NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A gifted writer . . . explores the bonds of sisterhood while powerfully evoking the often nightmarish American immigrant experience.”—USA TodayBONUS: This edition contains a Shanghai Girls discussion guide and an excerpt from Lisa See’s Dreams of Joy.In 1937, Shanghai is the Paris of Asia, a city of great wealth and glamour, the home of millionaires and beggars, … 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.
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
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Love Lisa See
Loved it
I listened to the audio version
As always, Lisa see never fails us lovers of historical fiction!
Love this author. Her stories are based on Chinese culture and have sadness then always ends OK.
Love the author!!
I love everything Lisa See writes. I’ve learned so much about China and it’s history. Her stories leave you with a desire to visit the country.
I really enjoyed this book. It gave a lot of history along with a good story that was unexpected.
This book one of two books, the 2nd one is called Dreams of Joy.
We are going to China, and although I know this isn’t biographical, it does give you an idea of what China was like just before Chairman Mao came into office.
I loved that it was the story of two sisters and their love/hate relationship. How modern they thought they were but how …
I liked the book a lot, but I’m always a little disappointed when you get to the end of a book and find that it’s necessary to buy another book to get the rest of the story.
I absolutely loved this book!!!
I learned more about predjudice in this book and was sorry that these girls had to go through so much. I will read others by this author after reading and loving this book and Snowflower and the Secret Fan.
I really enjoyed reading this book. See has a uncanny ability to weave a family story that appeals to the individual reader and is culturally significant. Having a husband of Chinese descent (1st generation American), this story gave me a greater understanding of my husband’s family, the traditions they hold on to while trying very hard to also be …
Story of an intertwined sister relationship where dreams do not come true.
Read the series in order. You’ll love them.
This book is a cliff-hanger and must be continued in a follow-up book. I wasn’t thrilled with that prospect.The book starts out great and is a page turner until half way through. The characters are well-developed, but the main character is rather disappointing…..just my perspective.
I enjoyed book till the every end not know it belong to a trilogy. The ending left you ganging. Guess that’s what happens to make you read the other books
I learned things about this time period that I did not know. It was very informative and had interesting characters as well.
Wonderful story line re Chinese young women, excellently written. Another hit from Lisa See.
Loved it!