Shanghai Girls

The best thing about Shanghai Girls was the way I felt completely transported, not only to a different time but into a culture so unfamiliar to me. The pre-World War II and World War II time period was so rich with Chinese/Chinese American history. As an young(ish) American, my knowledge of World War II is centered around how it affected the United States. Of course, I have read and studied plenty about the Nazi occupations and Germany’s role in the war, but I’ve never read anything about the people of China during that time. I’d never thought about China being invaded by the Japanese long before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. But the history lesson didn’t stop when the setting changed to America. In the U.S. the characters had to deal with immigration, discrimination, and finally the communist witch hunt. With all of this going on it’s understandable that the story is often tragic and tough to read.

I can appreciate the story for what it taught me and for the way it gave a human voice to the history, but in order for me to love this story it would have to have a more satisfying ending. I realize there is a sequel (Dreams of Joy), but the sequel won’t be able to change the one aspect of the ending that bothered me the most. (Sorry, I don’t want to give any spoilers.) I will read Dreams of Joy because I do want to learn more about the characters and the history they’re living through, but I’m not in a rush to pick it up. A book like Shanghai Girls is emotionally draining for me. And I find myself craving something lighter immediately afterward, for a long time afterward actually.

I applaud See for making me truly connect with the narrator and her struggles. I also find it brilliant that the author wrote certain scenes so that the reader suspects that Pearl may be misinterpreting what’s going on. Even though the story is from her perspective, one begins to see the flaws in her vision. And while I didn’t always agree with the choices Pearl made, I could always understand why she was making those decisions.

This would be a good book for anyone interested in learning more the Chinese American culture and modern history. But I think anyone beginning Shanghai Girls should be warned that it is often heartbreaking, and the ending is far from a happy one, or even a satisfying one. I am not sorry I read this story. I may even recommend it to a select few, but I’m very glad that I read reviews before I read the book. They gave me full warning about the ending.

Publisher's Summary: In 1937 Shanghai—the Paris of Asia—twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree—until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth. To repay his debts, he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from Los Angeles to find Chinese brides. As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, from the Chinese countryside to the shores of America. Though inseparable best friends, the sisters also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. Along the way they make terrible sacrifices, face 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.