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A review by maahireadss
Shanghailanders by Juli Min
4.0
Shanghailanders was a book with no plot, just vibes and the vibes were comforting, maddening and gut-wrenching, all at the same time.
This book explores the lives of the Yang family (a very rich family) and the day-to-day ups and downs they face living in Shanghai. However, instead of showing its readers how a once happy, picture-perfect family can slowly become fragmented and distant, this book shows us the exact opposite. Chapter one starts in the year 2040 and the book takes you all the way back to 2014, and I think this is such an interesting way to tell a story. Somehow going from the future to the past makes the story so much more sadder than it would’ve been otherwise — I may have disliked a character at the start but I felt so sad for them later (yes, even for Leo).
The character that had the biggest impact on me was the mother, Eko. I think we often don’t think of the lives our moms must’ve had before they decided to start a family; what were their dreams? their beliefs? their personalities? etc. etc. when they were not bound by such big responsibilities. Through the course of this book we see Eko go from being a mom of three daughters, wife of Leo, owner of an embroidery business to a woman who likes listening to The Strokes, who coloured her hair blue on a whim, and who slept with a guy because he had beautiful eyes. The juxtaposition of it all just made me sad.
While Leo and Eko grew up seeing financial difficulties, their daughters grew up in an extremely comfortable farmhouse with their own rooms, their ponies in a stable and unlimited access to a nearby hotel. Consequently, the book shows us how the daughters’ childhoods, where they had everything they wanted, impacted their lives as teenagers and soon-to-be young adults. Yumi, Yoko and Kiko all sought different experiences as they slowly grew up and grew apart. These three girls and their bond with each other and their parents makes you so nostalgic but at the same time, the flaws in their lives back then become extremely evident and I was left with mixed feelings in the end.
Overall, Shanghailanders felt like a big character study into seemingly unassuming yet big roles within families. It was a story about two people in love who slowly grew out of love and yet they started a family; it was about sacrifices we make or are expected to make throughout our lives. But mostly, it was a story about belonging.
I loved reading Shanghailanders and 10/10 would recommend to everyone!!!
This book explores the lives of the Yang family (a very rich family) and the day-to-day ups and downs they face living in Shanghai. However, instead of showing its readers how a once happy, picture-perfect family can slowly become fragmented and distant, this book shows us the exact opposite. Chapter one starts in the year 2040 and the book takes you all the way back to 2014, and I think this is such an interesting way to tell a story. Somehow going from the future to the past makes the story so much more sadder than it would’ve been otherwise — I may have disliked a character at the start but I felt so sad for them later (yes, even for Leo).
The character that had the biggest impact on me was the mother, Eko. I think we often don’t think of the lives our moms must’ve had before they decided to start a family; what were their dreams? their beliefs? their personalities? etc. etc. when they were not bound by such big responsibilities. Through the course of this book we see Eko go from being a mom of three daughters, wife of Leo, owner of an embroidery business to a woman who likes listening to The Strokes, who coloured her hair blue on a whim, and who slept with a guy because he had beautiful eyes. The juxtaposition of it all just made me sad.
While Leo and Eko grew up seeing financial difficulties, their daughters grew up in an extremely comfortable farmhouse with their own rooms, their ponies in a stable and unlimited access to a nearby hotel. Consequently, the book shows us how the daughters’ childhoods, where they had everything they wanted, impacted their lives as teenagers and soon-to-be young adults. Yumi, Yoko and Kiko all sought different experiences as they slowly grew up and grew apart. These three girls and their bond with each other and their parents makes you so nostalgic but at the same time, the flaws in their lives back then become extremely evident and I was left with mixed feelings in the end.
Overall, Shanghailanders felt like a big character study into seemingly unassuming yet big roles within families. It was a story about two people in love who slowly grew out of love and yet they started a family; it was about sacrifices we make or are expected to make throughout our lives. But mostly, it was a story about belonging.
I loved reading Shanghailanders and 10/10 would recommend to everyone!!!