The dramatic real life stories of four young people caught up in the mass exodus of Shanghai in the wake of China’s 1949 Communist revolution—a heartrending precursor to the struggles faced by emigrants today. “A true page-turner . . . [Helen] Zia has proven once again that history is something that happens to real people.”—New York Times bestselling author Lisa SeeNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF … Lisa See
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR • FINALIST FOR THE PEN/JACQUELINE BOGRAD WELD AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY
Shanghai has historically been China’s jewel, its richest, most modern and westernized city. The bustling metropolis was home to sophisticated intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and a thriving middle class when Mao’s proletarian revolution emerged victorious from the long civil war. Terrified of the horrors the Communists would wreak upon their lives, citizens of Shanghai who could afford to fled in every direction. Seventy years later, members of the last generation to fully recall this massive exodus have revealed their stories to Chinese American journalist Helen Zia, who interviewed hundreds of exiles about their journey through one of the most tumultuous events of the twentieth century. From these moving accounts, Zia weaves together the stories of four young Shanghai residents who wrestled with the decision to abandon everything for an uncertain life as refugees in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States.
Benny, who as a teenager became the unwilling heir to his father’s dark wartime legacy, must decide either to escape to Hong Kong or navigate the intricacies of a newly Communist China. The resolute Annuo, forced to flee her home with her father, a defeated Nationalist official, becomes an unwelcome exile in Taiwan. The financially strapped Ho fights deportation from the U.S. in order to continue his studies while his family struggles at home. And Bing, given away by her poor parents, faces the prospect of a new life among strangers in America. The lives of these men and women are marvelously portrayed, revealing the dignity and triumph of personal survival.
Herself the daughter of immigrants from China, Zia is uniquely equipped to explain how crises like the Shanghai transition affect children and their families, students and their futures, and, ultimately, the way we see ourselves and those around us. Last Boat Out of Shanghai brings a poignant personal angle to the experiences of refugees then and, by extension, today.
“Zia’s portraits are compassionate and heartbreaking, and they are, ultimately, the universal story of many families who leave their homeland as refugees and find less-than-welcoming circumstances on the other side.”—Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club
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Interesting and Informative
Ms. Zia gives us a look at the turmoil inside Shanghai in some critical years seldom covered in US schools. She accomplishes this task by following four young people from the beginning of the Japanese occupation until the Communist victory.
The characters are well developed and I found myself fearing for their safety and cheering their successes as the book progressed.
I’d recommend it for anyone currently confused by 20th century Chinese history — it will shed some light on Shanghai.
Gave me a light into that ere.
It was difficult to keep track of the characters. I found the history of the turmoil and eventual take over by the Communist Chinese very intsresting.
This tells the stories of 4 children who grew up in Shanghai in the 1940’s, from the time of the Japanese occupation through the take-over of the Communist Revolution. The stories are told in parallel, moving back and forth between them as events unfold in their country. and they follow very different paths…none of them easy. Very well-written and highly recommended.
The experiences of the four young people in this nonfiction are amazing. It shows on a personal level how the Chinese of Shanghai dealt with the fall of their Nationalist government.
Great historical view of the period as told thru 4 characters
Everyone should read this book. It is not just informative; it is very moving.
Fantastic, interesting story, very well written.
This is one of, if not the best, nonfiction book I have ever read. In fact it reads like fiction. I knew very little about WWII China nor the Communist take over of China. I feel that now I understand and am have more knowledge of that time. I am certainly more thankful for my country and the freedom we have.
I was friends with a relative of my husband, whose father and mother fled from China to Twain in 1949. I regret I was not interested enough to talk with her about that time in her family. Sadly she past away and I missed the opportunity. But while reading this novel I would think of her family and what they must have gone through during that trying time. My heart broke for the four individuals whose lives changed. And for all those whose lives were never the same.
CHINAS INTERNAL TURBULENCE AND AND THE SACRIFICES MADE BY FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS.VERY WELL WRITTEN.
A wonderfully written story that follows four different main characters. But. These are TRUE stories. We know there are “two Chinas”, the People’s Republic of China, and Taiwan (which used to be known as the Republic of China). This book covers the period from 1937 and the Japanese invasion, through the time when so many people fled with Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalists to the island of Formosa, which became Taiwan. One character goes to Taiwan, one ends up in Hong Kong, one makes it to the U.S., and one remains in China after the communist takeover. Their stories continue and we learn about the hardships they continued to endure. I have a friend who fled to Taiwan as a child. After reading this book, I was able to listen to her story and truly understand what she was telling me.
This was an excellent book about a time that has not often been looked at by historians of late. The end of WWII and conclusion of the Chinese Civil War led to the displacement of millions and changed societies all over the world. The vast majority of Chinese American immigration in the second half of the 20th century was related, directly or indirectly, to these events, and this book resonated with me personally because my own family and the families of almost every Chinese American friend I have share stories that are not too dissimilar from those in the book.
The book follows four individuals and their families through mid-century Chinese history and shows how each struggled to survive upheaval, misfortune, and twists of fate. Zia does a great job of showing the perspectives of Nationalists, Communists, rich and poor. The book helped me appreciate the viewpoints of those fleeing to Taiwan who honestly thought they might quickly return to the mainland, refugees in Hong Kong who had once been rich or important but found themselves destitute, and students stuck in America, unable to return home and not allowed to work to support themselves. All in all an excellent and engaging book that I highly recommend.