BOOKS FROM RUSSIAWhite Shanghai: A Novel of the Roaring Twenties in China
Description:
Some call the city the 'Splendor of the East'; others the 'Whore of Asia'. A melting pot of different nations, fused by war and commerce, this is the Shanghai of the 1920s. The Great Powers are greedily exploiting China for its cheap labor and reaping the cruel rewards of the booming opium trade. When a flotilla of ships carries the remnants of the defeated White Army on entry to Shanghai, the fragile balance of this international marketplace comes under threat. Among the refugees is Klim Rogov, an emigre journalist whose life and marriage have been claimed by the Russian Revolution. All he has left are his quick wits and keen worldliness that come in quite handy in navigating the lawless jungle of Shanghai. He finds work as a reporter at a British-run newspaper, rubbing shoulders with international gangsters while defying webbed intrigues of sinister communist agents. Amidst the survival frenzy all that keeps him going is the hope that someday he'll be reunited with his beloved wife Nina."
Reviews:
(3 months ago) |
15 Jun, 2025
The book has been republished as "White Ghosts", the second book in the trilogy, "The Russian Treasure Series".
I was fascinated by the history here, none of which I was aware of beforehand. The author skillfully weaves the lives of a group of Russian refugees, Chinese workers, and the British upper class in 1920s Shanghai. Their stories are interwoven with both the political and human aspects, tied together. I didn't even mind the errors in the translation from Russian - there weren't many - and where I normally would have found it annoying, it almost seemed to fit into the scheme of it all. Very satisfying read.
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