The Song of the Jade Lily

by Kirsty Manning 

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / B&N

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (May 14, 2019)

“Kirsty Manning weaves together little-known threads of World War II history, family secrets, the past and the present into a page-turning, beautiful novel.”— Heather Morris, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz

A gripping historical novel that tells the little-known story of Jewish refugees who fled to Shanghai during WWII.

1939: Two young girls meet in Shanghai, also known as the “Paris of the East”. Beautiful local Li and Jewish refugee Romy form a fierce friendship, but the deepening shadows of World War II fall over the women as they slip between the city’s glamorous French Concession district and the teeming streets of the Shanghai Ghetto. Yet soon the realities of war prove to be too much for these close friends as they are torn apart.

2016: Fleeing London with a broken heart, Alexandra returns to Australia to be with her grandparents, Romy and Wilhelm. Her grandfather is dying, and over the coming weeks, Romy and Wilhelm begin to reveal the family mysteries they have kept secret for more than half a century. As fragments of her mother’s history finally become clear, Alexandra struggles with what she learns while more is also revealed about her grandmother’s own past in Shanghai.

After Wilhelm dies, Alexandra flies to Shanghai, determined to trace her grandparents’ past. Peeling back the layers of their hidden lives, she is forced to question what she knows about her family—and herself.

The Song of the Jade Lily is a lush, provocative, and beautiful story of friendship, motherhood, the price of love, and the power of hardship and courage that can shape us all.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Alexandra spent most of her time with men on the trading desks, who walked around the office with their jaws clenched, veins pulsing at their temples. They smelled of adrenaline, expensive aftershave, and fear.

 

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.

 

My Review:

 

This beautifully written and masterfully crafted book turned me inside out and took my breath away. The writing was elegant, lavishly detailed, evocative, and a feast for the senses with frequent tantalizing descriptions of exotic locales and delicious and foods and spices that kept my hunger on edge and eventually devastated my dieting efforts.

 

The premise and storylines were a fascinating combination of fact and fiction. Ms. Manning’s prose was eloquent and well-textured, complex and multi-layered, thoughtfully observant, and haunting. Her tender touches and emotive insights often stung my eyes and burned my throat. I have never been to Shanghai and had no idea of the unusual population and history or that it had become somewhat of a haven for stateless refugees, an unusual issue and term I was also unfamiliar with.

 

The characters were compelling and endearing, and their precarious and tenuous positions often left them a heartbeat away from exposure; I felt their tension and reveled in their successes and joys. Their profound experiences were intensely moving and will definitely resonate within me for quite some time.  I was provided with a review copy of this enthralling book by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours. 

About the Author

Kirsty Manning grew up in northern New South Wales, Australia. She has degrees in literature and communications and worked as an editor and publishing manager in book publishing for over a decade. A country girl with wanderlust, her travels and studies have taken her through most of Europe, the east, and west coasts of the United States as well as pockets of Asia. Kirsty’s journalism and photography specializing in lifestyle and travel regularly appear in magazines, newspapers, and online. She lives in Australia.

Find out more about Kirsty at her website, and connect with her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.