Shanghai Girls

Anyone whose read (and loved) Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club and The Hundred Secret Senses) or Pearl S. Buck (The Good Earth) will fall head over heels for Lisa See's newest novel, Shanghai Girls.  Shanghai girls begins in 1930s China, prior to Japanese invasion.  The story revolves around 2 sisters, Pearl and May, who are oblivious to the many political, social and familial changes that surround them--until they discover their father has gambled away his fortune, and must thus arrange his daughters' marriage to repay his debts.  From this point, Pearl and May's world begins to decay.  Soon after, following the bombing of Shanghai, and their father's disappearance, the story begins a sweeping journey through China en route to America, and the simultaneous horrific and heroic fates these women must endure.  Shanghai Girls is not only beautifully written, but also beautifully designed.  Like Tan, the theme of sisterhood is central to the development of the story, and the implications of being Chinese-American (at the height of the "Red Scare") move the narrative into a fascinating history lesson.