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In this book you follow the tragic and heroic fight of Pearl and May, two sisters that live in Shanghai, China during the Japanese invasion. Pearl is the older sister and was born in the year of the Dragon, she is tall with rosy cheeks, not the classic Chinese beauty, May who was born in the year of the Sheep has a porcelain doll complexion and a petite figure, she is perfection to her father eyes.
Both sisters go trough life thinking they have the world at their feet, they live a life full of privilege and glamour until they are told that their father has a huge debt and has decided to marry them to Gold Mountain Men that came from America for that purpose only. When this happens the sisters realize the life and future they had envisioned is far away from becoming their true destiny. They strive with desperation to help each other survive these hard times.
From that point we follow Pearl and May’s journey through this emotional rollercoaster novel. The book deeply explores the tight bond between the sisters.
Lisa See explores the importance of family with this wonderfully narrated historical novel. At times sweet, at others heart- wrenching the story is compelling and manage to deeply captivate you in many, many ways. I really liked this book, actually, more than I thought I will, I wasn’t able to put it down. As a personal comment the only disappointment would be that the ending felt abrupt.
★★★★
Sounds like a good book. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, sounds fabulous. I've been interested in reading this book for a long time! Happy to hear that it's good.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your review! Have heard good things about this book, but still undecided if it's for me.
ReplyDeleteExcellent review. Thanks for the warning about the ending.
ReplyDeleteI've read See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and I agree that her writing is really good. However, I wasn't too crazy about the whole book. It seems like Shanghai Girls might be better.
ReplyDeleteI loved this book - great review!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed this one as much as I did. I hear Lisa See's working on a sequel.
ReplyDeleteI didn't mind the ending. From what we're told about Pearl, I figured she'd succeed in doing what she said she was going to do.
I hope it's okay that I linked to your review on the Book Reviews: WWII page on War Through the Generations.
--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
I've heard such good things about this book, it looks really interesting. I've seen this book everywhere too, it's a sign to read it, LOL. Wonderful review~
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