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Review
“See is a gifted writer, and in Shanghai Girls she again explores the bonds of sisterhood while powerfully evoking the often nightmarish American immigrant experience.”—USA Today
“A buoyant and lustrous paean to the bonds of sisterhood.”–Booklist
“A rich work…as compulsively readable as it is an enlightening journey.”—Denver Post
“The glamour of prewar Shanghai is recalled in Lisa See’s deftly plotted Shanghai Girls.”—Vogue
“Splendid”—More
“An engrossing tale of two sisters.”–Time.com
“Shanghai Girls is one of those books I could not wait to continue reading, because her characters' stories are so compellingly told.”—St. Louis Dispatch
“As in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love, she has in her latest novel created ordinary women who, through willfulness and resiliency, accomplish extraordinary things…See, whose writing is as graceful as these '’beautiful girls,'’ pulls off another exceptional novel.”–Miami Herald
From the Hardcover edition.
“A buoyant and lustrous paean to the bonds of sisterhood.”–Booklist
“A rich work…as compulsively readable as it is an enlightening journey.”—Denver Post
“The glamour of prewar Shanghai is recalled in Lisa See’s deftly plotted Shanghai Girls.”—Vogue
“Splendid”—More
“An engrossing tale of two sisters.”–Time.com
“Shanghai Girls is one of those books I could not wait to continue reading, because her characters' stories are so compellingly told.”—St. Louis Dispatch
“As in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love, she has in her latest novel created ordinary women who, through willfulness and resiliency, accomplish extraordinary things…See, whose writing is as graceful as these '’beautiful girls,'’ pulls off another exceptional novel.”–Miami Herald
From the Hardcover edition.
Book Description
In 1937 Shanghai—the Paris of Asia—twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree—until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth. To repay his debts, he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from Los Angeles to find Chinese brides. As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, from the Chinese countryside to the shores of America. Though inseparable best friends, the sisters also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. Along the way they make terrible sacrifices, face 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.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Learning about China,
By
This review is from: Shanghai Girls: A Novel (Hardcover)
About a year ago, I started to listen to audiobooks as another way to "read" more. The selections I usually make in this category are books that I think are probably really good but that might take a bit more effort to read. That it, they are of a subject matter of which I know little, are really thick, and so on. Shanghai Girls is about two girls living a wonderful life in Shanghai before their father gambles away their futures and they enter into arranged marriages and move to the United States. I learned a great deal about China and the Chinese way of life and experience of moving to America in this book. The story itself was very, very good. I was engaged right from the very beginning to the end - and, in the end, I wanted more. I don't know that there will be a sequel of any sort, but there is still a lot more story that could be told. I really enjoyed the writing style - the story just seemed to flow with the right amount of detail while, at other times, longer periods of time could be covered more quickly. I will definitely seek out other books by this author to learn more about China and a Chinese experience of which I know very little.
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Bonds Between Sisters Lasts a Lifetime.,
By Tamara_El "Tamara Elizabeth - Master Motivato... (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Shanghai Girls: A Novel (Paperback)
Lisa See writes a compelling book set in 1937 Shanghai. It follow the lives of two sister and their interactions between each other. It chronicles the journey of Pearl and May they set out from the country side of China to the shores of America. It describes how they survive the invasion of the Japanese and their subsequent journey to America as purchased brides - repayment to their father's creditors for gambling debts. If being sisters was not challenging enough then throw into the pot, petty jealously, rivalries, sacrifices, impossible choices an devastating life-changing secrets.Through everything they face, one thing is for certain, their love and deep bond to each other.Ms. See shows the sisterly love can survive almost anything - even death. The power of this love gets even the most down trodden through her greatest challenges. I enjoyed the dynamics written in these pages and took solace that a sister's love is out there since my sister and I rarely see each other. Beautiful story, beautifully written. I look forward to reading more of Ms. See's work.
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Binds That Tie Sisters,
By
This review is from: Shanghai Girls: A Novel (Paperback)
Reason for Reading: I absolutely love Chinese historical fiction that takes place during the reign of the last empress through Mao's Cultural Revolution. I'll read other Chinese time periods but this era is absolutely fascinating to me. This book is perfectly situated starting with the Japanese invasion of China and ending with the first years of Mao's rule.This is a generational drama which tells the story of one family and then two families as they become connected by marriage. The focus is on two sisters three years apart in age who, though very different in looks and temperaments are very close, and through all the hardships, tragedies, horrors and sufferings never part from each other. They are sold off as wives to a rich man's sons to pay off their father's gambling debts which have left his family destitute. However, with the invasion of the Japanese the girl's never make it to the ship to America with their new husbands. Instead they and their mother are left to escape Shanghai on their own and seek out a place where they may be safe from the rapacious Japanese. This part of the story is my favourite as it takes place during my favourite time period, the war and the Japanese atrocities in China at the time. The author has written a compelling and terrifying story for these three women, which many others will have experienced similar stories in real life at this time. The closeness between the sisters is bonded and solidified here and they realize the strength and love of their old-fashioned foot bound mother they never knew existed. As the story moves to America there are many secrets, lies and betrayals hidden in almost every member of the new family's life: Pearl and May, their husbands, their father-in-law (Old Man Louis) and mother-in-law (Yen Yen) and well as the three Uncles. All living together, except the uncles, who live nearby, it would seem hard for so many secrets to exist but they have become the essence of life. Pearl and May have different experiences now and different routes to follows and while envy and jealousy creep up on both parts they never loose their strong ties that bind them together. A wonderful story, full of tragedy and both bittersweet and familial love. Lisa See's writing is reminiscent of Amy Tan but her topic and sense for tragedy are more in line with Pearl Buck's work. Since I've read all of the latter authors' works I think I've found myself an author to fill their place in my reading. A sequel to this book is available this month, Dreams of Joy, but I think I will go back and read some of See's earlier works first.
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