Shanghai Girls

I learned a lot about prewar Shanghai, California's version of Ellis Island and the history of China Town in Los Angeles. Along the way this was a delightful story of two sisters love and competition and what life was like for the Chinese immigrants in the 30's and 40'a. It was a delightful book.

SHANGHAI GIRLS With every turn of my head, I would see this book! On the computer -- at the library -- in magazines -- at bookstores -- I finally decied to see what all of the hoop-la was about and picked it up at the library. WOW! Just absolutely WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! We meet two sisters, Pearl and May, from Shanghai. It's the l930's and these two sisters are modern Chinese girls. Their parents are old school; their word is LAW. Their mother even has the age-old tradition of bound feet. Pearl and May model and are known as 'beautiful girls'. Their pictures adorn calendars and posters. They live a privileged and charmed life. They have many clothes, purses, lots of make-up, a nice home, all the food they can eat and are pretty much able to party and do what they please. Maybe they are spoiled? Yes, they really are! Suddenly, their wonderful world comes crashing down around them. Their father has done a horrible injustice and has 'arranged' marriages for them. To make matters worse, their father is not the business man they thought he was. He is deeply indebted to some evil people. And to add salt to their wounds, Japan is invading China. The world as Pearl and May know it is crashing down around them -- literally. They make a harrowing escape from China Their journey is by foot and boat and is filled with agony, despair, and troubles. The sisters stick together through thick and thin. Somehow, they survive and end up in America. Getting into America is a long process, but they prevail. Life in America is not what they had dreamed, heard of, or thought it would be like. Life is hard and back-breaking. The sisters hook up with some people they know and their story continues. We travel with Pearl and May through the next twenty years. I do not want to spoil anyone's reading experience and adventures by giving away any information of what happens to these lovely ladies during this time period. I can tell you this about this superb book. It was fantastic! It was awesome! The action NEVER stops -- NEVER. I didn't even try to figure out what was going to happen to Pearl and May next, I just was kept in total suspense, totally absorbed by the written word. This is a MUST read for anyone who enjoys a story about family and family values. This is a MUST read for any history buff. The amount of research Ms. See put into this book is remarkable. I learned more about history during this time period than I ever did in school. This is a MUST read for anyone who enjoys a good historical novel filled with wonderful characters, mind-boggling events, action, and heart-warming love and strength. This book is highly recommended. I am thinking there may be a sequel; seems to me it is very possible. Thank you!! Pam

Lisa See has created a vivid tale about the lives of two Chinese sisters who are the toast of the town in their native Shanghai...touted as "beautiful girls," they are anything but the traditional Chinese women their parents would have them to be; rebellious, partying until the wee hours of the morning, and flaunting their Western style of dress Pearl and May are living a Chinese dream. Until the day the facade of their lives comes crashing down around them; they discover that their father is not at all wealthy and affluent....or at least, not anymore. He is actually indebted to another wealthy Chinese businessman...and the girls have been essentially "sold off"---via an arranged marriage to that man's sons--to satisfy those debts. Then the Japanese invade China....and Shanhai changes dramatically. And where Pearl and May were refusing to comply with their father's marital arrangements, they soon find themselves fleeing their homeland to the comparitively safe arms of their husbands. An amazing tale of the emigration of two Chinese women from their homeland, destination America....and of the significant challenges that they face when they arrive. This book was a learning journey for me...of the feelings that the Chinese and Japanese have towards one another, the institution of the Chinese family, in addition to different terms relating to one's citizenship (paper son, paper daughters). A fantastic literary treat. DYB

This is a story of two sisters, Pearl and May, who start out life in Shanghai. They are young and beautiful in 1937. They are models. They make money. They expect to marry for love one day. They have it all. Or so they think. However, unknown to them their father has gambled away the family money and to survive he has to sell his daughters to young American Chinese brothers who have come looking for brides. Actually, it's more like their father lost them to the young brother's father. Gambling, it's always been a disease. The girls go through with the marriage ceremony, but they don't get on the boat. They believe their lives will go on as usual, but the Japanese invade and to escape a fate worse than marriage to the unknown Americans, the girls escape China, go to America and begin their lives as wives. Their journey to Los Angeles, through San Francisco, is not an easy one and neither is their lives with their husbands. The life of an immigrant then was not an easy one and it'll put a strain on the relationship the sister's have, almost destroying it. Their life is nothing like they expected it to be. This book is not what I expected either. It's very good, a great story and sort of a history lesson as well. I couldn't put it down.

I'm a fan of Lisa See's two earlier novels, "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" and "Peony in Love", both of which were set in 19th and 17th century China respectively. In "Shanghai Girls", the author moves the setting of the novel to Shanghai and later to the US. Lisa See paints a vivid portrait of life in pre-World War II Shanghai and takes the reader on an unforgettable journey through the Japanese invasion of China and its aftermath. The protagonists in this novel are two sisters - Pearl and May. Pearl is the older sister, born in the auspicious Year of the Dragon, yet frowned upon by her Baba [father] who dislikes her tall appearance. Pearl is also educated, having completed college, and is proficient in a few languages and dialects. In contrast, younger sister May, born in the Year of the Sheep, is shorter yet lovely, and has only managed to complete high school. Yet, for all Pearl's accomplishments, it is May that is the apple of her parent's eyes, and uses this partiality to her advantage. Both sisters live a life of privilege, yet they work as 'beautiful girls' posing for pictures used in ads and posters and earn a good living. This may appear surprising given their parent's conservative outlook [the girls' mother has bound feet], yet not altogether strange as later events bring to light the family's dire financial straits. When the girls are told their father has huge debts and has decided to marry them off to a pair of brothers, Gold Mountain Men residing in LA [men who have left China to go to America to seek their fortunes, returning to find China Brides], they realize their days of freedom are over and decide to revolt. Unfortunately, the Japanese invasion of Shanghai puts an end to any of their plans. Fleeing the Japanese is not without its horrors and ultimately Pearl and May find themselves alone except for one another. Even after leaving China, the pair find their situation is still dire as upon arrival in the United States, Pearl and May are detained on Angel's Island for months undergoing untold suffering. They finally meet their 'spouses' but life for the sisters still has many trials in store, and a secret shared between them threatens their future. "Shanghai Girls" is a well-woven narrative that flows well and Lisa See credibly evokes the bond between two sisters, whose love for one another is strong, yet also fraught by rivalries. This is not just a story about siblings for it is also about the clash between East and West as the sisters struggle to find their footing in a new world, even as the bonds of their old world remain strong. Lisa See is truly a gifted author for being able to portray both the old world of 17th and 19th century China [as seen in Peony and Snow Flower] and the new as seen in "Shanghai Girls". Final verdict: a compelling read.