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Shanghai Girls - Lisa See
Shanghai Girls
by: (author)
3.59 520
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... show more
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.From the Hardcover edition.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN: 9781400067114 (1400067111)
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Pages no: 309
Edition language: English
Series: Shanghai Girls (#1)
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Community Reviews
reading4fun
reading4fun rated it
0.0 Shanghaied
I would recommend this novel to anyone that wants to be entertained and enlightened at the same time. I would like to thank GoodReads for giving me the opportunity to enjoy Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, which in no way skewed my assessment of the book. I was completely taken aback at the amount of kno...
An Un-Calibrated Centrifuge
An Un-Calibrated Centrifuge rated it
0.0 Shanghai Girls
I didn't really read this book. I got about 10 pages in before I started thinking about Lisa See. She's mostly white and she's 1/8 Chinese. I wanted to see if she ever discusses her white privilege and shocker there's nothing out there that I can find where she does. Just some things about how she...
Sorry kids, no feet.
Sorry kids, no feet. rated it
4.0 Shanghai Girls
I found myself so engrossed in this book that I actually had to lock myself in my bathroom and sit in an empty bathtub to finish it. How else do you think a mother with three small children gets any reading done? Was it worth the mental anguish my children will later have to work through in therapy?...
Steeped in Science, Submersed in Story
Steeped in Science, Submersed in Story rated it
3.0 Shanghai Girls
This book grew on me. At 50 pages in, I was ready to put it down and forget it. But that's roughly where it actually got started. It delved deeper into May and Pearl's culture, their personalities, and their relationship as the book evolved and I liked them both better and better as I read. Ther...
Great Imaginations
Great Imaginations rated it
3.0 Shanghai Girls
Just after finishing writing a review for another Asian fiction novel that I felt very ho hum about, I am reminded again of why Lisa See is one of the strongest writers in the genre out there. Shanghai Girls will not go down as one of my favorite Asian fiction novels by any means, but it is a very s...
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