Book Review: The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel
The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel delivers a sweeping, evocative love story set in 1940s Shanghai — a city teetering on the brink of war, pulsing with danger, glamour, and political tension. With a deft hand and a lyrical voice, Randel explores themes of identity, sacrifice, and the redemptive power of love in the face of prejudice and violence.
The novel centers on Aiyi Shao, a wealthy Chinese heiress and nightclub owner determined to maintain her independence as the Japanese occupation looms. When she meets Ernest Reismann, a Jewish refugee and gifted pianist who has fled Nazi Germany, their connection is instant — and forbidden. As Ernest plays in her nightclub and Aiyi defies social conventions, their bond grows, even as the city — and their futures — unravel around them.
Randel’s portrait of wartime Shanghai is immersive and cinematic. She captures both the city’s cosmopolitan energy and the creeping terror that shadows its streets. The historical backdrop — the influx of Jewish refugees, the rise of Japanese control, and the fragile alliances between East and West — adds depth and urgency to the central romance.
What makes The Last Rose of Shanghai so compelling is its emotional complexity. Aiyi and Ernest are shaped by their past traumas and cultural divides, yet their love challenges them to reimagine who they can be — both to each other and to themselves. Randel does not shy away from the realities of war, racism, and betrayal, but she also offers moments of grace and hope.
This is a love story, yes, but also a story of courage — of defiance in the face of fear, of art as resistance, and of the enduring human desire to connect, even in the darkest times.
About The Last Rose of Shanghai by 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.
