warlords. Thanks to the financial security and material comforts provided by their father's prosperous rickshaw business, twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Though both sisters wave off authority and tradition, they couldn't be more different: Pearl is a Dragon sign, strong and stubborn, while May is a true Sheep, adorable and placid. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree . . . until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth and that in order to repay his debts he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from California to find Chinese brides.

As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, one that will take them through the Chinese countryside, in and out of the clutch of brutal soldiers, and across the Pacific to the shores of America. In Los Angeles they begin a fresh chapter, trying to find love with the strangers they have married, brushing against the seduction of Hollywood, and striving to embrace American life even as they fight against discrimination, brave Communist witch hunts, and find themselves hemmed in by Chinatown's old ways and rules.

At its heart, Shanghai Girls is a story of sisters: Pearl and May are inseparable best friends who share hopes, dreams, and a deep connection, but like sisters everywhere they also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. They love each other, but each knows exactly where to drive the knife to hurt the other the most. Along the way they face terrible sacrifices, make impossible choices, and confront a devastating, life-changing secret, but through it all the two heroines of this astounding new novel hold fast to who they are-Shanghai girls.

Editorial Reviews

See (Peony in Love) explores tradition, the ravages of war and the importance of family in her excellent latest. Pearl and her younger sister, May, enjoy an upper-crust life in 1930s Shanghai, until their father reveals that his gambling habit has decimated the family's finances and to make good on his debts, he has sold both girls to a wealthy Chinese-American as wives for his sons. Pearl and May have no intention of leaving home, but after Japanese bombs and soldiers ravage their city and both their parents disappear, the sisters head for California, where their husbands-to-be live and where it soon becomes apparent that one of them is hiding a secret that will alter each of their fates. As they adjust to marriage with strangers and the challenges of living in a foreign land, Pearl and May learn that long-established customs can provide comfort in unbearable times. See's skillful plotting and richly drawn characters immediately draw in the reader, covering 20 years of love, loss, heartbreak and joy while delivering a sobering history lesson. While the ending is ambiguous, this is an accomplished and absorbing novel. (June)

Copyright (c) Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Author Information

Bio of Lisa See

Lisa See is the author of Flower Net (an Edgar Award nominee), The Interior, and Dragon Bones, as well as the critically acclaimed memoir On Gold Mountain. The Organization of Chinese American Women named her the 2001 National Woman of the Year. She lives in Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews

• a great read!

  Posted June 05, 2009 by Judy, Kenora

  This book is well worth reading...I couldn't put it down as I needed to know what happened to the girls in this turbulent time of change. Not only do you get to read a very good story, you come away with a greater knowledge of many historical facts and customs relevant to the countries and time.

• Fascinating story of family

  Posted June 23, 2009 by Debbie, Los Angeles

  A riveting story about two sisters and their physical and emotional journey from Shanhai to Los Angeles. See creates characters and relationships that are complex and relatable. Her writing is so descriptive that you can see, hear, smell, and taste wherever she takes you, from the dance clubs of Shanghai to the streets of Chinatown to a cramped apartment for seven. A beautiful book about Beautiful Girls.
  

• Perfect for "Memoirs of a Geisha" fans.

  Posted August 14, 2009 by Tiffany P, Lexington, KY

  Short read, but very enjoyable. I learned a lot about Chinese culture during this time period.

• really enjoyable

  Posted October 21, 2009 by luluplus6, Alamogordo

  I had a hard time putting this book down. I look forward to reading other books by Lisa See.

• Awesome, fabulous, couldn't put it down!

  Posted November 06, 2009 by Betsy, Columbus

  I absolutely loved it. If you liked Memoirs of a Geisha, you'll like this too.

Additional Info

Imprint

Random House

Filesize

1.84 MB

Number of Pages

528

eBook ISBN

9781588368607