Shanghai Girls

A Novel

By: Lisa See

Narrated by: Janet Song

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “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, 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©2009 Random House; (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

“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 buoyant and lustrous paean to the bonds of sisterhood.”—Booklist

“A rich work . . . as compulsively readable as it is an enlightening journey.”—Denver Post

“The glamour of prewar Shanghai is recalled in Lisa See’s deftly plotted Shanghai Girls.”—Vogue

“Splendid.”—More

“An engrossing tale of two sisters.”—Time

“Shanghai Girls is one of those books I could not wait to continue reading, because her characters' stories are so compellingly told.”—St. Louis Dispatch

“As in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love, she has in her latest novel created ordinary women who, through willfulness and resiliency, accomplish extraordinary things. . . . See, whose writing is as graceful as these '’beautiful girls,'’ pulls off another exceptional novel.”—Miami Herald

Shanghai Girls

This is a touching moving book that brought tears to my eyes..I so recommend it. The narration was also well done. I didn want it to end:-[

Excellent History but the Protagonist...

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

While the many details of the history she weaves into her story make for an excellent novel, I didn't find Pearl a compelling protagonist.

Did Shanghai Girls inspire you to do anything?

It inspired me to read more about Shanghai during the Second World War and before hand.

Not what I expected, get it

This was a very good book. Worth the credit. At first I didn’t know if I was going to be into it. But then the author surprised me with so many unexpected twists and turns. Heartache, love, hard work, and pain. As a person of Chinese heritage I also appreciated the historical and cultural aspects of the book. My heart ached and laughed. Now that I’ve finished, I’m going to find more of this author’s books.

What a journey

If you love stories with historic settings this one pleases. The story depicts life for the Chinese in early twentieth century. It was sobering for me as I had no idea of the trials that these people faced. But this is also a touching story of relationships mother and child, sister to sister, husbands and wives. It is easy to listen to and held my attention all the way.

Enjoyed very much!

I loved this book. I not only learned about the culture of the characters but a lot about what went on in California's Asian community during this time frame. I liked it enough to want to read more by this author. I didn't want it to end.