The Last Rose of Shanghai By Weina Dai Randel

The Last Rose of Shanghai By  Weina Dai Randel

Book Details

ASIN: B08YYY8ZNX

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (December 1, 2021)

Publication date: December 1, 2021

Language: English

File size: 4612 KB

Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced typesetting: Enabled

X-Ray: Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled

Print length: 429 pages

Lending: Not Enabled

This is one of the best reviews I've read in a while.  This book is waiting for me on my kindle, however, I will leave this review for others to read and I'm quite sure there will be many reviews to follow.  During WWII  there were many Jews who left Germany to go to Shanghai and live in the ghetto there.  20,000 Jews were saved by China during WWII...they found safety in a Jewish Ghetto called Tilanqiao.

"The Last Rose of Shanghai "I read lots of World War II books but most of them are about the war in Europe and the reprehensible actions of the German troops. This book is about life in Shangri during the Japanese invasion. It gave a unique look at how badly the Japanese soldiers treated people during the occupation of China. It's a dual time line book taking place in the 1940s and 1980. The timeline during the war is told by Aiyi and Ernest and the 1960s timeline is told by told by Aiyi Shao .

Aiyi is a 20 year old heiress who is fighting against the wishes of her parents and brothers by owning a jazz club in Shangri. Her family has already picked out a husband for her but she has no intention of getting married and giving up her life and her job even though it was very much against the customs in Shangri where the major goal for women was getting married and having babies. In January of 1940, her club is running out of liquor and she is losing business. 

She meets Ernest when he helps her escape from some thugs who wanted to punish her for her race. Ernest is a German Jew who has come to Shangri with his younger sister to avoid the persecution of Jewish people in Germany. He used the last of his money to buy tickets on the ship and is hoping that their parents will be arriving soon from Germany. As soon as he gets off the boat, 

he starts looking for a job because gets turned down everywhere because he's a refugee. He eventually finds work as a piano player at Aiya's club and his talent makes it one of the famous clubs in town.. When she hires him, she is defying customs - there was much prejudice between the Chinese and the white people in the city. 

The more time they spend together - the more their feelings for each other grow. As the war escalates, they find themselves torn apart and the decisions they need to make will affect both of them for the rest of their lives. Will their love be strong enough to help them overcome the prejudice in Shangri and the war that is becoming part of their everyday lives?

This was a beautifully written novel and it was apparent that the author did significant research. The two main characters were so well written that I felt their pain during the war and their happiness at being together. I learned a lot about the war in China and the treatment of the Chinese by the Japanese soldiers. This is a beautiful story about the pain and sorrow of the war but the overall feeling is one of love and redemption.

From the Publisher_______________________

The Last Rose of Shanghai is unlike any WWII-era novel I’ve read before. Set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, it brings to life the little-known history of Jewish refugees desperately seeking shelter in the city. Had Shanghai not taken in nearly twenty thousand Jews, an untold number of them may not have survived the war.

It’s against this backdrop that we see a heart-wrenching love story play out. Aiyi, a wealthy young Chinese woman, and Ernest, a Jewish jazz pianist, fall hopelessly in love. The stakes couldn’t be higher. From vastly different backgrounds, they must hide their relationship from their families and the authorities. As the horrors of war close in on them, they find themselves trapped—both by their respective cultures and by their enemies.

Desperate to survive, they have to make impossible choices. No matter what Aiyi and Ernest choose, there will be loss. But what I love most about The Last Rose of Shanghai is that we also see what they gain as they fight for survival. We see their hope—not just to reunite, but for a better world. As I watched Aiyi and Ernest withstand doubt and despair, I ached for them and for Shanghai, the city that opened its arms to refugees when they had nowhere else to go.

—Jodi Warshaw, Editor