At the beginning of the XXth Century, an English missionary wrote: “If God lets Shanghai endure, he owes an apology to Sodom and Gomorrah.” Few cities in the word have such wild and vibrant history like “the Pearl of Asia.” A settlement for opium traffick
At the beginning of the XXth Century, an English missionary wrote: “If God lets Shanghai endure, he owes an apology to Sodom and Gomorrah.” Few cities in the word have such wild and vibrant history like “the Pearl of Asia.” A settlement for opium trafficking and Taiping rebellion’s refugees, the Yangtze River saw the rise of a city where West and East collide. The profits of illegal traffic left Art-deco and French style buildings, as a memory of the lights and shadows of Shanghai.
This environment of mystery, opulence, and poverty seduced writers from all over the world. As the lights of the city kept flashing, Shanghai has been the scene of novels written by foreigner and locals. The next four books are part of an extensive list of writers fascinated by Shanghai.
Born in Paris in 1901, André Malraux was a writer and adventurer. At the age of twenty, he traveled to Cambodia and Vietnam during the French occupation. After three years, he crossed the borders and moved to China. Due to his experience in Asia, Malraux became critical of the Colonial authorities.
He wrote more than five novels set in Asia. The most important of them is Man’s Fate (La Condition Humaine) about the Communist insurrections in Shanghai during 1927. When it was published in 1933, the novel won the Prix Goncourt. Also, it was longlisted by Le monde as one of the 100 books of the Century: enough to give it a place in our library.
The story of the novel takes place in 22 days. The Communist rebellion signed both main characters: the revolutionary leader Kyoshi Gisors represented the dignity and coherence; meanwhile Tchen Ta Erh became a nihilist and violent during the insurgency. The name of the novel Man’s Fate is related to the idea of destination who appealed every subject in front of injustice.
When J.G. Ballard was a child, he lived the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in 1937. Born in the International Settlement, after the end of the war he traveled with his family to London where he lived until his death.
The novel tells the story of Jamie Graham, a young British (authors alter-ego), who lives in Shanghai. After Japanese invasion, he was separated from his family. Hiding from the troops and almost starving to death, the boy saw the Japanese aircraft with fear and fascination. The child’s point of view makes a fable about human condition during the war.
Originally written in Spanish as El embrujo de Shanghai (The charming of Shanghai), the novel Shanghai Nights makes a magical connection between the post-war Barcelona and Shanghai during the 1930s. The narrator is Daniel, a teenager who works as a jeweler’s apprentice in an impoverish Spain, ruled by General Franco.
Daniel met a 15-year-old girl Susana, bedridden with tuberculosis, who loves movies and fantasy. The parents of Susana have disappeared during the war. As they fall in love, they received the visit of Nandu Forcat, a former revolutionary who tell them stories about a mysterious place in Orient: Shanghai. Boy and girl got involved by fables about gangsters, femme fatales, and opium dealers.
The Shanghainese International Settlement is the scenario for the fifth novel of British-Japanese writer Kazuo Ishiguro. A young Christopher Banks is the protagonist born in Shanghai and sent to live with his aunt in England. After becoming a famous detective, Banks came back to Shanghai to solve the disappearance of his parents.
As Shanghai (mix of charming and history), the novel talks about identity and memory.
Born in the north of Argentina, educated in Buenos Aires and Shanghai, Salvador is a freelance writer, a passionate chef and sommelier, and Ph.D. candidate in Global Studies. He doesn’t believe there is a contradiction in his career: “the life is a mix of different things. Literature and wine could go together with politics”. His first books (one collection of short stories, and other of poetry) received five national prizes. He writes about literature, wines and restaurants, for several magazines and newspapers.
Salva Marinaro (Author)
