drey's library

Ah, where to start with this review? ... Pearl and May are sisters who do what every sister-pair does - try to be cool & hip, push boundaries, enjoy life; all while trying to maintain traditions. They are privileged--their businessman father has provided luxuries others cannot even fathom. And they're recognized because they're "beautiful girls" whose images are used to sell everything the Chinese girl needs to be cool & hip. So when they're essentially sold off to pay gambling debts, they don't understand. How could this happen to them? They're modern! Enlightened! Employed!Instead of accepting fate, the sisters rebel against the decision. It's so easy to just not do what your parents want you to... Unknown to them though, going along with the arranged marriages would have made their life just that little bit easier down the road. As it is, they're caught in Shanghai when the Japanese invade, and face a harrowing journey to get out. Deciding where to go is easy--there's nowhere else but America, where their husbands await.Once in America, Lisa See sets a scene of immigrants looking to better their lives, & the lives of their families. Los Angeles in the 30's is very xenophobic, and nobody wants Occidentals moving in next door. The solution? Why, build an area just for them, of course. We'll even call it Chinatown! Residents are resigned to the fact that the American Dream is always on the other side of the fence--either because they're afraid to attract notice due to their immigrant status, or they're turned down outside the borders...Shanghai Girls is rich in detail--both in the characters and the setting. Pearl and May have the unfortunate fate of learning that all is not what it seems--from their languid if busy lives in Shanghai, to the reality they face once they've reached America. The layers upon layers of the sisters' lives peel back like an onion under Lisa See's knife. I was completely immersed in the communication between the sisters--because there's always volumes in what is not said, or very briefly mentioned, when you are trying to protect yourself from even the ones you love the most. It will be available next week, I highly recommend picking up a copy.