A Novel of Old Shanghai: In Conversation with Weina Dai Randel, by Susan Blumberg-Kason

Interviews   Weina Dai Randel burst onto the literary scene a number of years ago with her duology about Empress Wu Zetian, China’s first woman leader. After winning the prestigious Rita Award in 2017 and seeing her novels translated into seven languages, she is back now with a new historical novel set in 1940s Shanghai. Keeping with her love of strong women characters, her new book, The Last Rose of Shanghai, centers on a nightclub owner named Aiyi Shao who falls for a Jewish refugee who had recently escaped Nazi Germany. Through their love of jazz, they develop a forbidden bond set during one of Shanghai’s most volatile and exciting eras. Randel is the first Chinese American author to write about Shanghai Jewish refugees, although there have been dozens of memoirs, narratives, and novels about this phenomenon from Jewish authors. We recently spoke over Zoom about what made Shanghai so special and why it matters now, along with the reasons Jews escaped to Shanghai during World War II and how Chinese and Jewish traditions are so similar. Susan Blumberg-Kason: It seems that the popularity of 1930s and ’40s Shanghai rose both in China and the US about twenty-five years ago. Can you talk about the appeal of this time and why it’s so special, both to people in the US and China? Weina Dai Randel: I think many aspects of Old Shanghai appeal to us today. From the late 1920s to the early 1940s, the period of Old Shanghai was a symbol of... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2022-01-20 14:33:49 UTC ]

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I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom, Read by the Author

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[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-29 09:46:38 UTC ]
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The Cold Millions by Jess Walter, Read by a Full Cast

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[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-28 09:00:55 UTC ]
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Flynn to narrate W&N's Octopus Man audiobook

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-12-17 17:21:47 UTC ]
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The cast for George Saunders’ new audiobook is very cool.

George Saunders’ new book, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life, is out next month and promises to be a literary master class on the short story. Drawing from his teaching career at Syracuse’s MFA program, Saunders walks readers... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-12-17 17:00:15 UTC ]
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Calibre Audiobook Charity Joins the UK’s Big Give Holiday Challenge

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-12-02 20:32:53 UTC ]
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5 Books About Complicated Families by BIPOC Authors

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[ Book Riot | 2020-12-01 11:37:00 UTC ]
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HarperNorth bags audiobook from mastercoach Mort

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-30 10:00:16 UTC ]
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Audio Book Recommendation: Make Me Rain by Nikki Giovanni, Read by the Author

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Maya and the Rising Dark by Rena Barron, Read by Soneela Nankani

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Corduner to narrate audiobook of human rights lawyer's Parting Words

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Red Wheel/Weiser, Dreamscape Media Partner Up on Red Wheel Audio

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Danger and Depth in Literary Thrillers: This Month’s Audiobook Recommendations

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Race Consciousness: Fascism and Frank Herbert’s “Dune”

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Embrace streaming to stay relevant, Tellander tells publishers

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V2 by Robert Harris, Read by David Rintoul

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Booming audiobook market can accommodate new entrants, Bar-Kar tells FutureBook

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Pandemic drives ebook and audiobook sales by UK publishers to all-time high

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Scholastic is publishing three new books by Ruby Bridges.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-13 17:02:57 UTC ]
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Chirp Audiobooks Review: Does Chirp Change the Audiobook Game?

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Oprah and Brad Pitt are adapting Ta-Nehisi Coates’ The Water Dancer.

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