ReadLexington：The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel

ReadLexington - English Version

Editor's Notes

Every time I walk into the reading room of the Lexington Cary Library, the big bookshelf with well arranged books always attracts my attention and curiosity. "Celebrate Lexington's Authors - 150th Cary Memorial Library 1868 - 2018" is written on the wall behind the bookshelf. As it is well known, Lexington has more than 500 published authors who specialize in science, education, literature, history, economics, health, computer science and other fields, and the library houses more than 1,500 books written by Lexington residents, an invaluable resource for many of us.

ReadLexington features the local writers who live amongst us. They are our neighbors, friends and mentors. They appear distant yet are so close to us. ReadLexington aims to promote books written by Lexingtonians, offers readers a glimpse of authors' creative process and daily life, and encourages everyone to read their books. It is published in both English and Chinese.

Summer afternoon-summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.

- An International Episode, Writer, Henry James

Let us pick a beautiful summer afternoon, and read a book by Lexingtonians together!

Jessie

Author Weina Dai Randel

Weina Dai Randel is the award-winning author of three novels, The Last Rose of Shanghai, The Moon in the Palace and The Empress of Bright Moon, a historical duology about Wu Zetian, China’s only female emperor. Weina is the winner of the RWA RITA Award, a National Jewish Book Awards finalist, a Goodreads Choice Award semifinalist, and a RT Book Reviewers Choice Award nominee. Her books have been translated into eleven foreign languages.

Weina’s new novel, The Last Rose of Shanghai (12/1/21), tells an impossible love story between a wealthy Chinese nightclub owner and a penniless Jewish pianist who fled to Shanghai from Nazi Germany.

Born in China, Weina came to the United States at twenty-four, when she switched to English and began to speak, write and dream in her second language. She holds an MA in English from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. She has worked as the subject-matter expert for Southern New Hampshire University’s MFA program and as an adjunct professor for Eastfield College.

Interviews with Weina have appeared on WFAA’s Good Morning Texas and in such publications as World Literature Today, China Daily, The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Review of Books, New York City Post, and RT Book Reviews. After living in Texas for years, Weina now resides in Boston with her loving husband, two children, and a family of chipmunks in the backyard.

“I want to build a bridge with readers so they can understand that Chinese, Chinese Americans, and Asian Americans in this country are individuals with dread and dreams. I want to take readers on an intimate journey with an engaging story set in an immersive world rich with cultures, history, and identifiable characters.”

-- Weina Dai Randel

Interviewed by

ReadLexington

How many novels have you published so far?
I’ve published three novels, The Last Rose of Shanghai (2021) and the historical duology The Moon in the Palace (2016) and The Empress of Bright Moon (2016), biographical novels about the first and only female emperor Wu Zetian.
Can you tell me about The LAST ROSE OF SHANGHAI? What is it about?
The Last Rose of Shanghai tells a forbidden love story between an upper-class Chinese nightclub owner and a penniless Jewish refugee who fled from Nazi Germany to Shanghai. It’s set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai between 1940 to 1945. The reviews have said it’s a sweeping epic that transcends race, class, tradition, religion, and war.
Why did you choose to write this historical novel?
I was born and raised in China; at twenty four, I immigrated to the US. Before that, I lived in Shanghai for five years in my early twenties. Today, I still have fond memories of life there, biking to work, bargaining for clothes, savoring curry chicken at the night market, and some not-so-fond memories, such as being pick-pocketed on the street, fear of failing to pay for the bus fare, and being evicted by the landlord. All the excitement and annoyances of living in a metropolitan city as a young, struggling single woman living paycheck to paycheck. In Shanghai, I grew fascinated with the city’s Haipai culture, the multicultural mix, and the lasting foreign presence seen in the art deco, Gothic, Baroque architecture, and the tale that the locals tossed loaves of bread into the alleys to feed the Jewish refugees during WWII, which I still remember years later.
But I didn’t look into this history until a friend suggested I write a story of Jews in Shanghai. That was in 2018, two years after I published The Empress of Bright Moon duology, and I was ready for another project. Since I was going to host a bat mitzvah, I thought it would be a good idea to honor my family’s Jewish heritage.
As a historical novel writer, I was also aware that despite a plethora of novels about WWII published today, most books were set in Europe, and few described the war in the Pacific Theater, the plight of the Chinese people, or the atrocities committed by the Japanese, a member of the Axis powers. The truth is that WWII brought destruction on many levels and devastated many corners of the world. Amid this heartbreaking devastation, when many people’s lives hung in the balance in Shanghai, about 18,000 Jews fled Nazi Germany, landed in Shanghai, and survived the war. Few people know about this little-known piece of history, including my Jewish relatives.
What are the stories that you enjoy to writing?

Stories about extraordinary people who have done extraordinary things fascinate me! And I’m especially interested in crafting Chinese and Asian American characters. These characters might be strong, or vulnerable, but they are all unique, relatable, and flawed in some way. I also tend to thread the historical events with the characters so readers will have a sense of the history; it’s my goal to bring the past alive in a dramatic and cathartic way.

How long on average does it take you to write a book?
It took me three years and six months to write The Last Rose of Shanghai, ten years to write the first novel, The Moon in the Palace, and two years on the sequel, The Empress of Bright Moon. So on average, I’d say it takes me approximately three years to write a novel. I wish I could speed up, but I’m a slow writer, known as a revision addict, to use the phrase my relative crowned me.
What is your next book? When will it be published?
I am writing a new book called Night Angels, a WWII novel set in Vienna, tells a heroic story of a diplomatic couple who risked their lives to rescue the Jews in Vienna by issuing them life-saving visas. The novel is based on Dr. Ho Fengshan, the Chinese diplomat who was honored as an Righteous Among the Nations. It will be published on Feb 14, 2023.

Book Description

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.

Review

“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
“This audiobook touches on the unexplored Jewish community in Shanghai and the difficulties of engaging in cross-cultural relationships at that time.” – AudioFile
“The Last Rose of Shanghai is a powerful story of the relationship between a Shanghai heiress and a Jewish refugee, set against the backdrop of a nightclub in China on the eve of the Second World War. Weina Dai Randel skillfully shines a light on a little-known moment in history through the lens of two vividly drawn characters whose unique and unexpected relationship is one readers will never forget.” —Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman with the Blue Star
“The Last Rose of Shanghai vividly depicts the clash of East and West as Jewish refugees flee Hitler’s Berlin for faraway Shanghai, where they struggle to survive amid the uneasy coexistence of Chinese magnates and Japanese invaders. Weina Dai Randel’s poignant, sweeping love story paints a vibrant portrait of a little-known slice of World War II history. Not to be missed!” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code and The Huntress
“A sweeping novel that transports readers to 1940s Shanghai, The Last Rose of Shanghai is a must-read for historical fiction lovers. Filled with page-turning suspense and a poignant and unforgettable love story, Weina Dai Randel wholly immerses the reader in this richly detailed and powerfully drawn story.” —Chanel Cleeton, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

Awards