"Shanghai Girls" by Lisa See

I finished reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See a few days ago and have been thinking about how to describe it. This was the first book I've read that gave me a real feel for the Chinese culture. The book starts out in Shanghai in 1937 right before the Japanese invade China. The story follows the lives of two sisters Pearl and May, who are young, carefree and excited about the future.  Their lives undergo a dramatic change once they learn that their father had gambled away his fortune and sold his daughters into arranged marriages to the US. They try to escape this fate, but to no avail. The Japanese invade China - and more personal heartbreak and tragedy follows. I must warn readers that some parts of this book are quite graphic. I myself often prefer not to read books that desribe violence or suffering in a lot of detail. There is one particular point in the book that is quite descriptive, however, the event is critical to building the storyline and understanding the relationship between the two sisters.

Pearl and May eventually get settled in the US with their husbands, and we get a glimpse into what life in the Los Angeles Chinatown was like in the 1940-50s. The book ultimately is about sisterly love and the love of one's country. Pearl and May miss Shanghai terribly, but cannot go back to China because it is ruled by the Communists. Their lives are also deeply intertwined: they are sisters, best friends and sisters-in-law. They also have a "common" daughter - Joy (May gives birth to her and Pearl raises her as her own).

Lisa See has also written a sequel called Dreams of Joy - which is about the daughter I mentioned above. This next novel is definitely on my to be read list.