A review by givnuapeacesign
Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution by Helen Zia

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.