The Last Rose of Shanghai: A Novel

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It gave a unique look at how badly the Japanese soldiers treated people during the occupation of China.

The Last Rose of Shanghai - Weina Dai Randel - Google Books The Last Rose of Shanghai - Weina Dai Randel - Google Books

But more important than that is the fact that Ernest is also on the run from Japanese soldiers, who suspect him of killing one of their own, and the powerful Japanese commander has threatened to shut down Aiyi’s beloved nightclub unless she turns him in.When she hires him, she is defying customs - there was much prejudice between the Chinese and the white people in the city.

The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel ~ a Review The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel ~ a Review

For example: After Ernest was hired, time skipped forward by several months and the club was flourishing. And while the obstacles between them did get a bit much towards the end (a scene featuring a tank stretched the limits of even my suspension of disbelief), I do like how the core reasons they couldn’t be together were very true to their characters’ unique circumstances. While still a WWII story, the plot offers a perspective not usually seen in this genre: that of the Japanese-occupied Chinese and the refugee Shanghai Jews. The book is the story of their rise to power and their downfall; how they thought they ruled Shanghai but found the city had other ideas.The plot could have been interesting, but I could not stomach the bland writing for over 400 pages and quit torturing myself at page 255. Ballard took the decision to fictionalise his experiences the better to show the often “casual surrealism” of war. Her novels have received starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Shelf Awareness and rave reviews from other publications such as RT Book Reviews, Bookbub, and Book Reporter. What makes this different is the Shanghai city setting, the horrors inflicted on the Chinese by the Japanese, the deplorable living conditions for Jewish immigrants, which were well done by Randel.