Shanghai Girls

Summary yang ini dari buku novel ‘Shanghai Girls’. Penulisnya adalah Lisa See.

Setting ceritanya di Shanghai tahun 1937. Negara sedang perang dengan Jepang dan Amerika. Cerita berlanjut dari 1938 sampai 1950 di San Fransisco.

Karakter utama dalam novel adalah Pearl dan adiknya, May. Mereka berasal dari keluarga berada. Banyak yang berkata mereka cantik, membuat mereka sering memakai pakaian cantik dan mereka juga menjadi model untuk Z.G. –teman mereka yang juga seorang pelukis-.

Yang ini juga aku bikin summary indonya yaa nanti..

The girls’ father owned a rickshaw business and the family was well-supported. The sisters lived glamorously until the day their father came home and told them that he had lost his money on gambling and he had also given up to the girls to the Big Boss. Pearl was 19 and May was 16 when they were married to the sons of the Big Boss.

The two of them were supposed to leave for San Fransisco three days after the wedding. The war worsened and gave them a chance to escape from going to San Fransisco. However, they faced a lot of trouble and they supported each other so that they would survive.

With the understanding that they would live a better life in San Fransisco, as the Big Boss had promised, they gave up escaping and went to San Fransisco. During the immigrant selection at Angel Island, they found out that immigrants, especially the ones who came from China, did not live better than they did in China. After nine months of living in the immigrant dormitory, they had a break from the war outside, and they had a time to know each other more.

After they passed, they were hoping to live in a big house, with servants who did the household, and they would only be responsible for giving birth to baby-boys for the family, as promised. Everything seemed totally different once they arrived at their father-in-law’s, the Big Boss, house. It was small and there were no servants at all. They had to do the washing, cleaning, and cooking for the family. They were told to work at China Town during the day.

Their plan to save money and run away from this family was far beyond them. The situation got worse after the death of their mother-in-law. All the responsibilities of the house were given to Pearl, including the responsibility to take care of her sick brother-in-law, Vern. Besides, Pearl could not give any baby-boy for the family, making her feel the pressure even more.

The stories of Pearl’s husband, Sam, and her father-in-law’s past revealed the unbreakable coldness between them. Pearl and May were bound to this family for their lifetime even long after the death of the Big Boss.