Friday, February 22, 2013

The Literazzi Book Club

I recently read Shanghai Girls by Lisa See in preparation for the upcoming Literazzi Book Club discussion group.  It was an easy read although not always a happy one.

 One facet of the story that I found fascinating was the family dynamic between sisters Pearl and May: each claims that the other is the favored child; Pearl, the older sibling, feels an obligation to protect the younger at any cost while May, the younger sibling, feels entitled to sacrifices from the older sister; and the sisters' loyalty, however tenuous it may be at times, holds them together through times of unexpected and unbelievable adversity.

An interesting development was the way the two sisters changed so radically following the upheaval in their lives caused by politics and violence.  Although at the start of the book both believed themselves to be trendy young ladies of their time, one found herself more and more falling back on the traditional  ways of her mother while the other embraced the possibilities that came with moving to America.

Helen Lug
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