The Song of Jade Lily
There is so much to love about this book…The characters, the detailed backdrops, the hard-charging plot. I absolutely loved being led through Shanghai and Australia by someone who knows the way by heart.
The novel, The Song of the Jade Lily by Kirsty Manning deals with the little-known subject of the lives of Jewish refugees in Shanghai China during world War II. Factually, the Chinese issued a little over 30,000 visas to Austrian Jews in 1937 and 1938. The Chinese Ambassador to Austria, Dr. Ho Feng Shen felt for the Jews in Austria and issued visas to help as many as he could escape the Nazis.
The reader follows the Bernfeld family as they flee Austria and go to live in Shanghai. From there we follow the Bernfeld’s youngest child, Romy, as she grows up in Shanghai. The death of one of her brothers, killed trying to save a friend during a riot against Jews in Austria, and the other brother, who is thrown into a Concentration camp during the same riot, causes Romy suffer survivor’s guilt as she, her mother and her father try to build life in China.
Romy befriends a Chinese girl her own age, Li Ho. Li Ho is a beautiful and talented singer and becomes Romy’s best friend. the Bernfeld family befiends the Ho family and this leads Romy to her education in both eastern and western medicine.
As time progresses, the Japanese take Shanghai and the Chinese become as persecuted in their own country as the Jews were in Austria. The travails of the Ho and Bernfeld families as they struggle to survive the war make for a gripping tale of wartime existence.
There is another piece to this novel. Set in 2016, it is the story of Romy’s granddaughter Alexandra. She is a half Jewish half Chinese mathematical whiz who is a talented commodities buyer for a major London financial house. Alexandra comes home to Australia when her grandfather, Romy’s husband, dies.
Through Alexandra we learn about Romy’s Australian, post war life. But the book hints at a dark secret about Alexandra’s mother, Romy’s deceased daughter.
Ultimately, Alexandra gets herself transferred to Shanghai. She begins an investigation to find out what happened to her mother. The results of the search reveal to Alexandra her own origins, and the true character of the grandmother she so deeply loves.
The Song of the Jade Lily is a well plotted book, well detailed and slowly revealing to the reader the choices and sacrifices people have to make to survive in wartime. The book covers a period of Jewish and Chinese history not well known to people in the west. The horrors of the Japanese occupation of China are brought home through the suffering of these fictional characters. Each character is symbolic of the climate of Shanghai in the second world war as west meets east. The results are an exciting roller coaster ride of a read.
There is nothing about this gripping, heartfelt and tragic tale that I did not love. This book was well researched and will completely encapsulate you with the sights and sounds of the times and places. You will cheer for these characters on their journey to greater self-awareness. I’m so glad I took my time to slowly read and savor this unforgettable novel. Every page was a leap through time and countries as the story leap into my soul.
Thank you Kristy Manning for such an amazing, well written and thoroughly researched novel. Your story was a journey that any reader will be sorry to see end. I’m already looking forward to your next publication.
