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Reviews
Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution by Helen Zia
guardianang's review against another edition
5.0
Relatable on more levels than a New York high-rise, everyone should read this story. It's not only a story of the past, but a tale paralleling so much that is happening today. I'll never understand why we must repeat these sad stories over and over again. My heart especially breaks for Hong Kong right now.
kitchensensei's review against another edition
4.0
A really compelling story about 4 people who fled China during the Cultural Revoultion in China. It really gave a good picture of the really diverse experiences of people during that era and the various motivations for leaving. It took me awhile to remember the backstories of each individual as the book goes back and forth from one person to the next. However as the book went on I appreciated being able to see how each character interacted with the same time period.
lizzybd's review against another edition
5.0
Last year, my local library posted on FB to come out and get some free books. I made my way straight there. They were closing up in 15 minutes, so I grabbed some books that seemed to have a good title and left. This was one of those books. How serendipitous it was to have casually chosen one of the most wonderful books I’ve ever read. This was written about true events that took place in Shanghai during WW2 and after the Communists took over China. History was always dull in school for me; however, I grew to love history when I homeschooled my daughter. Sadly, my knowledge of World War history in the Pacific is next to nil. I always learned more about the European side of the war. I feel like I got quite the education reading go this book. I had no idea about many of the things that took place in Asia. Having visited The Bund in the past without knowing its history makes me want to go back. I was so clueless when I went before and feel like I missed out on so much.
This book is a must-read. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
This book is a must-read. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
ellenjoannecampbell's review against another edition
3.0
Although there were interesting stories, they didn’t really interconnect, the timelines were jumbled, and the book alternated between historical narrative and the stories.
alicia_tirone's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
5.0
This book changed how I think about the world.
martyfried's review against another edition
4.0
This was an interesting read about Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc during and after WW2. It focuses on a few different people's lives and how they were affected, but they are partly symbolic for a large number of people.
Shanghai was probably the most (only?) modern city in China before the Japanese took over. It was like the roaring 20s there. Actually, I guess it pretty much was the roaring 20s. Lots of rich people going out dancing and drinking, and a lot of Westerners living in their own sections.
The Japanese didn't mess around with them too much, especially not the Europeans, but it was still pretty bad for the common Chinese there. It actually seemed to get worse when the Japanese lost, and the Nationalists took over with the Communist invaders getting closer. The Nationalists were pretty worn out when they arrived after fighting the Japanese, and they took over whatever houses they wanted. They punished a lot of Chinese who had suffered under Japanese rule for cooperating with the Japanese when all they were doing was trying to keep out of trouble and stay alive.
Then, as the Communists got closer, the Nationalist leaders started abandoning the city for Taiwan while urging the army to fight to the end. They never had a chance, and the Communists took over, and of course, punished the poor Chinese for cooperating with the Nationalists. As the Communists invaded, a lot of citizens managed to escape to Taiwan or Hong Kong, often with very little to their name. They didn't want to live in Taiwan, which they considered too backward, or Hong Kong, which was remote with nothing to do. But they couldn't stay in Shanghai which was being continuously bombed by the Nationalists in Taiwan, and they were afraid of the Communists. Plus, they thought it would only be for a short time. Unfortunately, the US didn't want to continue to support them.
Once in Taiwan, a lot of them were suspected of being Communist supporters. And there weren't enough jobs or housing, so life was really bad. Some moved on to Hong Kong, which wasn't much better, and some managed to get to the US for college. But of course, the US had Joe McCarthy looking for communists everywhere, especially in the Chinese immigrants, and the US citizens didn't think very highly of any Asians after the war against Japan. They didn't really know the difference between Japanese, Chinese, or Korean.
It was a pretty sad story most of the time. It's interesting to learn about how hard it was to leave their country and come here with nothing, and makes me think about the current immigrants from countries that are run by dictators, etc, who come here and are discriminated against, can't get jobs, etc. A lot of these Chinese were very educated and smart, yet the Communists thought they and other educated people were evil rich people who stole from the common workers, so they were punished, often harshly. It was a really stupid thing from them to do, but hard-core ideologies often don't act in their own self-interests.
Shanghai was probably the most (only?) modern city in China before the Japanese took over. It was like the roaring 20s there. Actually, I guess it pretty much was the roaring 20s. Lots of rich people going out dancing and drinking, and a lot of Westerners living in their own sections.
The Japanese didn't mess around with them too much, especially not the Europeans, but it was still pretty bad for the common Chinese there. It actually seemed to get worse when the Japanese lost, and the Nationalists took over with the Communist invaders getting closer. The Nationalists were pretty worn out when they arrived after fighting the Japanese, and they took over whatever houses they wanted. They punished a lot of Chinese who had suffered under Japanese rule for cooperating with the Japanese when all they were doing was trying to keep out of trouble and stay alive.
Then, as the Communists got closer, the Nationalist leaders started abandoning the city for Taiwan while urging the army to fight to the end. They never had a chance, and the Communists took over, and of course, punished the poor Chinese for cooperating with the Nationalists. As the Communists invaded, a lot of citizens managed to escape to Taiwan or Hong Kong, often with very little to their name. They didn't want to live in Taiwan, which they considered too backward, or Hong Kong, which was remote with nothing to do. But they couldn't stay in Shanghai which was being continuously bombed by the Nationalists in Taiwan, and they were afraid of the Communists. Plus, they thought it would only be for a short time. Unfortunately, the US didn't want to continue to support them.
Once in Taiwan, a lot of them were suspected of being Communist supporters. And there weren't enough jobs or housing, so life was really bad. Some moved on to Hong Kong, which wasn't much better, and some managed to get to the US for college. But of course, the US had Joe McCarthy looking for communists everywhere, especially in the Chinese immigrants, and the US citizens didn't think very highly of any Asians after the war against Japan. They didn't really know the difference between Japanese, Chinese, or Korean.
It was a pretty sad story most of the time. It's interesting to learn about how hard it was to leave their country and come here with nothing, and makes me think about the current immigrants from countries that are run by dictators, etc, who come here and are discriminated against, can't get jobs, etc. A lot of these Chinese were very educated and smart, yet the Communists thought they and other educated people were evil rich people who stole from the common workers, so they were punished, often harshly. It was a really stupid thing from them to do, but hard-core ideologies often don't act in their own self-interests.
givnuapeacesign's review against another edition
4.0
No matter how much I read about the complexities of the world surrounding the time period of WWII, each time I am astonished that another layer unfolds like some sinister pleated skirt. Shanghai was completely unknown to me before reading this book. Four people from completely differing backgrounds experienced the onslaught as the Communists bore down on the Huangpu River. All knew they must flee or face a vastly different life. Zia tells their gutsy, sorrowful stories which have been largely untold. This was an interesting read, although it was long and at times hard for me to keep the four stories straight. Each family had intricate situations and the chapters rotated amongst them. However, my main take away was the amount of prejudices inflicted in their culture dependent on your status, dialect, political leanings (which of course changed quickly,)etc. Questions to ponder from these societal cross sections for me regarding this topic are: Will humans seek out reasons to be prejudiced? To separate? If skin color, religion, and birthplace are homogeneous, must we find other reasons to hate? Also, during this time period, America once again pulled out of Shanghai leaving a vacuum for corruption, as continually happens all around the world to this day. Each time I learn of yet another time our country has used another area of the world for gain and left the spoils, I wonder how this ever could have happened. But then again, it is happening still today. So yeah. That’s that. Don that maga hat and pull on those blinders.