The Last Rose of Shanghai
A Novel
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The Last Rose of Shanghai
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Narrated by:
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Josh Bloomberg
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Emily Woo Zeller
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By:
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Weina Dai Randel
About this listen
In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, two people from different cultures are drawn together by fate and the freedom of music...
1940. Aiyi Shao is a young heiress and the owner of a formerly popular and glamorous Shanghai nightclub. Ernest Reismann is a penniless Jewish refugee driven out of Germany, an outsider searching for shelter in a city wary of strangers. He loses nearly all hope until he crosses paths with Aiyi. When she hires Ernest to play piano at her club, her defiance of custom causes a sensation. His instant fame makes Aiyi’s club once again the hottest spot in Shanghai. Soon they realize they share more than a passion for jazz - but their differences seem insurmountable, and Aiyi is engaged to another man.
As the war escalates, Aiyi and Ernest find themselves torn apart, and their choices between love and survival grow more desperate. In the face of overwhelming odds, a chain of events is set in motion that will change both their lives forever.
From the electrifying jazz clubs to the impoverished streets of a city under siege, The Last Rose of Shanghai is a timeless, sweeping story of love and redemption.
©2021 Weina Dai Randel. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.Critic Reviews
“[Emily Woo] Zeller delivers the chapters told from the perspective of Aiyi, whose privileged upbringing, beauty, and good business sense are not enough to protect her from the hardships of war. [Josh] Bloomberg performs the chapters focused on Ernest, a German-Jewish refugee who arrives in the city looking for a safe haven. Zeller's comfort with Asian languages and accents and Bloomberg's with European ones underscore Aiyi's and Ernest's divergent spheres. Together the narrators build on the couple's conflicted emotions as their relationship grows from being business associates to much more.” (AudioFile Magazine)
“Fans of sweeping, dramatic WWII epics that are rich in historical detail, such as Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls or Paullina Simons’s The Bronze Horseman will be enthralled.” (Booklist)
“Weina Dai Randel’s novel deserves a place of distinction among WWII fiction.” (Historical Novel Society)
What listeners say about The Last Rose of Shanghai
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Online Shopper
- 17-03-2023
Good choice of subject matter
I was pleased to see an accessible, if superficial reprise, of the plight of the European community in Shanghai. Not enough mention of the many refugees from the Russian Red Army. It’s a shame the author and her editors made made recurring silly mistakes. Sir Victor Sassoon was a real person. Baronet’s are addressed as Sir Victor not Sir Sassoon. The book’s continued depiction of sophisticated people making such a fundamental error is irksome.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- john salisbury
- 11-03-2022
What a wonderfully big story.
So much is packed into this book, history I knew nothing about concerning the Jews in Shanghai who escaped Europe during world war 2.
A truly beautiful love story that is now embedded in my soul. I have never read a book so fast wanting it never to end, and wanting to know how it ended at the same time. Written with such passion and beauty.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Holly
- 26-04-2022
Great story, wish I’d read in print
I really liked the story and it gave me an interesting and different perspective of the Second World War. However, I really struggled with both narrators and the voices they performed and almost gave up on it as a result. The character of Aiyi was not very likeable and I’m wondering if that’s because of the actor’s voice for her. I’m glad I powered through but this is one that I wish I’d read in print.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mini
- 06-04-2023
Lovely and heart warming
Beautiful book. Brings out the pains of war. I would love to check out other books from this author.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 08-08-2022
One of the worst books I’ve listened to
Exaggerated and ridiculous. I persevered but My Time wasted Not to be recommended to anyone
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