Shanghai
In 1939, young, half-Jewish Daniel Lohr boards a Lloyds liner sailing for Shanghai. Following Kristallnacht, he flees Berlin to the only safe port that does not require an entry visa. He is escaping the clutches of the Gestapo, who had killed his father and captured his resistance movement collaborators. Daniel’s uncle, Nathan, had moved earlier to Shanghai, where he operates nightclubs and casinos. He generously pays for Daniel’s first-class passage but with an ulterior motive. On board the ship, Daniel finds love with a young German lady, Leah, traveling with her mother, who, like the other refugees, had all their possessions and passports confiscated by the Germans. Also on board is the stern Colonel Yamada of the Japanese military police, who is also interested in Leah. Daniel works for Nathan in Shanghai’s volatile political atmosphere, which is in danger of Japanese occupation. He is again involved in violent activities and must determine ways to survive and assist his loved ones.
This novel is another exciting historical thriller by award-winning Joseph Kanon. The novel’s setting in Shanghai at the cusp of the Japanese occupation is unique, as prior novels have featured more about the Japanese capture of Nanking. Also, pre-WWII Shanghai had harbored thousands of Jews as it didn’t require entry visas, and Kanon effectively weaves this into the story. With all its gang violence, crime, and vice, Shanghai’s nightlife is prominently featured. Deals are made, broken, and settled with ferocity. Although fortunate to have escaped the Nazis, the stateless and poor refugees are engulfed in both politics and immorality. They must determine their limits of tolerance. Kanon uses evocative images to describe the characters’ plight, such as they had to “leave their best dishes behind.” Readers will recognize the similarities between the premise of Shanghai and the movie Casablanca and anxiously hope for a film version. Highly recommended.
