Even though both books are in a series meant to be read
sequentially, they are both quite different. Shanghai Girls deals with the
experience of immigrants coming to America, through Angel Island, working in a
Chinatown, and the racism they faced. Dreams of Joy takes place mainly in
China, dealing with one of the darkest parts of Chinese history – The Great
Chinese Famine. The books don’t gloss over the darker parts of history, and I
will warn people that Pearl faces a serious sexual assault over the course of
the first book. Both books however have a linking theme of being a fish out of
water. Pearl and May obviously take some adjusting to life in America, and in
Dreams of Joy, Pearl returns to a China she doesn’t recognise, and Joy is there
for her first time.
When reviewing a book you love, it can be harder to remain
objective during a review. However, it does mean I can give these books my
highest recommendation, with complete sincerity. I like the genre of books I
call stories about immigration. I’ve also heard it called “immigrant fiction”
but I don’t like the term, and it can also apply to biographies, so not always
fictional stories. I think I can relate to the general feeling of being a fish out of
water, and I enjoy learning about other countries. Obviously, different people
may identify with other things, for example people with experiences of
immigration may find they identify with those parts.
The other big theme of these books is one of contrasts. Between the rich and poor in Shanghai, between China and
the USA, between Joy’s life in America and on a Chinese commune. Even between
characters, the differences between Pearl and May, or Pearl and Joy. Although
both sisters are not as different as Pearl makes them out to be. May has
obviously read more than just “gossip columns” and her circumstances would mean
she didn’t pick up Sze Yup as much as Pearl, but it makes her no less
intelligent. As she mentions in the latter part of Shanghai Girls, she would
have loved to have the option to go to college, but her parents never allowed
her to like they did with Pearl. Also, since May didn’t speak Sze Yup, Pearl
could have conversations with her parents that May didn’t understand. This left
May feeling like the unfavourite as much as Pearl did, making an interesting
family dynamic with them both feeling like their parents preferred the other. I
feel like people with sibling might relate to this more, but as an only child,
it is an alien sensation to me.
There are, of course, things I feel these books do especially
well. Showing the paranoia surrounding communism in the US in the 20th
Century, in a way that is relevant in our current day. Their life in Shanghai,
class divides and changing values abound. Showing the relationship between
Pearl and Sam growing from a marriage of convenience to actual love. The evocation of a completely different time and place.
It’s harder for me to pick out specific flaws in these
books. I spent most of Dreams of Joy wondering about some of Joy’s decisions.
She is often naïve to the point of stupidity. Dreams of Joy, in
general, can seem bleak in its later parts, endless descriptions of nothing but
a whole village starving. We also only get to experience one of the sister’s
point of view, Pearl’s, and there are some events I felt could be better told
from May’s eyes. I feel like we would have got a better sense of the
similarities and differences between the two sisters, and May’s thoughts on
certain events, especially pertaining to her decisions. The book also does that
somewhat-odd thing of dropping Chinese words in paragraphs that are meant to be
translated Chinese. I know it is an annoyance for some people, but personally I
don’t mind it and I enjoy learning new words from their use in stories. Some of the language is outdated by our standards, but of course it was what was in use at the time.
I recommend these books for: anyone with interest in the
experiences of immigrants in America, anyone interested in Chinese culture,
anyone who grew up with sisters, and everyone else. These are some of my
favourite books ever, and I feel these sorts of stories are important in our
world, now more than ever.
As a last note, I have to mention that I love the covers of these books, and they remind me of how Pearl and May's beautiful-girl posters might look.
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