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Shanghai Girls

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Shanghai Girls

Lisa See

Shanghai Girls Lisa See 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.

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.

Shanghai Girls Details

Date : Published May 26th 2009 by Random House (first published 2009) ISBN : 9781400067114 Author : Lisa See Format : Hardcover 309 pages Genre : Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Cultural, China, Asia

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From Reader Review Shanghai Girls for online ebook

J.Elle says

This was the third book I've read by this author and I'm still confused as to my feelings for her writing. The first book I read, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, I loved. I think it was all the descriptions and information about the cultural nuances, including foot binding. Then, I was excited to read, , until I actually started it. Then, I thought maybe this book would turn the tide either way. Unfortunately, I'm still ambivalent. It was an interesting enough story: two "modern" sisters escape the country into arranged marriages in the United States, but it lacked the interesting older cultural nuances that I so enjoy. Plus, and please forgive me if you adore history, reading about war bores me. Thank you to everyone who has served or is serving our country. We would not have the freedoms we have now were it not for people giving their life, but reading a fictional account of any war is not something I normally enjoy. I guess I will wait until this author writes something else and decide then if I'm interested enough to read it. If you like to read about Chinese culture, skip this one and "Peony in Love" and go straight to Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

Nikoleta says

?να καλογραµµ?νο ιστορικ? µυθιστ?ρηµα, για ?να θ?µα που για να πω την αλ?θεια δεν ε?χα ξαναδιαβ?σει. Τις δυσκολ?ες που β?ωσαν οι κιν?ζοι απ? τον π?λεµο, την προσφυγι? κ.α. ?ταν ωρα?α γραµµ?νο, µε ρεαλιστικ? π?να. Αυτ? ?µως που δεν µου ?ρεσε ?ταν οι ?ρωες, δεν µπ?ρεσα να συνδεθ? µαζ? τους, δεν µου το επ?τρεψε η ?δια η αφ?γηση που δεν ?ταν αρκετ? συναισθηµατικ? - αν και γραµµ?νη στο πρ?το προσωπο- αλλ? ?σως και οι προσωπικ?τητες που τους ?δωσε, ?σως π?λι να φτα?ει η πολιτισµικ? διαφορ? που µε ?κανε πολλ?ς φορ?ς να µην µπορ? να κατανο?σω τις πρ?ξεις τους. Π?ντως ?ταν ?να καλ? βιβλ?ο, µου ?ρεσε.

Kate says

This is the second Lisa See novel that I've read, and both times when I've finished her books I've felt vaguely duped. There's so much historical detail in here, much of it grim, that I feel like I must be reading something sweeping and important. But the character-driven parts of the plot (often about tensions and jealousies in close female relationships) remind me more of...Danielle Steel, maybe? Dare I say it? Something kind of primal and potboiler-y and not too nuanced. So and so is the pretty one. So and so is the rich one. So and so slept with my boyfriend. Or whatever. These dime-store drama elements, combined with the interesting and frequently heartbreaking historical aspects, make me wonder what exactly I'm reading.

See puts you through a lot with her characters in Shanghai Girls -- even after the worst of their hardships are over, they can't seem to catch a break. And then the resolution is so abrupt and unsatisfying that I wonder if she's setting up a sequel. But still, it's hard to put down, and I raced through it. We'll see what the book club thinks.

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Eileen Souza says

I'm re-rating this book up to 4 stars, but with the contingency that it must be read with . When read in conjunction with the second book, this book is excellent - really emotionally powerful. Without the second book, you'll be horribly disappointed with the the last 20 pages - and wishing for 350 more. my original review is still below. ********

Re-reading 5/2011 in prep for the second book Dreams of Joy. In retrospect, my review is fairly prophetic. I'm so glad there's more to the story. *******

Lisa See's new book (which I've been waiting for since her website mentioned that it was coming out months ago) does what she does best - writing about the relationships of people and the ups and downs of life long relationships. Whether it's best friends/lao tong (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan), husbands and wives (the Red Princess mystery series), a teenager's relationship with her parents (Peony in Love), Lisa has a rare ability to wrench your heart with the unbelievably powerful feelings that these relationships evoke in our lives.

She certainly did this in Shanghai Girls - this time with sisters who grew up in modern pre-WWII Shanghai, and who because of the war are forced to make huge changes in their lives for which they are entirely unprepared.

We read this story through the eyes of Pearl, the older, smarter, less attractive sister, and how she goes through her days protecting her sister, and trying to harness the sibling rivalry that always exists between them. The tension slowly grows and grows throughout the book, until the end, where if you know Lisa See books, then you know what's coming.

The reason that I gave this book three stars is because I felt that after the explosion of emotions, there was no resolution. It was too abrupt of an ending, and I felt like the characters were lost to me before it was time for them to go. I understand why Lisa ended the book where she did chronologically (it would have required some serious additional writing, and I bet the publishers wouldn't have allowed an 800 pg book) but I wish that they had. Where is my coda?

I will read it again, and enjoy it from the perspective of one who knows what's coming, but I can't say that it's my favorite Lisa See novel.

Elyse says

I can't believe I didn't write a review on this Lisa See book. This is one of my favorite historical books she wrote. There is a fascinating story in here that many people know very little about!

The plot revolves around two sisters -their privilege life breaks down - 1930's Shanghai - Their father sell them to loveless marriages -- The 'history' of horrific prejudice & immigration - coming to America was no joke.

After I had read this ( not light and fluffy), a front page article in our local newspaper was a true story about an Asian man - he was in his 90's living in

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SF... speaking for the 'very first' time.. when he came over to Angel Island.

Even though this booksI fiction -there is a lot to learn about how it really was for Chinese immigrants -- during the mid 50's and it's not a pretty picture. We should have been deeply ashamed of ourselves.

Excellent novel.

Sasha says

I'm sorry to say that I thought this book was horrible. As a huge fan of Snowflower and the Secret Fan and of the beautiful characters, beautifully described scenery, tragedies, hardships, and the deep bonds between the characters within it, I went into this book hoping for something of the same. I felt the character development in this book was forced, I thought the story was all over the place, and there was never and deep understanding of the people within it. Maybe it's because I never identified with any of the characters. I thought May was spoiled and silly, I thought Pearl was, well, boring. I never warmed to the Louie family. It was anticlimactic, sort of going along until it was just over. There were a few random tragedies near the end, but none of it moved me. I see that my opinion is in the minority but frankly I just really expected more from this book. By the end I was just skimming through it, stopping to catch up after 20 or so pages to see if it drew me back in. It never did.

Linda Smith says

This book was very disappointing. I went into it eager to learn about this point in history and this should have been a good book considering the premise of the story. I think it started out well and the family and events in China held my interest and seemed well-defined. Still, the tragedies never felt that compelling, and even what should have outraged me when they arrived in the US, never had the impact they would have if better written. I should have gotten angry, I should have cried, I should have felt more for the characters. The book evolved into a long narrative that just seemed to state dates and facts without any depth and then finally reveals what was the obvious plot point all along. Did we ever know the Uncles? Vern? The girls friends? Sam? NO, only as Pearl and May see them, not a real people. I would like to have read this story (a good one) written by a different author. And I agree with the other reviewer who stated that the abrupt ending seems to just be setting up a sequel. Think I'll pass on that if it does happen.

Helen Dunn says

I really disliked this book and I'm extra disappoined about it because I loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan so much!

It starts out OK with the depiction of Shanghai but never did anything to make me feel a connection to the characters. Pearl is just pure, unadulterated grouch, and May is a completly selfish jerk (or is she? the last few pages make me wonder if she's fine but grouchy Pearl made me hate her!)

Most of the book is just a boring list of things that happened. We worked at China City. We spoke Sze Yup.

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Sam had iron fan. Louie was mean. We did the husband-wife thing (what a super annoying term!) and Vern had melting-bone disease.(What was the deal with Vern anyway? Was he retarded, autistic, Down's Syndrome, just sickly, what?? He had no purpose at all except for the stupid model boats at the end.)

The only exciting thing was when May FINALLY yelled at Pearl and told her to stop being such an in sufferable bitch! Not soon enough!

I can't believe that there is a sequel because I can't imagine that people want to spend more time with these cardboard people.

Louise says

There's a phrase in Chinese, chi ku (eat bitterness), which Lisa See's Shanghai Girls exemplifies perfectly. From one end of the book to the other, there's nothing but hardships and heartaches.

The first hardship I found is not actually in the story in the novel, but comes from the novel itself. See writes in the first person through the voice of Pearl, a girl growing up in Shanghai during the volatile Sino-Japanese war. Unfortunately, Pearl seems too self-aware of other people's thoughts, motives, and the world in general. Writing in the first person voice, but with an omniscient view of the environment makes Pearl's thoughts feel artificial and awkward.

Another thing I found difficult to overcome in the novel were the inconsistent choice of Chinese words. The author insists on using the Cantonese word cheongsam for the traditional dresses worn by women at that time, trying to give Pearl a continental and modern flare, yet uses the traditional and scholarly term 'wu dialect' instead of the modern 'Shanghainese.' I still think that if Pearl were a Shanghai girl, she would have said qi pao, the Mandarin word for cheongsam.

If one can get over the technical problems of the novel, it's easy to get sucked into the twists and turns of the two Shanghainese girls. But be warned, the book really is like vicariously eating bitterness. There are several graphic scenes that I found difficult to read as well as parts where I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. See does a decent job of illuminating the difficulties women and the Chinese in general faced during that time.

At the end of Shanghai Girls, I literally sighed. The story has so much potential to be epic, yet falls slightly short of that because of technical difficulties I couldn't overlook. Maybe I'm just being snobbish because my hometown is Shanghai, but the novel could have been so much better.

Kelly Ohl says

Lisa See’s book about China in 1937 stretching until shortly after the reign of communism begins is probably the most difficult book I have ever rated.

Ever.

Going into this review I fully understand I was not raised in the Chinese culture and well, I’m white. I don’t understand the reactions of the characters to situations and other characters. That’s why while I say this book

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The book begins with Pearl and May, 2 sisters in Shanghai when they are roughly 18 and 21. Pearl, the oldest, is immediately identified as the lesser sister in their parents eyes having to endure demeaning ridicule and comparison to her younger, prettier, and daintier sister, May. As Pearl is telling this story in first person, you really feel how sad and embarrassed she is of herself. However, through it all, even with her parents obviously favoritism of her sister May, she takes care of her, and protects her, being her jie jie.

In the first few chapters we realize their Baba (father) is a gambling man who lost everything to debtors, even his own daughters in an arranged marriage. Up until then they always thought that unlike their parents, they would be able to marry for love and choose their partner themselves. They meet with Sam and Vern, the two men they will be marrying, which is out of tradition, but they are allowed to meet once before the wedding. Sam is a quiet and handsome man, very caring and mindful, while Vern is naught but 14 and very good at it, even a little less than mature. Pearl is to marry Sam, May is to marry Vern.

A little while later, 17 days, their new husbands to be are due for return from a “business trip” from Hong Kong for the marriage ceremony to take place. They after dodging, and Pearl being in love with another man, realize they have no choice to go through with it and they do.

When japan declares war on China, the city is bombed, people are dying all around them, and in defiance, they threw away the tickets that would have taken them to America to meet their husbands. When things get back, and their father either runs off from his debtors or is killed, their mother and them start trying to make their own way to America using the little money their mother stowed away from their father’s gambling habit.

Through rape, the death of their mother, and persistence, they finally board a ship to take them to Angel Island, the west’s version of Ellis Island. They find out May is pregnant, and not by her 14 year old husband, so while in detainment before being allowed to go home to their husbands, Pearl decides to raise the baby as her own since she had actually had sex with her husband on the wedding night.

If you are looking for a happy life in America, it’s not here. If this sounds sad thus far, it only gets worse. It’s more of May being terrible and selfish toward her sister, living in a tradition Chinese home with her in laws, her husband, her sister, and her sister’s husband who is not only younger, and a very sweet boy, is ill with disease and mentally slow. The daughter that Pearl raises, Joy, is an absolute ingrate towards the end and continues to step all over her mother, and even her good natured and strong father. May is continually selfish being the almost privileged girl in life and blaming her poor sister who has done nothing but sacrificed for her.

If you either understand the culture, both traditionally and the earlier to mid turn of the 20th century or are just one of those people who don’t mind being surrounded in misery from first to last page, then I have never read a better book for you. Being I am not, I didn’t really enjoy the book on an emotional level, but the story is well written and flows enough to keep you interested and hoping for a better ending that never comes.

Ashley *Hufflepuff Kitten* says

I really enjoyed this peek into Chinese culture and history. For Ed's peace of mind, there are a few instances of tragedy porn a la Kite Runner, but I found this book rather more enjoyable.

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It covers Pearl and May's lives growing up in Shanghai, where they don't have to worry about much until their father basically sells them as wives for another man's sons in order to pay off his gambling debts. Amid this, the second Sino-Japanese War is going on, and it takes everything they have in order to get out of Shanghai. En route to America, the girls are detained at the Angel Island immigration facility and then when WWII hits they have to face the racism and discrimination against all Asian races because Westerners mistake them for being Japanese. Pearl raises a daughter and is torn between bringing her up in the traditional Chinese way or the more modern American style. Along the way, she and May share a tight and sometimes strained bond as they share life-altering experiences. Being sisters married to a pair of brothers, they all live in the same house and family on top of family isn't always the best situation.

Lisa See researched this excellently, and I learned so much; from Chinese culture in general to the issues immigrants had to deal with (it really parallels the problems Mexicans and Latinos are facing in America right now), and then tying it in with several big historical events. The end was left wide open for the sequel, Dreams of Joy, which I'm now dying for.

Larry says

Lisa’s See’s new novel, Shanghai Girls, provides a rich experience for its readers – taking them from the splendor, highlife, glamour and poverty of 1937 Shanghai to the struggles of Chinese immigrants to survive a virtual internment on Angel Island, off the coast of San Francisco, to the almost impossible challenges of trying to build a life in Los Angeles Chinatown in the context of an America that does not want them and treats them cruelly.

But despite its rich background, Shanghai Girls is ultimately the story of two sisters – Pearl and May – who desperately strive to help each other survive and at the same time replay in their minds and actions old rivalries, jealousies, and hurts. The summary of the book on See’s web site puts it well: “They love each other but they also know exactly where to drive the knife to hurt the other sister the most.” This is most dramatically shown in the novel’s climax.

Pearl, speaking in first person, is the narrator, taking us from 1937 to 1957. This time period matches Parts IV and V of See’s : The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family. The perspectives are different, however. In the memoir See is scrupulously objective in treatment family members, herself, and issues very close to her. Pearl lets us experience some of the same American experiences but from a different perspective and from the inside.

Late in the novel, Pearl reflects: “We’re told that men are strong and brave, but I think women know how to endure, accept defeat, and bear physical and mental agony much better than men.” This is certainly true of Pearl herself.

Growing up in Shanghai, the Paris of Asia, Pearl and her sister May live lives of privilege. Being a Dragon, Pearl is seen by her parents as a fiery, strong daughter who can take care of her self-absorbed Sheep sister. By the time she is 21, Pearl and May enjoy the status of being Beautiful Girls, Pearl rather insensitive to those who serve her and her wealthy family.

But then Pearl’s journey into suffering begins. Her father loses his money in gambling debts and the sisters are forced into arranged marriages. The Japanese attack China and Shanghai is attacked by air and the country invaded. In the process Pearl and her mother are brutalized by Japanese soldiers and her mother is killed.

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Having lost everything, Pearl and May are forced to flee to America to find their husbands. Surviving a grueling stay at Angel Island (the Ellis Island of the West), Pearl can only hope that her husband Sam and his family will accept her since she is bringing with her a new born daughter named Joy.

Much of Shanghai Girls centers on Pearl’s attempt to adjust to life as a member of the Louie family. While May seeks happiness outside the home in her new country, especially in terms of her many associations with the glitzy world of Hollywood, Pearl sees her life as unending drudgery as she is locked into a routine of cleaning and cooking, working in her father-in-law’s various business enterprises, and caring for Joy. In addition, she is largely responsible for caring for Vern, May’s young and critically ill husband.

Although her father-in-law gradually comes to include Pearl, May, and Joy as true members of his family, Pearl grows closer to her mother-in-law, and discovers that her lower class husband is indeed an Ox in the truest sense, deeply loving and caring for his family, her new Christian and much older Chinese values are tested by the terrors of the McCarthy era of anti-communism accompanied by serious mistreatment of most Chinese people.

At the end of the novel the two sisters directly confront each other at last, venting all the anger and hurt each has repressed previously. Despite being very angry at May for what Pearl feels are very good reasons, May’s attacks and self-defense make her realize that she may have been mistaken in many of her core beliefs over the years.

But finally it is Joy who saves Pearl. When she reaches the point where she will give up everything for Joy, Pearl truly becomes her mother’s daughter -- and in the process becomes the Dragon she was meant to be.

Maia says

Good, solid read. Strong storytelling. She's clever to have kept mentioning that the girls' English was 'perfect' because this helped with voice authenticity. Otherwise, the narrative would have seemed too Americanized. On the other hand, I felt let down by the last quarter of the book, and completely nonplussed by the ending. It all felt rushed, as if she was running to the end, and not entirely believable. In fact, I DIDNT's believe it! It just doesn't seem real that in the 1950s a young Chinese American girl would just run away, disappear like that, supposedly off to Communist China. Still, a very solid read. I might try more from this author.

George says

Wow. Lisa See absolutely never, ever disappoints. She is an amazing storyteller, and ‘Shanghai Girls’ is an amazing story. I think I forgot to breathe during the last twenty pages.

What a great movie this novel would make. I’d line up to see it.

Recommendation: For a stunning, compelling and captivating read, put ‘Shanghai Girls’ at the top of your to-read list.

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2nd best-read of 2009

Praj says

Lisa See brings out my finest emotions. The array of words is sown deep in my mind without the fear of being uprooted. I have a younger sister; never liked when she was born. I was extremely envious of her robbing all the parental attention. Over the years through our subtle rivalries and treacherous fights we grew closer and protective of each other. Although she is four years younger than me, I feel maternal towards her, trying every possible way to shelter her happiness and smile. I do not believe in love but I know for sure that I would do anything for her in a heartbeat.

Pearl Long resembles my sentiments or for that matter myself .Born in the Year of the Dragon, she is strong, indomitable and vulnerable yet to find her true self. Oblivious of her parent’s love, she longs for the attention that presumably is showered on her younger sibling May.

May Long born in the Year of the Sheep, is coquettish, loquacious and a stark opposite of Pearl. Astonishingly it is May who assumes Pearl to be her parent’s favorite. Envious of Pearl’s college education she yearns for everything that Pearl desires.

Irrespective of several reviews, to me ‘Shanghai Girls’ is Pearl’s passage through an intricate web of chance, fortune and destiny.

Pearl’s account relays from 1937-1957, encompassing all aspects of a modern Chinese family dwelling in the pre Sino-Japanese war era; contemporary, yet traditionalist.Born in an elite bourgeois social standing, Pearl enjoys all the privileges of being served and pampered. She and May known for their striking features acquire the title of Beautiful Girls, posing for all modeling and artistic calendars. Insensitive to lesser mortals, Pearl envisions her life with Z.G. her coy crush with whom she would marry and reside away from her family. At the age of 21, all her dreams come crashing down as her father loses the family fortune in a gambling tryst. In order to save his family from ruins he unwillingly promises his daughters to the sons of Old Man Louie, an American-Chinese, creating a merciful situation amid all members. Thus, begins a death defying and deceitful journey that questions the love between the two sisters amid their destiny to be bonded as a family.

As the narration proceeds, one witness the family going through impoverish circumstances, coerced arranged marriages, the advent of Sino-Japanese war and later a masquerade of veiled secrets and acrid relationships.

It is during the Sino-Japanese war that Pearl discovers her true destiny. A brutal rape attack by the Japanese soldiers leaves her mother dead and Pearl is besieged by the prospect of normality and childless procurement. "It is said that a Dragon born in a storm will have a particularly tempestuous fate. You always believe you are right, and this makes you do things you shouldn’t. You’re a Dragon, and of all the signs only a Dragon can tame the fates. Only a Dragon can wear the horns of destiny, duty, and power. Your sister is merely a Sheep. You have always been a better mother to her than I have."

True to her Dragon persona, Pearl shields May’s illicit pregnancy from her in-laws and even goes to adopt her daughter Joy, unknown to the fact that the existence of Joy will open an envelope of treachery and remorse.

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Every one of us has in him a continent of undiscovered character. Blessed is he who acts the Columbus to his own soul. Pearl found her fierce element that helped her to conceal her fate with May forgivingly whilst adamantly coming in her own as a devoted mother who she never knew existed.

Lisa comes very close to penning a flawless novel. Alas! With a sluggish start and the open lucidity of an inexplicable plot, the book at times fails to capture the mandatory attention making one skip the repetitive description to bypass the stagnated phase. Nevertheless, it is unproblematic to overlook this criterion and discover the brilliance of Lisa See.

Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin says

3.5 STARS

OMG! These girls dad sucks! This reminds me of one of her other books with the father!

*****TRIGGER WARNING: GANG RAPE & BEATING OF AN OLD WOMAN AND HER TEENAGE DAUGHTER*****

*****SPOILERS*****

I liked the story, it did kind of remind me of Snow Flower And The Secret Fan in ways, but I liked that book a lot better.

I can't put my finger on what I didn't love about this book, I guess it just seemed to drag a little bit for me. I have to admit that I almost threw the book when I got to the rape part of the book. I skimmed as much as I could because I don't read that kind of stuff. Not word for word at any rate.

Pearl and May were having a good life being models until one day their father said he gambled all of his money away (including the girls money he was keeping for them) and that he sold them to the man he owed, Old Man Louie. They were to marry his sons, Sam and Vern.

I slip down next to May. I can't believe Mama is willing to ship us to America to cure my father's and her problems. But then isn't that the kind of thing Chinese parents have done with worthless daughters for thousands of years--abandoned them, sold them, used them?

Pearl and May decided not to go but then some goons were sent after them during the midst of a war going on with the Japanese. Pearl and May promised they would go and they had a really hard time getting their tickets changed. Lets just say that didn't work out.

One night their father didn't return home so their mother hired a boy to take them as far as he could. Pearl, May and their mom ended up in who knows where and they were attacked. Their mom told them to stay hidden in a room but Pearl came out when she realized their mom was being raped and beaten repeatedly by the Japanese. They even unbound her feet (her feet were done in the old tradition) and stomped on them too. I couldn't really read through much of this, Pearl was raped repeatedly as well. When they were gone their mom dragged herself over to Pearl and held her and talked to her until Pearl passed out and her mom died.

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Later, May came out and got a wheelbarrow and carried Pearl a great distance and got them on a boat. She got Pearl to a hospital where they had to do several surgeries on Pearl and said she would never have kids.

I just have one thing to say about any kind of rapist. ↓

Pearl and May finally make it to America to be with their husbands. They had to stay where they were for some time until May had her baby. Yes, she did the deed with someone and they passed it off as Pearl's baby. Pearl named her Joy.

So the book goes on to tell of their lives in America. There are so many revelations and a lot of sadness. I felt so bad for these people. So many that were involved in such atrocities. But, anyway! I have the sequel and it's about Joy. I'm hoping something wonderful happens with Joy in that book after all of the stuff she found out at the end of this book. Something good has to come out of it all.

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Sara says

3.5--rounded up.

This is my first Lisa See novel, but I do not expect it to be my last. I understand there is a follow-up novel to this one, and that is encouraging, because I felt this one ended with just too many untied ends. I would like to get to the next installment before the details of this one have faded.

In Shanghai Girls, Lisa See follows the lives of two sisters, Pearl and May. They are caught between the modern society of 1930s Shanghai and the traditional Chinese values that are still practiced by their parents and those of their generation. In the wake of a collapse of fortunes for their father, they are given in arranged marriage to two brothers, who make their homes in San Francisco.

We are given a clear picture of life in 1930s China, war with Japan, the advent of Mao and communism and how that affects the fates of Chinese-Americans. While most of us are aware of how the Chinese were treated in America during the building of the railway system and the Western expansion, I’m not sure if many of us have given much thought to the difficulties of later Chinese immigrants.

Along with the historical elements that challenge these sisters are the personal elements, of course. The two girls are so intertwined, one’s fate depending on the other, and they share a sisterly bond that eclipses everything else. I think the frustratingly but realistic relationship between the two was what made this novel work well for me.

Janice says

I'm going to have to admit that I stayed up 'til all hours of the night to read this book. But, that being said, I also have to say that in my opinion it's not a very good book at all. The plot is rollicking (the main characters, formerly wealthy girls in Shanghai, must escape both gangsters and the Japanese; then they go to

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California to join the men they've wed, first coping with a grueling and prolonged interrogation process on Angel Island; get involved in the movie business and the tourist trade in L. A.'s China City; face more questions about their immigration decades later, etc. -- while also dealing with broken love affairs, sibling rivalry, rape, suicide, etc.) and also totally unbelievable. You might say that Amy Tan puts her characters through as much drama, but somehow I find Tan convincing where See is altogether not. As I was reading, I tried to put my finger on what was wrong. For one thing, See's writing just isn't strong enough to convince me of the truth of her characters' psychology. One particularly exasperating sentence appears on p. 104: "I'm May's jie jie, and I've always thought we are as close as can be, but I've been so concerned with my own miseries -- losing Z. G., leaving home, being raped, almost dying, getting here -- that I haven't paid attention every time May has thrown up these past weeks and months." What person who has lived through so much torture would simply list these traumas as Pearl does here?!! Which brings me to my second (and related) point: I just can't see any Chinese woman speaking as openly as Pearl does. Her voice just doesn't feel Chinese to me, or at least not the way the voice of someone of her generation should feel, in my opinion. She reveals the most private, painful kinds of events in a way that is too open, too unguarded, too lacking in subtlety. What Chinese woman (or any woman) would speak this way? Somehow writers like Amy Tan can pull it off (Tan's language is strange, weird, and powerful enough to convey strange, weird, and powerful events), but in See's pedestrian, bland prose, this story is only soap opera and pop psychology. A far better recent book about Chinese immigrant experience is Jen Sookfong Lee's "The End of East."

Lyn (Readinghearts) says

I fell in love with Lisa See's writing a few years ago when I read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. As such, I was really looking forward to reading Shanghai Girls when it came out. Initially though, people began saying that it did not compare. So it was with trepidation that I began reading this book, afraid that I would be disappointed. THAT DID NOT HAPPEN. All I can say is that Lisa See has another hit on her hands with this wonderful story of two sisters who emigrate from Shanghai to America around the time of the cultural revolution in China. From the beginning of the book in Shanghai, through their journey out of China, to their stay on Angel Island, and finally their life in Southern California, I was captivated by Pearl and her sister May. Two sisters could not be more different, but more attached than the two women in this book.

As usual, See has imbued this story with a wonderful cast of characters who surround the sisters and help tell the story of the bewilderment of the Chinese population after the 1937 invasion by Japan, the assimilation of the Chinese into American society in the 1940s and 50s, and finally, the mistrust, prejudice, and panic in the US towards Chinese Americans after the rise to power in China of Mao Tse Tung. See is such a gifted storyteller, that you feel like you know the characters personally and the pages just fly by.

My only complaint was that the end of the story left so many loose ends. In a way it was fitting, but at the same time there were many questions left unanswered. I was, therefore, very excited to hear that Lisa See is planning to continue the story of Pearl, May, and Joy in another book.

Spider the Doof Warrior says

This book is good, but why is it that folks don't TELL each other stuff? Is it because it makes for a better story? You get a climax when folks find out EVERYTHING in a gush of anger and such. It' can't be healthy.

I still like this book, but I need to add the fact that does old school China HAVE to be so sad?

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Even in the US these poor women get such a raw deal, especially Pearl. Her life sucked the most! All that stuff happens to her in Shanghai, they are practically enslaved by that old man. They work constantly, only to have to deal with racists. They don't really get to have much pleasure and enjoyment. Except for May, maybe. But she's married to a teenager with developmental delays, so it's not as if her life is a nice steaming cup of Chinese tea, but it's more like a steaming cup of endless misery broken only by acting and guilting her sister into doing what she wants her to do.

Read it again, it's still good, but dammit, women why don't you TALK about these things instead of just yelling them at the end of the book? And again I wonder what these folks would have to say about me, the Wood Horse. I don't think I'm very outgoing, but I am rather free spirited. Would they be like, she's a Horse so she is like this and wants to do her thing but we must put a rein on her and teach her how to be more proper when all she wants to do is kick her hooves up in the air and run in some field winnying happily and freely while her mane flows in the wind?

Dammit, I want a horse. Also, dang Old school Chinese stories are depressing. Like that movie with Gong Li, and no it wasn't To Raise the Red Lanterns, though that was frigging depressing. Why didn't they go, oh, that is it, I'm not putting up with this shit and OUST that asshole man? No, in this movie she was married to an abusive asshole, but was in love with his son and even when he was dead, could they be together and happily have sex? Of course not! AUGH!

8/25/15

So this book is still good but do Chinese people really harp on the Zodiac like this because I'm still like, what is a horse like? What does a horse want to do? Why doesn't someone buy me a Gypsy Vanner? And why is this country so damn RACIST?! It's so mean! Damn. Chinese people helped build this country. They build the railroads and shit, not to mention bringing Americanized Chinese food to this place and we all love that stuff.

Also Japanese people don't look like Monkeys. Slurs are weird.

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