SHANGHAI GIRLS

Janet Song's elegant and passionate narration is fitting for the story of May and Pearl, two privileged sisters growing up in Shanghai in 1937. As Pearl, the hardworking older sister, tells their tale, Song reads with a jauntiness that embraces the sisters' fun as sophisticated models in a thriving city and Pearl’s ease with Chinese dialects. Song also projects the nuances of Pearl’s secret resentment of her sister's beauty and her own role as caretaker. Song's tones become grave with the sisters' abrupt fall from grace, which involves bankruptcy, a hastily arranged marriage, Pearl's rape by invading Japanese soldiers, and May's out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Song captures the girls' determination as they adjust to life in Los Angeles, where they face prejudice, poverty, and secrets that threaten their close relationship. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2009]