The last rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel

  Name of Book: The Last Rose of Shanghai 

Author: Weina Dai Randel 

ISBN: 978-1542032872

Publisher: Lake Union 

Type of book: China, Shanghai, jazz, club, 1940-1945, 1980, ww2, Jewish refugees, family, siblings, relationships, mistress, business, club, arranged marriages, drugs, piano, music, secondary Chinese male/American Jewish female relationship, exploration, secrets 

Year it was published: 2021

Summary:

In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, two people from different cultures are drawn together by fate and the freedom of music...

1940. Aiyi Shao is a young heiress and the owner of a formerly popular and glamorous Shanghai nightclub. Ernest Reismann is a penniless Jewish refugee driven out of Germany, an outsider searching for shelter in a city wary of strangers. He loses nearly all hope until he crosses paths with Aiyi. When she hires Ernest to play piano at her club, her defiance of custom causes a sensation. His instant fame makes Aiyi's club once again the hottest spot in Shanghai. Soon they realize they share more than a passion for jazz—but their differences seem insurmountable, and Aiyi is engaged to another man.

As the war escalates, Aiyi and Ernest find themselves torn apart, and their choices between love and survival grow more desperate. In the face of overwhelming odds, a chain of events is set in motion that will change both their lives forever.

From the electrifying jazz clubs to the impoverished streets of a city under siege, The Last Rose of Shanghai is a timeless, sweeping story of love and redemption. 

Characters:

Main characters include Aiyi Shao, a beautiful and vain woman  who cares a lot about fashion, styles and business. Despite that, she has a kind heart when it comes to the underdog and will do whatever she can for him. She definitely has confidence and is on top of what will make her club stand out. And when push comes to shove, she is capable of giving back the dues. Ernest Reissman is a penniless Jew who also happens to be a talented and determined pianist. He also has a knack for reading people as well as understanding them but can be selfish at times and at times runs away from difficulties. He is also kindhearted. There are a ton of secondary characters such as Aiyis family, Ernests sister, and friends as well as Japanese enemies who hide their true selves too well. 

Theme:

The theme could be anything, but I would guess main one is how much is hidden in his world. 

Plot:

The story is written in first person narrative from Aiyis point of view, and third person narrative from Ernests point of view. It's definitely addictive, and chapters are named after the characters of Aiyi and Ernest. The story begins in 1980 when Aiyi is meeting a woman at a hotel who was interested in Shanghai Jews during ww2, and Aiyi begins her tale of owning a club and being an atypical woman in a world of men. Aiyis narrative covers the years from 1940 to 1945 and it is an intimate narrative of loss, love, desires, racism, hierarchy and relationships. It's truly an atypical ww2 novel from all sides. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

Weina Dai Randel is the award-winning author of two historical novels, The Moon in the Palace and The Empress of Bright Moon, historical novel series about Empress Wu (Wu Zetian), China's only female emperor. The Moon in the Palace won the RWA RITA® Award in 2017, was nominated by Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Historical Fiction, nominated by RT Book Reviewers Choice Award for Best First Historical, recommended by Texas Library Association’s 2017 Lariat Reading List, and was a San Francisco Book Festival Honorable Mention. The series have been translated into 7 languages and sold worldwide.

Weina's latest novel, The Last Rose of Shanghai, a WWII novel of love and redemption, will be published on December 1, 2021.

Find more about Weina and her writing career on her website: www.weinarandel.com.

From Weina: "I love to see how words form an image that transcends the banal reality or how words join together to create a morsel of wisdom that tickles your mind."

Born and raised in China, Weina came to the United States in her early twenties. She holds an M.A. in English from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas.

Connect with Weina on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/weinadairandel

Opinion:

Wow, just wow. Am I stunned? A big resounding yes. Have I learned a lot about ww2 that I hadn't known before? Another big resounding yes. I come across a lot of ww2 fiction, and while a number of things weren't new to me, there was plenty that was. I often speculated and wondered how Japanese treated Jews during ww2, because quite often that factor gets overlooked when it comes to Germany's concentration camps, or Vichy government of France, and let's also not forget Japan's crimes against humanity when it comes to China and Korea. ( Nanking and forced colonization as well as erasure of culture, anyone?) But this book has literally stunned me. I didn't expect what I was expecting and I was shocked yet saddened. ( My son is of Chinese and Jewish ancentry... eventually  it will be difficult to tell him that during ww2 he would've been killed either for being Jewish or for being Chinese...)  Aside from that, I found it to be well written with seamless plotting and wonderful characters. I do have a question though about mixed marriages at a time because in another book I read, Till Morning Comes by Han Suyin, the main couple of a Chinese male and an American female were able to get married, yet that option was forbidden in China to Aiyi and Ernest. Why?  

This was given for review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)