Shanghai Girls...and a tribute.

 

It's been a while since I wrote a "book report", but I just finished Lisa See's novel "Shanghai Girls".  For those of you who know me, I love historical fiction.  But nothing intrigues me more than reading stories that are set in China or the Far East.  I love reading about different Chinese characters, walking with them through their hardships, their lives steep in culture and traditions, while at the same time, longing to be free of cultural expectations.

I devour these books because I feel there are elements of my Chinese heritage that I want to learn more about, and there are missing pieces in my family history that I've longed to put together.  As I read these novels, I'm intrigued and I'm connected, and I picture my grandmother and grandfather as characters in these stories.

Lisa See is such a gifted story-teller.  Her previous book "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" reminded me of my great-grandmother when she described Chinese women with bound feet, and she gave an intricate account of how a foot is bound.  It was so interesting (and painful!) to read about it, and it took me back to memories of my great-grandmother whom I had the honor and privilege to know for at least 10 years before she passed away.  I remember her small little feet, the way she would waddle, her quiet demeanor, and the love and adoration her children had for her.  At the same time, I remember thinking how blessed I am that I was born in the day and age where feet-binding was not an expectation.  As I think about it, I'm only 2 generations removed from the patriarchal, feet-binding era.  And when I think about the decisions that my grandparents made, particularly their escape from China under Japanese occupation, I would not be where I am today.  It gives me chills to think that I could've been born in China and how my life would be so different from what it is today.

The central theme to Lisa See's historical fiction is about relationships between women, usually mother-daughter, or sister-sister.  I love how she has given the Chinese women a voice during a time when male dominance prevailed.  Typically, you see how quiet, demure these Chinese women are.  But surely, they have opinions and feelings just like everyone else.  Girls from a young age were groomed to become wives, take orders from their husbands and mothers-in-law, and expected to produce sons to carry on their husband's family name.  Throughout the course of history, Chinese or otherwise, women are considered lower class than men.  Parents want sons, not daughters.  I know that unfathomable things are done to baby girls in China, even today (hence my holy discontent...but that's a story for another day!).  So, it's refreshing that Lisa See is verbalizing the thoughts and dreams of these Chinese women.  The relationships between the women are powerful.  Back in the day (and perhaps still today), being outwardly affectionate is not the norm nor acceptable.  But the evidence of a mother's love goes beyond words, as account after account of the sacrifices a mother would make for her daughters show the extent of her love.  Lisa See's ability to bring the reader into the world of her characters only benefits, because I get to feel, rejoice, cheer, empathize, and agonize right alongside these women, who may as well be representatives of my grandmother, great-grandmother, and other ancestors.  Their powerful relationships make sense since they only have each other to lean on for comfort and empathy as they go through similar experiences. 

I can't help but think about my beloved grandparents, and what they had to go through.  I know that they escaped from China (just like in the book), though I don't know how and what they must have seen or experienced in their escape.  I know that my grandmother was a young bride, and my grandfather a handsome sailor.  Perhaps it was a blessing that he had the means to transport them via sea and headed south to the British colonized island of Singapore, where their new life began.  I picture them bringing my great-grandmother along, as well as all of my grand aunts and uncles.  What a crazy, and probably dangerous undertaking! 

If they had stayed in China, and let's just say I was born there, I wonder if I would've been given up or left on the side of the road because I was born a girl?  I wonder if my feet would be bound?  I wonder if I would be married to a strange man who was arranged for me, and whom I would only meet on my wedding day?  I wonder if I would've been sterilized after my first child?  I wonder if I would be able to read or go to school?  I wonder if I would be separated from my family and live to serve my in-laws?  I wonder if I would come to know Jesus?

For this and so much more, I am so thankful to my grandparents for their sacrifice of leaving their homeland in search for a better life elsewhere.  The desire for freedom is innate in every person, and it was their desire for life and liberty that provided a better future for their children and future generations, me included.  I adored my grandparents!  They took care of my sister and I when we were little while my parents worked.  While they maintained a lot of their Chinese decorum, I saw playful sides of them too.  I saw how my grandfather served my grandmother (he did all the cleaning, ironing, and laundry!  That's so counter-cultural in their culture!).  My grandmother was a fabulous cook!  I treasure my many memories of her, especially when she brushed my hair, fanned me while I took my naps, protected me from my hot-tempered parents, loved me beyond measure.  I adored my grandfather, and remember him being so silly as he made my sister and I laugh.  He always sang songs and was incredibly goofy.  I remember him picking me up from school and we'd walk home hand-in-hand, and he'd let me play in the park and bought me ice-cream sandwiches almost every day.  My grandfather is the coolest because he took me to see "Grease" seven times in the movie theaters!!  Yes, 7.  And he didn't even speak English! 

Truly, the best part of me, I attribute it to them.  And I miss them dearly.  Though they are no longer alive, I hope that they are proud of me.  I think about them a lot, often when I'm the loneliest, and sometimes wish I could go back in time and be able to go over to their house because it was my safe haven.  I grieve over the fact that my children will never know them.  But as I start sharing my story and my childhood with Joshua, Jenna, and Becca, I pray that my children will see a glimpse of who my grandparents were and how much I loved them.  And no matter what, we are family, and a piece of my grandparents will always be with us.

I didn't intend to make this blog post about my grandparents, but I find it a fitting tribute to them as I review the book I've been reading.  In conclusion, Shanghai Girls is a story about 2 sisters who escape China during the time of the Japanese invasion.  It is about their struggle to adapt to life in America, while trying to remain true to who they are.  They bring with them emotional baggage and secrets from their homeland.  As readers, we cheer them on in their attempt to create a new life in the States, knowing the hell that they went through in China.  But their story doesn't end in this book.  Along comes the next generation as their daughter Joy tries to find her identity as a Chinese American. 

And I can't wait to read the sequel "Dreams of Joy"!