The Last Rose of Shanghai Audiobook By Weina Dai Randel cover art

The Last Rose of Shanghai

A Novel

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The Last Rose of Shanghai

By: Weina Dai Randel
Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg, Emily Woo Zeller
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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. 20th Century Historical Fiction Jewish World Literature China

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)

Historical Perspective • Engaging Love Story • Excellent Narration • Cultural Insights • Emotional Depth
Highly rated for:
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Love it most enjoyable time spend listening to this book.Would recommend
to all my fellow readers

Love shanghai

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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.



Okay.

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At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book but it got such good reviews so I stuck with it and I am so glad I did because this a very good book! I have to admit I got frustrated with how sad the story got but life can be sad so this book takes you on a journey and twist and turns, so listen to this book if you want to be entertained!

What a book!

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Great story and excellent performance. It brought to me as close as possible the picture of that horrific age, as well as gripped the heart longing for love.

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What an entertaining way to learn about a time and place in history that I have known little of, surrounded by a beautiful romantic tale of star-crossed lovers.

This novel is finely crafted going back and forth in time without the usual confusion. Fully realized characters in a richly detailed setting of WWII China.

The narrators did a beautiful job of creating the voices and emotions of all the characters especially of the main heroine. And the settings created vivid pictures of the luxury and the squalor along with the gorgeous descriptions of the clothing. Beautifully done.

One flaw, however, that kept me from giving this terrific novel five stars was the ending. Spoiler Alert:

The character of Ernest was almost dismissed at the end with only a comment about his fate. This was very surprising and dismaying because he was such an integral character. This really diminished the impact of the last part of the novel.

But overall, a truly memorable book.

Great Romance, History and Intrigue

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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.

Interesting View of WWII

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It was so easy to get swept up in this story of romance and loss during World War 2. I’m not sure how accurate the details were with respect to exactly what happened in Shanghai during this time, but certainly seemed plausible. I especially enjoyed the narration of this audio book and would definitely read other books from this author.

Beautifully Done Historical Fiction

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I really enjoyed this book! Historical fiction has the basis for so much learning. I’m glad to have gotten to read it X

The Last Rose of Shanghai

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The history in this book is fascinating…..about an area of the world we don’t read as much about but the Chinese suffered as brutally as Europe’s Jews. And Jews and foreigners in China were not spared by the Japanese! Horrendous times! Very entertaining story!

Great history lesson!

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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.

Wow

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