Pearl and May are two sisters living in Shanghai in the 1930’s. They love their city, the Paris of Asia, and make some extra money by being beautiful girls, models for advertisements and calendars. May is the favorite daughter of the family, according to Pearl, but both sisters are also best friends and can’t imagine life without one another. When they return from a painting session, their father stops them from going to bed and informs them that he has lost everything and that they are contracted to marry two strangers from America. Pearl and May are horrified, but go through with the marriages; they have little choice and no intention to leave Shanghai and follow their husbands. When World War II strikes, however, their entire lives explode and their intentions cease to matter.
I loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. At times I think everyone did. I never read Peony in Love, but I was excited when I received the opportunity to read Shanghai Girls. (Thanks so much, Marcia!) To my slight surprise, I wasn’t at all disappointed. I loved this novel. The best parts occurred in Shanghai, but I even liked the journey afterwards.
Seeing the world through Pearl’s eyes was fantastic. I thought that she was an interesting and unusual character with completely understandable motives. I recognized so much of regular sibling relations between her and May, especially at the end when we finally get to hear May’s side of the story. I wonder what the story would have been like if we had heard about it from her and not from Pearl; certainly Pearl’s motives made perfect sense, as did her character changes, but from the other side, things look a little different.
I liked the book a little less after they left Shanghai. The city was glamorous and fascinating to me, as were Pearl and May’s fancy lives. The traumatic experience afterwards was something I could have done without. Their new lives were populated with harsh and unlikeable figures, and Vern’s condition made me uncomfortable. Gradually, I grew to like these new side characters, but never quite so much, and at times I found the plot a little slow. Regardless, when the book was over, I was shocked. I didn’t expect it to end there, and I wanted more. I didn’t quite realize how much until there wasn’t any. To me, that’s a mark of a book I definitely liked. I’m busy crossing my fingers for Lisa See to write a sequel.
As for the prose, I thought Pearl’s voice steady and constant, the book a pleasure to read. She changed with her settings and I could feel the influence each place had on her as well as the places themselves. Her voice grew up as she did. I liked her, too, which was really important here.
Overall, I enjoyed this book a surprising amount. I would honestly recommend it. It is quite different in feel from Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, but not less worthy because of that. I recommend you check it out.
Available from: IndieBound, Powell’s, Amazon, and Amazon UK.
I liked the Shanghai portion better as well. You’ve totally got me wondering now how the story would have been different from May’s point of view.
Jen – Devourer of Books’s last blog post..The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane – Book Review
Great review, thx for the honesty on the parts you disliked. I’ve seen this a few different places, looks like a good read.
Marie Burton’s last blog post..Waiting on Wednesday – ‘The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn’ by Alison Weir
I love books set in Asia, so I’m really looking forward to reading this one. I’m glad to see it’s good.
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I just kinda skimmed your review because I just got this from the library and will be reading it soon. I am really looking forward to it.
Jeanette’s last blog post..A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Ooh! This does sound fantastic and I am really into books set in China right now.
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I have not read any of Lisa See’s works yet. I wonder if I should start with Shanghai Girls, though. I loved your review, and I see that you agree with some of the other reviews that I’ve read, that the Shanghai part is wonderful but after that, it’s not as good. I think I will read Snow Flower first …
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That’s definitely the mark of a book I really liked to me too. Like I said before, I really have to read some Lisa See.
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I’m so glad to have the warning that it is not like See’s other two books. That way can read this with fresh attitude.
Beth F’s last blog post..Giveaway Winners: Secrets to Happiness
I loved this book too. I just reviewed it also.
yolanda’s last blog post..Simple Joys
I know – this book just begs for a sequel! I had the same reaction when I reached the end. I even flipped through the last few blank pages to see if there was anything else mentioning a sequel. We’ll just have to wait and see.
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I love Lisa See’s novels. I’ve read Snow Flower three or four times and I keep meaning to go back and read Peony again (Peony was a little different and took some time to digest, but I enjoyed it).
I’m really looking forward to picking this one up!
I have really enjoyed the other two historicals from Lisa See. I am really looking forward to getting this book!
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Great review! I can’t wait to get to this one.
I have just purchased the book an am eager to begin reading. I have read Lisa See’s books, Peony in Love, Snowflower and the Secret Fan, and On Gold Mountain. All were different from one another and all were quite good, with Snowflower being brilliant. On Gold Mountain is the history of her family in America, I highly recommend it.
I was surprised that I liked this book as well, I really didn’t expect to. I can’t believe where it ended! I hope there’s a sequel too.
S. Krishna’s last blog post..Along for the Ride – Sarah Dessen
I really did enjoy this one, especially as I didn’t know anything about the treatment of Chinese Americans during WWII. That was a real eye-opener. What I’ve really enjoyed about Lisa See is her ability to craft people with all their flaws and dislikeable bits as well as their virtues. It makes them so very alive.