The Last Rose of Shanghai

A Novel

By: Weina Dai Randel

Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg, Emily Woo Zeller

In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, two people from different cultures are drawn together by fate and the freedom of music...

1940. Aiyi Shao is a young heiress and the owner of a formerly popular and glamorous Shanghai nightclub. Ernest Reismann is a penniless Jewish refugee driven out of Germany, an outsider searching for shelter in a city wary of strangers. He loses nearly all hope until he crosses paths with Aiyi. When she hires Ernest to play piano at her club, her defiance of custom causes a sensation. His instant fame makes Aiyi’s club once again the hottest spot in Shanghai. Soon they realize they share more than a passion for jazz - but their differences seem insurmountable, and Aiyi is engaged to another man.

As the war escalates, Aiyi and Ernest find themselves torn apart, and their choices between love and survival grow more desperate. In the face of overwhelming odds, a chain of events is set in motion that will change both their lives forever.

From the electrifying jazz clubs to the impoverished streets of a city under siege, The Last Rose of Shanghai is a timeless, sweeping story of love and redemption.

©2021 Weina Dai Randel. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“[Emily Woo] Zeller delivers the chapters told from the perspective of Aiyi, whose privileged upbringing, beauty, and good business sense are not enough to protect her from the hardships of war. [Josh] Bloomberg performs the chapters focused on Ernest, a German-Jewish refugee who arrives in the city looking for a safe haven. Zeller's comfort with Asian languages and accents and Bloomberg's with European ones underscore Aiyi's and Ernest's divergent spheres. Together the narrators build on the couple's conflicted emotions as their relationship grows from being business associates to much more.” (AudioFile Magazine)

“Fans of sweeping, dramatic WWII epics that are rich in historical detail, such as Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls or Paullina Simons’s The Bronze Horseman will be enthralled.” (Booklist)

“Weina Dai Randel’s novel deserves a place of distinction among WWII fiction.” (Historical Novel Society)

Love shanghai

Love it most enjoyable time spend listening to this book.Would recommend
to all my fellow readers

Okay.

Two narrators, a male and a female, saved me from not finishing. Independently, they have nice voices; however, they didn't match my perceptions of the characters. The story is written and performed as blah, blah, blah. The author mentioned a couple cultural historical places and actions (I'm not spoiling.) that were new to me, and I would have to search for verification of facts in fiction or author created scenes (I leaned towards F in F and kept reading. Again no spoilers, the scenes felt believable.) My history of the orient is weak, which is why I chose this to read.

I am taking away a couple things to Google. Nothing that wouldn't spoil are memories that will stay with me.

I did struggle to finish. I had hoped for author notes that explained the cultural and historical references but there were none.

Wow

This is a powerful story of war, Holocaust, love, survival, resistance and family. Setting is China, a locale not typically included in Holocaust or WWII literature. Weina Dai Randel is a superb storyteller who brings her characters to life. Cultural and religious depictions are accurate and authentic unlike so many authors. Narration is outstanding, with distinct voices for the different characters. I understand that Weina’s fourth novel is just as outstanding. It is second on my reading list.

Beautiful

Beautiful, sad, compelling story that captures your attention and holds it through throughout. Love it

Interesting View of WWII

A love story set in Shanghai China leading up to and during the Japanese occupation gives a different backdrop than other stories I have read from this time period. A little predictable but not so much I knew the journey to get there.