Shanghai Girls (English)

Lisa See's enthralling epic follows the descent of May and Pearl, two sisters living in Shanghai in the late 1930s, whose idyllic lives of luxury and glamour are irrevocably shattered after their parents sell them as brides to two Chinese-Americans. At first, the girls rebel against the decision and go into hiding, but they are soon discovered by the invading Japanese army, whose barbaric acts further traumatize them. They decide to seek their "husbands" in California, which leads to the arduous ordeal of immigration, where more bitter family secrets are revealed. The girls must then adapt and assimilate to postwar Los Angeles, where they settle into quiet lives as Chinese housewives, forced to work menial jobs and act as servants to their misanthropic men. This magnificent saga features historical insight and emotional impacts on every page, as Lisa See cements her status as the reigning master of American fiction with a Chinese theme. minimize