"The Last Rose of Shanghai" by Weina Dai Randel: A Gripping Tale of Love and Loss in 1930s China

Amazon Customer: I enjoy reading books about WWII. They are usually about Germany. Poland or England. This is the first one I've read about China and the Japanese. I enjoyed it very much.

United States on Nov 23, 2023

sandra freas: If you love historical fiction this is a must must must read. The characters, the era all come alive. Savored this book to its perfect end.

United States on Nov 21, 2023

Julie C. Flaugher: I had no idea what happened in Shanghai during World War II: its interesting history before then and the terrible tragedies that happened during that time. This is a story that will linger with me, not only because of this newly-discovered-by-me part of history but also because of the well-written story of the people that lived through it. Many perspectives intertwine into an amazing story of how quickly life can change and amazing human resilience.

United States on Nov 07, 2023

Veronica C: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The going back to the war years before continuing in the present let you see the past of the main character in just his and pieces.
I also enjoyed how she realized that she actually did love her cousin/fiancee, even if it wasn't the passionate love she had for Ernest.
The fact that several of the characters had regrets that haunted them for years felt very realistic.
I enjoyed how the focus was on how war affected the average citizens much more than the soldiers.
I would recommend this book.

United States on Oct 22, 2023

viorica wagner: Il faut lire ce livre …. Merveilleusement écrit !

France on Sep 01, 2023

sandra: Just keep reading. You’ll never expect the ending. Just keep reading. It gets better and better. I would probably say that the last 20% of the book was absolutely mind blowing.

Australia on Jul 31, 2023

Karissa Eckert: Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this book through Amazon First Reads.

Thoughts: I enjoyed the unique setting for this book but thought the writing was a bit awkward and the story was just so-so. This book takes place during WWII in Shanghai. It follows a young heiress named Aiyi who owns her own nightclub and a Jewish refugee named Ernest who ends up playing the piano at her club. They end up falling in love but get caught up in all the politics and war of the time.

Both Ernest and Aiyi aren't all that likable. Ernest is strangely selfish and doesn't really take his sister's needs into account. Aiyi wants to be successful and is selfish as well. To be fair, to survive in this time it seems like you had to be selfish. I did like that Aiyi was a business owner and tried to stand up for herself as a woman, but she also let a lot of the men in her life force her into bad situations. I didn't really like either of them and felt like their romance was quick and forced. I don't think it helped that the dialogue throughout felt stilted and awkward to me.

The story starts in the present and then goes back to the past and then ends in the...

United States on Jun 30, 2023

Jenny Howard: I enjoyed this book. I knew little about Shanghai duringWW2 and nothing about the Jewish refugees there. All I knew was that China & the Chinese people suffered a lot during this time. The book educated me whilst making you engage with the characters & feel sympathy for them. It was sad, scary & up!ifting all at the same time. Definitely a good read.

United Kingdom on Jun 11, 2023

ramendra singh: Unbelievably i00nteresting and authentic with a slice of history.Who would believe such
such incidents really happened in China .Tantalising story of a women with grit and determination.

India on Nov 14, 2022

Kindle Customer: A large canvas, beginning in Japanese occupied Shanghai prior to Pearl Harbour, there is a history here that many people will be unaware of and in that setting a love story between a rich and pampered Chinese heiress and a young Jewish refugee from Hitler's Germany. The setting feels genuine, corroborating J G Ballard's Empire of the Sun, and the young protagonists almost in the vein of starr-crossed lovers, as suggested by other reviewers. The thing I found was the breathless nature of describing every nuance of every emotion felt by each of the characters. It was like a situation where characters In a film would be trying to tell the reader about every emotion they were feeling, whereas I have always felt that the most effective writing or acting is for the character to play an action and for the reader/viewer to interpret that action within the context of the drama. Having said that, this novel comes from a different culture to mine and therefore I must cut some slack to the author as this may well be typical of her culture. Nevertheless, an intriguing read with some wonderful historical background thrown in.

Australia on Aug 23, 2022