I read both of these books by Lisa See recently. While the fictional story is captivating and entertaining, the factual Chinese history in the novels is eye opening. I have not studied Chinese history or culture... Just that they have a communist government and that they celebrate Chinese New Year and use chop sticks. But these novels brought up and shed light on many Chinese traditions and some interesting history. I've never been able to understand communism and why people would allow for that kind of life, but through the experience of The Shanghai sisters, I understood how extreme poverty and class separation led them to accept it.
See did an exceptional job at showing Chinese history and culture in both China and in the United States through the World War II era and afterward.
Shanghai Girls and its sequel Finding Joy are both great reads with themes of perseverance, love, sacrifice, motherhood and family relationships. I would recommend it to anybody interested in Chinese history or not! So, go ahead, dive in, and tell me what you think!
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