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ava_catherine's review against another edition
3.0
I have read all of Nicole Mones's previous books, loving every one, and looked forward to this one; however, it fell short of the mark for me. Although the book was superbly researched and well-written, I could not connect with the characters. There was no warmth or inner psychological depth to the hollow characters that made me care about them. This is unusual for Mones, and I wonder if it is because she was writing from a male perspective for the first time or because she was so involved in the historical perspective of the story, which is intriguing. I give her high marks for the historical research; however, the characters are just too wooden creating a dull, tepid book.
lindsayw's review against another edition
2.0
I won this ARC from First Reads. Full review to come when it arrives.
UPDATE: I thought I'd be into this book mostly because of my enjoyment of "The Far Side of the Sky", which has essentially the same setting as "Night in Shanghai". NiS, however, didn't really capture my interest, and I found myself skimming a lot. It seems to be a well-researched book, but I couldn't get into the story at all. Maybe if I'd tried harder I would have enjoyed it more, but I already feel like I put quite a bit of effort into getting through it, and that's not something I really want to do.
Interesting premise/setting, but not the greatest execution.
UPDATE: I thought I'd be into this book mostly because of my enjoyment of "The Far Side of the Sky", which has essentially the same setting as "Night in Shanghai". NiS, however, didn't really capture my interest, and I found myself skimming a lot. It seems to be a well-researched book, but I couldn't get into the story at all. Maybe if I'd tried harder I would have enjoyed it more, but I already feel like I put quite a bit of effort into getting through it, and that's not something I really want to do.
Interesting premise/setting, but not the greatest execution.
iroughol's review against another edition
3.0
Gave that much more meaning to my trip to Shanghai. A pleasant and engaging read, and an excellent introduction to the city's history. I wouldn't say it's one of the great works of literature, but effective and well done.
hydroxicacid's review against another edition
4.0
Night in Shanghai is set during a fascinating time in Shanghai, and has an unusual main character - a black jazz musician from America. The supporting cast features real historical figures such as H.H. Kung and my favorite gangster, Du Yuesheng. Mones clearly did her research - the backdrop of the war is detailed, and I especially enjoyed the storyline about the Nationalists' plan to resettle European Jews in China.
I wanted more nuance in how this book addressed race. There were moments where black characters' thoughts and actions didn't quite ring true, such as getting used to being pulled around by a coolie so quickly and calling the Chinese "boy".
I felt that the romance between Song and Thomas was the least compelling part of the book - I cared much more about what was happening on the political side with Du, Kung, and Morioka.
I wanted more nuance in how this book addressed race. There were moments where black characters' thoughts and actions didn't quite ring true, such as getting used to being pulled around by a coolie so quickly and calling the Chinese "boy".
I felt that the romance between Song and Thomas was the least compelling part of the book - I cared much more about what was happening on the political side with Du, Kung, and Morioka.
dundermifflin's review against another edition
2.0
I've become interested in the period between the wars and the chaos in (Communists, Nationalists, Japanese) at the time, so I really, really wanted to like this book. The sense of place was well developed, but the characters seemed hollow to me. Forbidden love, African American and Chinese ofwoman, but nothing that made them seem like real people. And the unknown Holocaust story seemed like it was tossed in just to bring to light an unknown episode in history. Perhaps that should have been its own novel. That part made it seem to me that the story about Thomas and I've already forgotten her name was written just to tell the Holocaust story
readalot662f9's review against another edition
2.0
I've become interested in the period between the wars and the chaos in (Communists, Nationalists, Japanese) at the time, so I really, really wanted to like this book. The sense of place was well developed, but the characters seemed hollow to me. Forbidden love, African American and Chinese ofwoman, but nothing that made them seem like real people. And the unknown Holocaust story seemed like it was tossed in just to bring to light an unknown episode in history. Perhaps that should have been its own novel. That part made it seem to me that the story about Thomas and I've already forgotten her name was written just to tell the Holocaust story
rubybastille's review
2.0
The first half was lovely, but the second half felt more like a collection of Chinese historical anecdotes. I really enjoyed learning about black jazz musicians in prewar China and the Chinese attempts to save Jews from the Holocaust, but this was a short book that didn't give all its storylines the time they deserved. It could easily have been a 600+ page epic.
dundermifflin's review
2.0
I've become interested in the period between the wars and the chaos in (Communists, Nationalists, Japanese) at the time, so I really, really wanted to like this book. The sense of place was well developed, but the characters seemed hollow to me. Forbidden love, African American and Chinese ofwoman, but nothing that made them seem like real people. And the unknown Holocaust story seemed like it was tossed in just to bring to light an unknown episode in history. Perhaps that should have been its own novel. That part made it seem to me that the story about Thomas and I've already forgotten her name was written just to tell the Holocaust story