JBC Book & Author Event
The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel
Tues., Dec. 6 (7:30 pm) on Zoom
WTBA Book Club

Join WTBA for their December Book Club selection on Zoom with author, Weina Dai Randel.

In Japan­ese-occu­pied Shang­hai, two peo­ple from dif­fer­ent cul­tures are drawn togeth­er by fate and the free­dom of music…

1940. Aiyi Shao is a young heiress and the own­er of a for­mer­ly pop­u­lar and glam­orous Shang­hai night­club. Ernest Reis­mann is a pen­ni­less Jew­ish refugee dri­ven out of Ger­many, an out­sider search­ing for shel­ter in a city wary of strangers. He los­es near­ly all hope until he cross­es paths with Aiyi. When she hires Ernest to play piano at her club, her defi­ance of cus­tom caus­es a sen­sa­tion. His instant fame makes Aiyi’s club once again the hottest spot in Shang­hai. Soon they real­ize they share more than a pas­sion for jazz―but their dif­fer­ences seem insur­mount­able, and Aiyi is engaged to anoth­er man.

As the war esca­lates, Aiyi and Ernest find them­selves torn apart, and their choic­es between love and sur­vival grow more des­per­ate. In the face of over­whelm­ing odds, a chain of events is set in motion that will change both their lives forever.

From the elec­tri­fy­ing jazz clubs to the impov­er­ished streets of a city under siege, The Last Rose of Shang­hai is a time­less, sweep­ing sto­ry of love and redemption.