Shanghai was an awful reflection of evil greed.
587747
I find that the colonial story is most disconcerting. It did however show how complex the situation in Shanghai really was. Much of the story shows how  opportunistic the gangster were. The infliction of such rough justice by police makes one consider what kind of culture was distributed. Corruption is on different levels and I am not sure that justice prevailed.
3311764
Half worked and even then some had to be retried a couple or more times.
The other half make great coasters or skeet.
So sick of China made garbage no matter what it is so these damn super greedy corporates over here can pinch every single penny for profits.
1748411
In her first work to be translated into English, Ami Sakurai's Innocent World is a quick peek into every middle class parent's nightmare: incest, casual prostitution, rape, and the utter nihilism of today's bourgeois youth. Part document of the numbed state of teenagers in Tokyo, part manga-like read, this novella is the book for those with an interest in the underbelly of Shibuya youth culture, in particular of how young women are able to divorce their bodies from their minds in pursuit of money - and what they will do for it.

The protagonist of Innocent World, Ami, is Every Young Girl in Tokyo: educated parents who send her to a private school, an absent father, a young woman lacking nothing who is utterly devoid of feeling. The only possible twist is that her older brother is retarded. She discovers that she was the product of fertility treatments that involved a sperm donor not her father (her mother did not want another child with developmental problems, for which she blamed her salaryman husband). This leads Ami in pursuit of Number 307: the man who donated his seed. On the way she prostitutes herself - perhaps out of boredom, perhaps out of resentment - and becomes physically and emotionally involved with her half-brother.

A depressing if insightful read.
3569882
A sad, twisted story of greed and obsession among the wealthy. using children as pawns is really pathetic.  sick & twisted people!
3553719
Gave a distinct view of a dreadful period in history when America became a mirror of the Soviet Union.
2293386
i hate my self for always loooking for low-priced goods simply because there seems like to have a huge discount and as a matter of fact there is not . The paper got jemmed in the machine that i fail to use it anymore . i will throw it tomorrow . Bloody MADE IN CHINA .
4607723
Organization and focus were superceded by anger, disappointment, and frustration. With no reason to doubt the writer's veracity, one can only weep for this scary picture of a government hijacked by the rich and operated by idiots. It's probably information we should have, from someone who knows, and it wasn't all that hard to read.
3169051
Wow... after reading this I struggled for breath. I have never read anything packed with so much red-glowing hatred. There is enough poison in this book to wipe out the world's entire German population (thank God for that, the author would have probably said). In particularly distasteful I found the comparison of a crowd of Germans to flies as the author lets the letter writer muse that whether it is a fountain or a statue she cannot make out but whatever it is it is `encrusted with them just like one of those sticky fly-sticks is black with flies'. It says a lot about the world we live in that such an abusive piece of writing is deemed as valuable as to be put on `gutenberg' and also to be re-published in present day Germany and the realm of the English-speaking dominions. Not only that, most reviews on both American and German amazon praise this book.  It just shows how desensitised and brain-washed we have become.
1607738
Made in China, filled with hate and misinformation. Find a better slogan and a better man.
913767
It starts off strong with a Chinese history lesson, and then midway through it became about Christianity and the Bible with some quirky, inaccurate Chinese character explanations thrown in.  This is a travesty, and for all I've heard about the products Amazon prime offers, this is a great disappointment and if they have any self-regard for their name they will remove and destroy this 'movie' from their archives and never let it see the light of day.
2621351
I just completed this book last night and was very bothered by what I read.  While the interplay between Alex and Beth is interesting, I was horrified by her descriptions of China and her pereceptions of the Chinese.  Although she asserts that the reason she was invited on the trip was because of her travel experience, I would venture that Beth has NOT traveled extensively abroad and especially not in Asia.  I think she viewed the country and people through very American eyes and that can not and should not be done.  They are not American and we are two very different cultures.  As such we are going to have different beliefs about democracy and freedom.  She complains of being jostled about and stared at but these are normal occurences in China.  The pushing in the market places was not a reflection of what they thought of her, because I doubt little thought went towards her.  I'm glad she ate most of her meals in the hotel or she would have been quite surprised at the pushing that goes on while at a buffet!
She viewed the treatment of the orphans at the orphanage as neglectful.  I believe they are probably doing the best they can with the resources they have available.  The reason the babies are seated on the benches is to allow them to be up and interact with other children, but also to prevent them from falling and hurting themselves.  Which is worse?  The poorer more rural orphanages do not receive adequate support from their government which is why they rely on the $[...] orphanage fee from the adoptive parents.
I understand as an adoptive parent she wants to define the incredible connection she feels to her daughter, but the dream sequence goes beyond straining credulity.  It was a distraction to the story and just another thread to force us to believe this was meant to be.
For someone who feels so strongly connected to China, asserting on some level that she is Chinese, I was appalled by her lack of knowledge of the country, people, culture and beliefs.  In the epilogue she tells of visiting Hong Kong with her now 6 year-old daughter.  She writes "your very presence frees them of their guilt, Lily; perhaps you understand this." Perhaps in China this would be true, but Hong Kong operates as a separate entity.  The citizens of Hong Kong do not know the plight of the orphans in China, why would they?  That is another country's problem.  The preference for males does not exist in Hong Kong.  They have no population control (no 1 child laws).
As a person who has traveled extensively,spent time in these countries, and has friends from both Hong Kong and China I was disturbed that the author did not spend more time learning about the place her daughter came from.  Maybe she felt that these omissions made for a better story, but I  am bothered that people with no first hand experience with China or the Chinese will read this book and make unfair judgements based on one woman's story.
3736285
No doubt Geling Yang is a very good writer, a knowledgeable critic of social and personal excesses in modern China. It is a fast paced book about a rough endless sea of deep social inequalities, lies and corruption even nave and affectionate individuals are drawn into as they struggle for everyday survival in mega-urban China. Contrast between banquet delicacies and the inclement world around it is brilliantly appalling. Very interesting and well written, but you need to be in the right mood for this rough subject.
2821504
Mr. Navarro is resorting to the painfully annoying format of snappy sound bites. His simplistic outlook of China points to an obvious level of ignorance on this nation of over 5000 years of history and culture. Continuously calling this country "Red Communist China" and using terms like "slave labor and manipulation" only perpetuates these falsehoods and expose Mr. Navarro's shallow depth of the topic.  Google the words "slave labor and USA" and see what you will learn.  We are equally guilty of exporting slave/prison labor. (It's hard to believe Mr. Navarro is a professor, I also wonder how many times he's traveled to China? Chinatown? Does he speak Chinese?).  Sure, China is manipulating its currency, we would do it too if it benefited us.  Thank you Dr. Greenspan and Dr. Bernanke for tampering with interest rates, we can't call it manipulation, just policy.  Thank you Mr. Navarro for writing a review and giving yourself "5 Stars" here on Amazon, it's difficult not to manipulate ones overall ratings.

 First and foremost, China is currently a centrally controlled socialist country trying hard to hide its capitalistic instincts.  For thousands of years no other culture has been more capitalistic than the Chinese people.  Let's not forget they invented paper money.  Just because the government labels itself the "Communist Party" does not automatically mean they are evil.  Let's look at North Korea; their official name is "Democratic Republic Of Korea".  So let's not go down this path.  Time and again the Chinese people simply want to make money and give the next generation a better future.  Mr. Navarro fails to understand some of these basic cultural facts.  Mr. Navarro forgot to remind us and himself that he is a pseudo economist, not a cultural anthropologist, sociologist, or an investigative reporter.  His so called researched facts were mostly done online and by his army of grad students.  This book was written to incite fear and pandemonium. His ideas belong on AM radio shows or shouting matches, not in a book.  It is troubling to see this as required reading for his grad students, and sadly his fellow cronies who are equally myopic come to his defense every time someone points out his biased interpretations.
592929
In light of recent events, this memoir is absolutely horrifying. It is so difficult to believe that such harsh realities exist for so many in the world today. It is also shameful that this familys reign continues in North Korea, despite the horrific living conditions Kim Il-sung and his descendants have produced in their communist nation thus far. It is surreal and shocking that they have brainwashed an entire population into believing that these men are direct descendants of God. That a rebel faction hasn't sprung from the ashes yet, is unfathomable. It was so disturbing to read what Kang Chol-hwan dealt with for so long. Most of the families that were moved from Japan during this period of repatriation, were under the assumption that they would be well-cared-for, that they were among the elite that were being summoned to North Korea to lead the nation to prosperity. When they heard about free housing and guaranteed jobs in Kim Il Sungs socialist state, most families were jumping through hoops to be chosen to head back to their home country. It was a terribly harsh reality for many when they realized that rather than be revered, they would be treated like animals the rest of their lives; sadly, for the great majority, there is no way out of this nightmare of an existence.

The valor and strength that Chol-hwan exhibited is so awe-inspiring, and I am so grateful to him for sharing his story, and shedding more light on the horrific realities of North Korea and this unrelenting family of dictators.
1413990
The first chapter of Lisa Sees Shanghai Girls introduces us to the family of our protagonist and narrator, Pearl. She and her sister, May, are beautiful girls in 1937 Shanghai, and they're socialites. Similar to our Hiltons or Kardashians, they live a life of leisure, party at night, and pose provocatively for artists; and although the first chapter is filled with details of what it is like to be a rich, beautiful young girl in Shanghai, their bourgeois existence is shallow and uninteresting. Luckily, Lisa Sees purpose for this portrayal is to set up a huge contrast to what happened to the girls lives later, and that is when the novel truly comes alive.

The inciting incident is when Pearl and May learn that their supposedly modern father has arranged marriages for them with the sons of a merchant in the United States. Avoiding clichs, the marriages are not where the conflicts arise. The conflicts arise for the women because of all of the political turmoil that happens to the Chinese in the novels time frame of twenty tears. From the Japanese occupation of China to life in Los Angeles during the Communist scare, Sees novel covers some of the most tumultuous moments of Chinese and Chinese-American history, and she gives her readers an insight to those eras while equally engrossing them with a tale of two sisters whose lives ended up nothing like what they had expected when they were young and carefree.

This novel is thought-provoking on so many levels. On a human level, it tells a story about what it would feel like to have everything and then nothing. What a humbling experience that would be and how scary it is that in a moment everything could be taken from you. On a historical level, it reminds its readers how in times of fear those in power can easily terrorize minority groups. During one period of time, it was the Japanese that were put in internment camps, and the Chinese felt safe. Years later, people were coming after the Chinese, accusing them of communist ties. In the present, we can see this same time of fear, and we can see certain groups being profiled. This novel is a powerful reminder to never accept this type of treatment to any group because one day, your group can be targeted.

Overall, I would highly recommend this novel. It appeals to those who love history or political science, and it appeals to anyone who enjoys stories about family and overcoming adversity.
745650
Shoddy, scrappy, and empty-Shanghai Baby tries very hard to expose the dark side of the so-called new Chinese generation. I'm not a native of Shanghai but I bet for sure this is NOT what it's like to be in Shanghai, at least not the representative of the new generation. I would say what the author tries to convey here does not serve as a credible source.
OK the story is plain and predictable but deliciously naughty: Some carnal girl named Coco (her real name, by the way, is Nikki) waits tables at a local caf and meets this hedonist artist Tian Tian, who is handsome in an effeminate way, and falls in love madly with him. Defying her parents, Coco moves in with this new lover of hers and throws herself into a frenzy of drugs, sex, and drunkenness. Tian Tian's impotence threatens the relationship and gives Coco a convenient excuse to flirt and eventually enters an affair with a German businessman named Mark, who has a penchant for S/M. Mark gives her a sense of thrill-not only he satisfies her life-long sexual hunger but opens her up her inner lust. So you can imagine what goes on next after these two hit it off. The novel becomes some silly bored erotica prose the author attempts to arouse readers.
The protagonist, namely Coco, annoys me so much with her self-indulgence and self-worship. She really thinks she is good-looking and all that but she really isn't. The only thing that I "actually" like about this novel is her provocative portrayal of the cultural transition that goes on now in urban China. This is something that was not recognized, say, 10 years ago. The book provides the hip side of China and the rising cult status of lives led by younger generation. Yet this very "risqu" nature of the book has caused a wave of disapproval among parents who fear their teenaged daughters will follow suit. The result was a massive confiscation of the books followed by a nationwide ban imposed by the high-end: the Chinese Communist Party.
I am not to judge whether Beijing has reacted with overhype or paranoia. But I really don't find anything about this book worthy of recommending to fellow readers. Not to get down on English-as-a-second-language writer like Wen Hui (in fact she only wrote the original Chinese version which was then adopted and translated into English), but the writing is really scrappy and shoddy. At one point I stopped and put the book down and asked if I should keep on reading. I would not call it a guidebook to the sleazy bars in Shanghai either simply because it doesn't reflect the scenes. I daresay less than 0.01% of all Shanghainese girls could somehow relate to what Coco has gone through. This one would at most be some filler book to kill time while you're searching for other great books to read. It will do you just fine while you're waiting for the connecting flight at the airport. Not recommended for serious readers. 1.5 stars.
[Note] This book has received my lowest rating of all fiction work.
4597148
Shame on them for killing rabbits onot for fashion...evil