Loved this book! I enjoyed reading about a different part of the world during WW2. ( )

The Song of the Jade Lily, Kirsty Manning, author; Saskia, Maarleveld, narrator
Is this a war story, a romance, a mystery or all of the above? Many themes are introduced in this novel. Tragedy, political upheaval, wartime, love, loyalty, history, secrets, courage, survival, cruelty, arrogance, ethnic cleansing, immorality, justice, compassion, hate, brutality, evil, danger, mystery and more are touched upon, as the story unfolds. Resilience and bravery were required to survive the years of Hitler’s rise to power and the war that followed. The story centers around the parallel lives of Alexandra and Romy, grandchild and grandmother. The narrative alternates between grandmother and granddaughter, as they tell their story.
Romy’s story begins in 1939; Alexandra’s begins in 2016 when she returns to Australia for her grandfather’s last days. Romy is Alexandra’s grandmother (Oma). Romy Bernfeld was born in Vienna, Austria. Her family was very successful and they wanted for little. Hitler’s rise to power endangered all Jews, however, and in 1939, after one brother, Benjamin, was murdered and another brother, Daniel, was arrested, the family was forced to escape Hitler’s reign of terror. Marta and Oskar tried to get visas to America or Palestine for the three of them, but there were none. No one wanted the Jews. They were informed that Shanghai did not require visas and was accepting Jews, and so, this was where they eventually traveled.
With the help of a righteous man, they fled. The journey was long, but essential. For the first few years in Shanghai, their lives were very comfortable and the horrors of Hitler receded. A successful school friend of Oskar’s secured shelter for them in a fine hotel at first, and then in an apartment. He also secured work for Oskar, a doctor, and they prospered. Although Romy and her mother grieved for her brothers, they soon made friends and began to adjust. Marta worked to help refugees once she was able to conquer her shattered emotions.
Romy’s first close friendship of her new life was made on board the ship that took her to China. She and Nina became quite close. When Nina’s mother died on board during childbirth, the Bernfeld’s embraced her. However, she was an orphan now, and they would be separated in China, since she would have to go to live with her uncle in a different, less affluent part of Shanghai. Romy then met a Chinese neighbor, another little girl named Li who sang like an angel and was her age. She had a buoyant personality and a brother named John. John was quieter and Romy fancied him for years.
When the Japanese invade China, danger comes to the Bernfeld’s again. Romy and her parents, work in the hospital and are somewhat protected, but Li and John are in danger because their father practices alternative medicine, which has been forbidden. The Japanese are as barbaric as the Germans. Once again, fear is everywhere.
While Romy works alongside her parents in the hospital, she begins to stop in at a bakery to pick up some treats. She meets Wilhelm. She develops a strong liking for him and believes he has developed the same for her. However, she is mistaken for he has been smitten by Li.
When the story moves to 2016, Alexandra comes into greater focus. Her parents, Sophia and Joseph were killed in an automobile accident. Her grandparents raised her. Alexandra knows that she looks different, cruel children have called her “chink”. She desperately wants to know more about her own background, but Romy is silent. Alexandra travels to Shanghai to learn more about her mother and her grandmother’s past. As she searches for her family history, the horrors of those war years is revealed.
Shanghai was a refuge for many who escaped Hitler’s Third Reich. This book illustrates what life was like for the Jews as they tried to escape Hitler’s wrath. Those who were fortunate enough to escape to China had, for a period of time, at least, been allowed to live in peace, however, when the Japanese invaded (in their ongoing war), terror returned to most of those who had escaped, as well as to those Chinese families who were now the trapped enemies of Japan.
This book will enlighten the reader as to the times and the circumstances of that shameful moment in history. The plot is a bit convoluted, sometimes the characters seem to overlap, and it takes some working out, but in the end the mysteries resolve themselves. ( )

SOAP OPERA"ISH". Everything ties up in a neat bow at the end. a girl from the present goes in search of her parent's history . They escaped from Vienna to Shanghai after Crytal Nacht. Their experience in Shanghai. the book keeps jumping back and forth--past & present. keeps your interest, but poorly written. ( )

This book was very interesting and filled with information regarding the lives of European and Sephardic Jews who escaped to Shanghai. I enjoyed the mystery of the protagonist's birth, and the movement in time of the chapters. It is difficult for me to believe in the credibility of all of the , characters' feelings, but they added to the story, so I was wiling to overlook that. I also appreciated, that even though this book was lengthy, much was left to the reader's imagination. ( )

A remarkable novel that you do not want to stop reading. It is a generational story that takes you between the 1940’s and 1960’s. From Vienna to Shanghai to Australia.
The story begins in the late 1930’s in Vienna . Romy and her family are persecuted because they are Jewish. Her brother is shot and another brother is sent to dakua. Romy and her family escape to Shanghai . On the boat she becomes friends with Nina whose Mother died on the boat during childbirth. In Shanghai Romy and her family live well and she becomes friends with Li and Jian who are neighbors. When the Japenese invade Shanghai, romy and her family must once again leave their home and go to the ghetto to live. While there Romy meets Wilhelm .
When the war is over Romy , Nina and Sophie travelto Australia to live with Wilhelm who has sponsored them. It is 2016 and Wilhelm dies. Alexandra , his granddaughter , the daughter of Sophie who Alexander was told was adopted has employment in Shanghai begins asking questions and searching for her biological family.
A captivating story. I didn't want to stop reading. I'll definitely read another novel by this author.
I received this book as a good reads giveaway in exchange for a review. ( )