Currently Reading: Shanghai Girls

barnesandnoble.com

I enjoyed Snow Flower and the Secret Fan so much that I had to read another book by Lisa See. Shanghai Girls is about two sisters, Pearl and May, born and raised in Shanghai. They grew up in a wealthy family but as their father falls into gambling and looses everything their lives change dramatically. They are sold as brides to a Chinese family living in America  in order to repay their father's depts. They have no choice but to make the journey to their husband's home and are forced to act in the role of a traditional Chinese wife, in a country they know nothing about, and with a family and husbands who treat them like they are meaningless. Through all of this though, they know that they are lucky to be together and will figure a way to make their lives better again.

Just like See's writing in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, this story is filled with sadness, and pain, but is beautiful and endearing at the same time. She almost transports you back to the 1930's so that you can clearly see the way they lived, the process of immigration, the styles of clothing they wear, and what they experience and see when coming to America.