Shanghai Girls

I picked up this book primarily because I plan to travel to China next month, and one of the places I am going to visit is Shanghai. So, I thought I’d pick up a little knowledge of Shanghai and some of the local atmosphere as some advance prep before the trip.

About the Book

Pearl and May are sisters, living carefree lives in Shanghai, the Paris of Asia. But when Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, they 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.

~ Synopsis from goodreads

My Review

This is the second Lisa See novel I have read. The first was Peony in Love, which I liked, but something about the writing style didn’t resonate with me. And so I didn’t pick another Lisa See book afterward.

But then I saw Shanghai Girls and fell in love with the book’s cover and blurb. I read this book over the space of a weekend and loved pretty much most of it.

Historical accuracy

The book opens in Shanghai, where our two sisters – Pearl and May- live a beautiful life. Unfortunately, wartime looms, and soon both girls are forced to take a harrowing journey out of China and into the United States.

I love a good historical novel, and this one is excellent. Shanghai in the 1930s seems to have been a fantastic and cosmopolitan place, and I loved reading all about their very Jazz-era-type lifestyles. When they move to the USA, they are forced to stay at Angel Island (another point of interest as I did a fascinating tour of the place once), where they waited while their papers got processed.

I loved learning about Angel Island, about paper sons and paper partners, about having to prove you are not a Communist when everyone is suspect. Some of this I already knew, but some was a surprise. The racial bigotry was, sadly, not.

They struggle to adjust to life in the United States, and just when it feels like they have settled in, the rug is pulled away from underneath them.

Characters

I loved practically everyone in the novel. Lisa See has a knack for making me see things from the point of view of even the most unsympathetic person.

I loved how she describes the two sisters (and the secondary characters) using Chinese astrology to describe their natures. Pearl is a dragon, and May is a sheep. This style of describing the characters perked my interest. I am a dragon, and so automatically was invested in Pearl’s character.

The relationship between Pearl and May is rough – very up and down. But in the end, they always try to stick to each other.

This is especially true of May. I found her to be the most selfish person throughout the book. She spent all her time on her career and fun leaving Pearl to look after May’s husband and daughter. On the other hand, Pearl is very self-sacrificing, a martyr – prone to gloom and depression.

My favorite characters were a pleasant surprise. I found myself loving Sam and Vern (Pearl and May’s husbands) and their in-laws. All these people are positioned as unpleasant (and possibly evil) at the beginning of the book. So, it was nice to see them slowly unfold as three-dimensional characters throughout the novel.

Plot

The story is pretty fast-paced and engaging. The book spans two decades, and so in between, it felt like See was rushing through the book.

Still, I didn’t mind it much overall, except the ending, which seemed to come out of the left field. While writing this review, I realized there’s a sequel to Dreams of Joy, which continues the story that ended so suddenly here. Once I knew that I didn’t mind this abrupt ending too much.

Last Thoughts

Overall, this book was a big hit for me. I loved the historical settings and the insights into Chinese history and culture and mid-century American life. I’m not so sure that I liked it enough to go pick up the sequel, though, immediately.

What do you think? Have you read this book? Do you recommend the sequel?