The Song of the Jade Lily: A Novel

The novel, The Song of the Jade Lily by Kirsty Manning deals with the little-known subject of the lives of Jewish refugees in Shanghai China during world War II. Factually, the Chinese issued a little over 30,000 visas to Austrian Jews in 1937 and 1938. The Chinese Ambassador to Austria, Dr. Ho Feng Shen felt for the Jews in Austria and issued visas to help as many as he could escape the Nazis.The reader follows the Bernfeld family as they flee Austria and go to live in Shanghai. From there we follow the Bernfeld’s youngest child, Romy, as she grows up in Shanghai. The death of one of her brothers, killed trying to save a friend during a riot against Jews in Austria, and the other brother, who is thrown into a Concentration camp during the same riot, causes Romy suffer survivor’s guilt as she, her mother and her father try to build life in China.Romy befriends a Chinese girl her own age, Li Ho. Li Ho is a beautiful and talented singer and becomes Romy’s best friend. the Bernfeld family befiends the Ho family and this leads Romy to her education in both eastern and western medicine.As time progresses, the Japanese take Shanghai and the Chinese become as persecuted in their own country as the Jews were in Austria. The travails of the Ho and Bernfeld families as they struggle to survive the war make for a gripping tale of wartime existence.There is another piece to this novel. Set in 2016, it is the story of Romy’s granddaughter Alexandra. She is a half Jewish half Chinese mathematical whiz who is a talented commodities buyer for a major London financial house. Alexandra comes home to Australia when her grandfather, Romy’s husband, dies. Through Alexandra we learn about Romy’s Australian, post war life. But the book hints at a dark secret about Alexandra’s mother, Romy’s deceased daughter.Ultimately, Alexandra gets herself transferred to Shanghai. She begins an investigation to find out what happened to her mother. The results of the search reveal to Alexandra her own origins, and the true character of the grandmother she so deeply loves.The Song of the Jade Lily is a well plotted book, well detailed and slowly revealing to the reader the choices and sacrifices people have to make to survive in wartime. The book covers a period of Jewish and Chinese history not well known to people in the west. The horrors of the Japanese occupation of China are brought home through the suffering of these fictional characters. Each character is symbolic of the milieu of Shanghai in the second world war as west meets east. The results are an exciting roller coaster ride of a read.There is nothing about this gripping, heartfelt and tragic tale that I did not love. I really loved learning about a very little known fact that Jews escaping the Holocaust fled to Shanghai, since this is the only country that was handing out visas during the pivotal point in history.Thank you Kristy Manning for such an amazing, well written and thoroughly researched novel. I’m already looking forward to your next publication.

I liked this book very much and learned a great deal about the Jewish refugee community of Shanghai. The characters were well realized, but I think the book could have used a good editor. I warn you that while it is a very good read, there are some very violent and tough scenes that would make it inappropriate for readers under young adult . But don't overlook this story if you want to understand more about a people pursued by the Nazis.

This was a great book to curl up with and to escape to another time in history. I laughed in places and cried in others. The story was intriguing and I couldn't wait to Get back to it. Lots of life lessons can be seen/learned throughout the story.

The Novel, “The Song of the Jade Lily” by Kirsty Manning deals with the little-known subject of the lives of Jewish refugees in Shanghai China during world War II. Factually, the Chinese issued a little over 30,000 visas to Austrian Jews in 1937 and 1938. The Chinese Ambassador to Austria, Dr. Ho Feng Shen felt for the Jews in Austria and issued visas to help as many as he could escape the Nazis.The Novel follows the Bernfeld family as they flee Austria and go to live in Shanghai. Their youngest child Romy is a teenager in Shanghai. One of her brothers is killed trying to leave and the other is thrown into a Concentration camp. Romy suffers survivor’s guilt as she, her mother and her father try to build life in China.Romy befriends a Chinese girl her own age. Li Ho is a beautiful and talented singer and becomes Romy’s best friend. The Japanese take Shanghai and the Chinese become as persecuted in their own country as the Jews were in Austria. The travails of the Ho and Bernfeld families as they struggle to survive the war make for a gripping tale of wartime existence.There is another piece to this novel. Set in 2016, it is the story of Romy’s granddaughter Alexandra. She is a half Jewish half Chinese mathematical whiz who is a talented commodities buyer for a major London financial house. Alexandra comes home to Australia when her grandfather, Romy’s husband, dies.Through Alexandra we learn about Romy’s Australian, post war life. But the book hints at a dark secret about Alexandra’s mother- Romy’s deceased daughter.Ultimately, Alexandra gets herself transferred to Shanghai. She begins an investigation to find out what happened to her mother. The results of the search reveal to Alexandra her own origins, and- the true character of the grandmother she so deeply loves.The Song of the Jade Lily is a well plotted book, slowly revealing to the reader the choices and sacrifices people have to make to survive in wartime. The book covers a period of Jewish and Chinese history not well known to people in the west. The horrors of the Japanese occupation of China are brought home through the suffering of these fictional characters. Each character is symbolic of the milieu of Shanghai in the second world war as west meets east. The results are an exciting roller coaster ride of a read.

I wasn’t aware that shanghai was a refuge for Jewish people during wwii. This is a beautiful story with so many wonderful historical facts woven into the plot. Loved it,

This book was.written so well I thought a few times that I figured out the connections. It held me to the end. What a descriptive book on the mindset of an immigrant; how everyday you must not take the country for granted. But I do wonder why we still haven't learned our lessons of. kindness and lending a hand to those who are forced from their countries amd.made.to.exist where they are not always wanted. Heart breaking!

This was a very interesting book that brings different cultures to the forefront at a very difficult time in history. Evil can be seen very clearly with one's own eyes, and grief, sadness, and loss seem to touch everyone. I highly recommend this book.

Nothing to dislike. All good reading. Did not want to put the book down. I like when they jump in years back and forth.. karolyn anne

A very enjoyable read. I was interested to learn about a part of World War II history that you don’t hear much about. I highly recommend this book to those who love historic fiction.

This book kept me interested from page 1 and discovering a part of history that has never crossed my path was also very intriguing. I was a bit disappointed however that we didn`t learn much about Sophie, the “adopted” mother of Alexandra, with the whole story focusing only on the grandmother.

The premise is very interesting, the two stories - current and past - and the switching between the two is well done, and overall was a great read

Occasionally, storytelling was a bit contrived but the heart of the story was complex and captivating. Overall, a great read!