Tolog Review: Shanghai Girls

Shanghai Girls
by Lisa See
reviewed by Francesca Christensen

Shanghai Girls, a novel, by Lisa See, illustrates the life of two “beautiful girls” navigating a world of tradition and status in Shanghai, China. As the elder sister Pearl describes it, “We are twenty-one and eighteen. We are young, we are beautiful, and we live in the Paris of Asia” (See 11). In other words, sisters, Pearl and May, have everything they could ever dream of. They have a wealthy family, parents that love them, beauty, a comfortable home, and many luxurious possessions. The pair model and appear in many magazines, advertisements, and posters depicting the ideal Shanghai woman. It is not until their whole world is torn apart, that the sisters realize their most valuable possession; each other. When May and Pearl discover that their father has lost all of his money to Old Man Louie, who is involved with the Green Gang, the sisters have no choice but to marry Old Man Louie’s two sons. This means that they must leave their fabulous lives in Shanghai and make a new life in foreign America. If they decide to disobey, the Green Gang will punish them and make the entire family suffer greatly. The fate of this family is left up to these two young girls. May and Pearl, unaware of what the future holds, refuse to voyage to America on the scheduled ship. Now they must avoid the Green Gang and make it to America on their own with very little money and help. These two young women, have to face a series of tragic events in order to finally reach their destination. Even when they do arrive in America, there are still many problems they will encounter. This powerful, beautiful novel, deals with many difficult topics including betrayal, love, loss, tradition, racism, loyalty, and family. In Shanghai Girls, sisters, May and Pearl must work together to make everything right again and ultimately discover the true meaning of sisterhood. After all, “Parents die, daughters grow up and marry out, but sisters are for life” (309).