Shanghai Girls
by See, Lisa
Random House
2/2/2010
Paperback

Set in the 1930s, See's richly detailed historical novel tells the story of Pearl and May Chin--two wealthy, beautiful, liberal-minded sisters who are coming of age in the magical city of Shanghai. Life is grand for the girls until their father confesses that his fondness for gambling has done the family in, both financially and socially. In an effort to repay his debts, the girls' father sells them to two men in America who are looking for Asian brides. Pearl and May are determined to stay in their homeland, but when the Japanese attack and their parents vanish, they decide to leave China for Los Angeles, where their future husbands await them. The immigration process proves easier said than done for the two young women, who arrive at Angel's Island (known as the Ellis Island of the West Coast) only to be delayed by the authorities and questioned for several months. Once May and Pearl meet their husbands and become accustomed to American life, they find that their family heritage serves as a powerful source of inspiration and solace. Spanning 20 years in the sisters' lives, this unforgettable narrative convincingly traces their dramatic development from privileged girls into hard-working women and wives. See has written a compelling and finely detailed novel that takes readers on an unforgettable journey into the past.

A reading group guide is included in the book and available online.

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Publisher Comments

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.

"From the Hardcover edition."