Shanghai Girls

I just finished reading the first of many books I hope to read over the next couple of months.  This came recommended to me and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I definitely pass on the recommendation to anyone looking for a great historical fiction read.

This book takes place in 1937 in Shanghai.  The two main characters are sisters who come from a well to do family.  They are considered "beautiful girls" and are living the life in Shanghai.  All this changes once when their father loses both his and the girls' money and is forced to arrange marriages for both of his daughters to repay this debt.  The sisters, Pearl and May are both educated with westernized  views and they are devastated by being forced to marry.  During this time, the Japanese are attacking China and not only are these girls trying to escape marriage, they are trying to escape the attacks on their country as well.  Eventually they make it to America.  But not before losing their home, both of their parents, and their innocence.  Their struggles and hardships continue on in America as they have to face immigration, prejudices, and succumb to the life arranged for them through marriage.  (There was also an event, a tragic death, that I was not expecting nor was I prepared for it.  It caught me off guard and it hit close to home.  However, it is a common reality and just added another layer to this book.)

Essentially, the life that they knew and the life they planned for their future is lost.  This is the connection that I made with this book.  No one can truly know what the future holds.  We can plan and hope, but that's about the best any of us can do.  However, I think that we need to be careful not to let the planning and hoping control us to the point where we forget to enjoy the moment and to just live.  (This is the message that I took from the life of Old Man Louie in the book.)

What I thought was very fascinating about this book is how the sisters, Pearl and May, lived almost identical life experiences; however, their own stories and perspectives are so different.  This is hinted throughout the book, but it is not directly addressed until the very end.  It was just a reminder to me of how there are always two sides to every situation and that we can only see what we choose to see or what we want to see.  What is revealed before us makes such an impact on the choices and decisions that are made about life and how we each choose to live it.

The truth may hurt, but it is better to face the truth and to grow stronger by dealing with it rather than to live in the shadows of denial.