Shanghai Girls

A Novel

By: Lisa See

Narrated by: Janet Song

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Number-one New York Times best-seller.

“A gifted writer...explores the bonds of sisterhood while powerfully evoking the often nightmarish American immigrant experience.” (USA Today)

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, 21-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 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.

Praise for Shanghai Girls:

“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)

©2009 Random House (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

"A buoyant and lustrous paean to the bonds of sisterhood." (Booklist)

“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 rich work... as compulsively readable as it is an enlightening journey.” (Denver Post)

Beautiful, Transporting

The author has written an incredible journey story. It is genuine, compelling…a sister story. There are a few gory details, the truths of hideous war, but if you can’t handle it, skip it, and appreciate the rest. Few authors can transport you to times beyond them. This reminds me of my grandmother’s era and the stories she has shared with me.

The author has a clean voice and brings the sisters to life. This is an excellent listen.

Sad story

Anytime I thought there might be a bit of happiness to the story… I thought wrong.

Relationships within Chinese Culture

Shanghai Girls is the story of two sisters Pearl and May starting out in 1930’s Shanghai China. It takes you on a journey of war, family, betrayal, obligation and relationships. The girls’ father, loses his daughters in a gambling debt and sells them into arranged marriages with American husbands. Plagued by war, separation, rape, torture and the birth of a child, the author Lisa See, explores the strengths and weaknesses of these two sisters as she pushes them to their limits. Their struggle with secrets, racism and fitting into a new world, all play important roles to create the backdrop and develop the personalities of the two protagonists. The sisters’ relationship is complex and entwined in loyalty, jealousy and different perceptions. Lisa See paints a very hard life for these two women who endure tragedy after tragedy. She manages to capture how their circumstance bonds Pearl and May and pulls them apart at the same time.
Rich in culture, this book delves into everything from bound feet and rickshaws to Chinese cooking and fashion. The many Chinese idioms throughout adds authenticity. I am glad I read this book with the intentions of reading the squeal, Dreams of Joy. The book ends abruptly. The ending leaves you hanging. Had I read this book a few years ago with no where to find answers, the ending would have disappointed me. Fortunately, I have just started Dreams of Joy.
The reader does a very good job narrating the book. I was glad it was the same reader for the sequel as it give continuity to the story.

Not my favorite

I did not like this story very much. The characters in this book are not very likeable. I found the sisters in this book hard to relate to and root for.

Amazing Story of Resilient, Family-Oriented People

Historical fiction at it's best . . . this novel of two sisters, their family, and the old China of the early 1900's is beautifully written and narrated. This is a China and Shanghai that I really knew nothing about, since I was born in 1955. The American Chinese that I have been privileged to know have been some of the most honest and hard working people I would ever want to meet. This story which tells the hardships facing the early immigrants of the Chinese to America, makes me understand how these wonderful people came to be who they are. I did know that missionaries served in China prior to the communist regime, though I knew little else. The customs, the tight family framework, the sacrifices that generations of Chinese people endured for their offspring impacted me as I listened, as well as the exploitation of those virtues by fellow Chinese citizens. It is clear that evil preys on the most innocent in our society. As the two sisters, Pearl and May eventually escape from China to the United States, and enter through Angel's Island (also unknown to me) in California, I am amazed to learn at the interrogation they endure upon entry to America. I had never heard of "paper sons". I can't wait to listen to the next book by Lisa See, "Dreams of Joy". I am totally intrigued by the determination, love, and sacrifice of these people who are frugal, humble, and put the love of their family above all else. Their appreciation of America and the freedoms that many of us take for granted is refreshing and is a lesson for us all.

Tough Times

An historical-fiction novel about two sisters' difficult lives in China during the 1930s and the hardships they endured once they came to the United Staes. The racial injustices they and their families received in California during the 1940s and beyond was disturbing.

You won't be uplifted

This is a tough story of the amazing survival of two sisters. It is an emotional story that does not gloss over the hardships of these two Chinese women in the 30's-50's. I enjoyed the story but it was emotionally draining. Well written for sure.

May

I disliked may alot she was a big problem especially with her and Z.G when she knew how Pearl felt about him...but she was good with sam. bad ending tbh I'm not reading the second story.

Too Depressing

This book was just too depressing. I kept listening, hoping for something good to happen, but it never does. One awful heartache after another, with no closure at the end. I know this is probably a true depiction of a life as a Chinese immigrant, but if I want something this depressing, I can read the news. I like my literature to be somewhat of an escape from reality, and I want a happy ending. This book offered neither.

Mixed review about Shanghai Girls...

First, the history re: Chinese & Japanese during WWII & when the Japanese took over China is SPOT ON. Also everything until the 1950’s is completely accurate, and I really appreciated that. Second, I truly have mixed reactions to this book! I loved the way Pearl and May were complete opposites , yet Pearl was such a ‘poor poor me’ and technically so was May in her own world, the same. But with as many pages/hours were in ‘Shanghai Girls’ it nearly drove me to jump out a window with all the hardships they go through!! I got to a point where I said to myself, “NOBODY could have endured all of this!”

I also hated the graphic visions we had to listen to, it really bothered me, and not in a way where I didn’t know..in a way where I thought it was too much. There are a lot of other things that I thought were either too much or not enough, that’s why I said I had a mixed review, and I’m really not sure how I truly feel?!

If I had known there was a part 2 to this novel I may not have listened, because the end was not satisfying enough to stand alone, in fact not at all, but I didn’t figure that out until the last 20 min...giving this story a 4.0 & overall a 3.5 was pretty good. As far as the narrative, Janet Song has the most one tone, voice I’ve ever heard. No expression except a couple of times & absolutely everyone that was a man sounded the same and older woman the same..wasn’t the best.

Like I said, it was spot on to what Chinese woman and families went through, but I’m just not the happiest finishing it either. As far as recommended, you need to know it’s graphic for that period of time.