i so desperately wish this was based on a real story. the japanese occupation of china and the influx of refugees to the area is definitely not an aspect of WWII that is commonly told, so the memories of those people who suffered in that part of the world during the war deserve to be shared.

The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel | Goodreads The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel | Goodreads

When I took a friend's advice to write a story of Jews in Shanghai, I didn't know what I was getting into. What felt a little less authentic was the relationship of Aiyi and Ernest. One moment, they’re ready to spend together forever. But by the end of the next chapter, it’s “We’re too different, it’ll never work.” During WW2, a Jewish refugee Earnest seeks a new life in Shanghai where he meets Aiyi, a nightclub owner who hires him as a pianist. But as WW2 progresses their lives are changed forever.The Japanese invasion of Shanghai was not a part of history I was familiar with. They placed foreigners that had not fled Shanghai when the Japanese invaded in internment camps during the occupation. Conditions in those camps were awful. Starvation, disease and even death prevailed. In 1941, the Japanese, in collaboration with the Nazis, rounded up all the Jews in Shanghai and placed them in a ghetto in Tilanqiao. There were approximately 15,000 Jews left in Shanghai by then. They were also plagued by malnutrition and disease. The ghetto Jews lived in overcrowded multi family homes in one of the poorest sections of Shanghai. When the war ended, most Jews left Shanghai and settled in Australia, the United States or Canada. Most of the Jews living in Shanghai during World War II survived. Aiyi and Ernest escaped first to Texas but ultimately settled in Canada. While still a WWII story, the plot offers a perspective not usually seen in this genre: that of the Japanese-occupied Chinese and the refugee Shanghai Jews. It was enlightening to learn about this aspect of WWII.

The Last Rose of Shanghai, by Weina Dai Randel Review | The Last Rose of Shanghai, by Weina Dai Randel

Well, I’ve already written I’m not a great fan of World War 2 fiction. But if you are, then chances are good you’ll like The Last Rose of Shanghai. Especially if you want something from outside of Europe. Jewish people certainly had a terrible time of things in the 1930s and 1940s. So, if you like stories where the Jewish people don’t all end up dead in a concentration camp, this book might look good to you. Another attraction is the setting in Shanghai. In part, books exist to take readers to unfamiliar places, and 1930s Shanghai will be unfamiliar to most readers. My new novel: A WWII-novel of love and redemption between a Chinese nightclub owner and a Jewish refugee set in Shanghai, to be released on November 1st, 2021. Does all this add up to a good story? In some ways, yes. Certainly, living in an occupied city is awful. Both Aiyi and Ernest experience their share of tragedy. But Randel avoids making the story an atrocity Olympics. The reader finds suffering, but the suffering alone doesn’t take over the story. It felt authentic to me, at least.

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For example, there’s the usual barrier of Aiyi being engaged to another man. But more important than that is the fact that Ernest is also on the run from Japanese soldiers, who suspect him of killing one of their own, and the powerful Japanese commander has threatened to shut down Aiyi’s beloved nightclub unless she turns him in. Thus, Aiyi’s motivation for staying away from Ernest has only a bit to do with the usual barriers of family honour and duty, and much more to do with who she is as a person who values her financial independence, and takes great pride in what she has accomplished with her night club. I’ve read a number of WWII books focused on Europe or Japan, but I wasn’t aware of the events in Shanghai. I’m really glad I came across this book, and the author has piqued my interest about this piece of history. She included a list of further reading at the end of the book to learn more about Shanghai during WWII, and I will definitely be adding some of them to my TBR list!

The Last Rose of Shanghai - Weina Dai Randel - Google Books The Last Rose of Shanghai - Weina Dai Randel - Google Books

In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, two people from different cultures are drawn together by fate and the freedom of music... I'd have loved less focus on the romantic angle and more on the social angle. The romance was too instant to be believable.

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Aiyi and Ernest met by chance. She was immediately drawn to his beautiful and expressive blue eyes. It was frowned upon for Chinese to socialize with refugees. Ernest found himself in the same club Aiyi was in one night. He somehow found himself playing the piano. Ernest and Aiyi were attracted to each other immediately. Aiyi ended up hiring Ernest to play the piano at her club. He was a talented pianist and he helped restore the popularity and success of her club with his playing. Ernest often played Aiyi’s favorite jazz song, The Last Rose of Shanghai, for her. The two fell in love and began an impossible doomed affair. Aiyi and Ernest had to keep their love a secret. After all, Aiyi was engaged to be married and their affair could ruin her family’s reputation. Through heartbreak, tragedies, danger and prejudice Aiyi and Ernest never lost sight of the love they felt for each other, though. In fact, I’d say that it’s Aiyi and Ernest’s own story arcs that really make the novel shine, even more than the romance between them. The love story aspect began to feel a bit episodic after a while, when just as things seem headed for a happy resolution, something new happens that keeps them apart again. After a while, the obstacles themselves began to feel a bit convenient, like a TV writer stretching out the story over an entire season’s worth of episodes. The ending to this plot line, with the big reveal in the final few chapters, was satisfying, though I wish there had been more of an emotional payoff.