Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Pamela Yatsko
New Shanghai
(John Wiley). This journalistic
introduction to the vagaries of the
twenty-first-century's new
metropolis is an expat essential, as
it's breezy and well informed on
both business and culture.
Fiction
J.G. Ballard
Empire of the
Sun
(Flamingo, UK; Simon &
Schuster, US). This, the best liter-
ary evocation of old Shanghai, is a
compelling tale of how the gilded
life of expat Shanghai collapsed into
chaos with the onset of war, based
on the author's own experience
growing up in a Japanese internment
camp. It was subsequently made into
a pretty decent film by Steven Spiel-
berg. Ballard's science fiction novels
- some of the greatest of the twen-
tieth century - are spookily relevant
to the contemporary city; both
High
Rise
and
with plenty of sex, drugs and rock
and roll, by one of China's modern
enfants terribles
. Though set in the
1980s and 90s, it already seems very
dated.
Qiu Xiaolong
When Red is
Black
;
Death of a Red Heroine
;
A
Case of Two Cities
;
A Loyal Character
Dancer
(Sceptre, UK; Soho Crime,
US). Procedural detective fiction,
featuring the poetry-loving Inspec-
tor Chen of the Shanghai PSB.
Though sometimes Qiu seems more
interested in examining Shanghai
society and morals than in weaving
a mystery, his stories of corrupt
officials, sharp operators and
compromised cops are the best
evocations of the city and its people
written in English.
Wei Hui
Shanghai Baby
(Constable
& Robinson)
.
Infamous chick-lit,
banned in China for its louche moral
tone, concerning a girl torn between
her impotent Chinese boyfriend and
married Western lover - though her
true love is for designer labels. Self-
absorbed, over-hyped, with rather
more style than substance - very
Shanghai.
Zhang Henshui
Shanghai Express
(University of Hawaii Press, US).
A pulp novel from the 1930s, very
popular in its day. Lots of incidental
detail enlivens a melodramatic tale of
seduction and betrayal set on a train
ride from Beijing to Shanghai.
Concrete Island
could be set
in Pudong.
Tom Bradby
The Master of Rain
(Corgi, UK; Anchor, USA)
.
A
breathless if overlong novel of
murder and betrayal in 1920s
Shanghai.
Hergé
The Blue Lotus
(Mammoth, UK; Casterman
Editions, US)
.
One of the best
Tintin yarns, a tale of drugs and
derring-do set in Shanghai during
the Sino-Japanese conflicts of the
1930s.
Kazuo Ishiguro
When We Were
Orphans
(Faber & Faber, UK). Ishig-
uro is a great writer but this post-
modern detective story set in Shang-
hai between the wars is a little too
clever and doesn't quite deliver.
Mian Mian
Candy
(Back Bay, US).
Salacious if meandering
roman-à-clef
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