A review of ‘The Shanghai Circle’ by a member of the Online Book Club on the 10th of December 2023
5 out of 5 stars
Summary: Penned by the award winning author Tony Henderson, The Shanghai Circle, is a historical fiction novel set in 1936 and first book of the Chinese Circle series. As one proceeds through chapters, he notices that the novel is written as viewpoint of different characters present in the novel. All the characters are brought together in the story as they are somehow related to each other.
Shanghai in 1936 and 1937, basically before World War II, was a prosperous city. It was a center for opium activities which made it win the name of ‘Whore of Asia’. I have read many books which picturizes Shanghai (China) before the period of World War II but the way this novel has vividly described it, is marvelous. The story is based on the a triad Sung Society and the Guest family. The Guest family owns a trading enterprise. Davina, Joseph (heir of the powerful Sung Society), and Irina, the main characters of the novel, are introduces with the duties they have to deliver towards their clans. Dive into the first book of the series to know about how they’ll overcome the challenges they are presented with.
Positive: I like how the author ended the story in Hong Kong when the Japanese invaded Shanghai and both the clans, the Sung Society and Guest family have fled to Crown Colony, Britain. This particularly adds a suspense to the novel at the end which leaves the reader with a feeling to get the second book. The writing style of the author was structured which made this read an easy one.
Negative: The author has introduced many characters in the book one after another giving little time for previous character to settle in the story as well as in the mind of the reader (as I like to call it). Because of this I found myself recollecting about the character’s appearance in the story. Initially, It was difficult to identify who the main characters of the story were. Other than this I didn’t find anything that can be put into this section of the review.
Rating and Justification: There is no way I wouldn’t rate this book a 5 out of 5 because it gave me an extended knowledge about Shanghai and Japan during World War II. It helped me with my vocabulary as well.
Recommendation: I couldn’t recommend this book to a reading audience with a particular taste in reading. All the characters of the novel are different from each other and so are the chapters. This makes it a perfect read for the readers looking for a plot that is ever-changing throughout the book. At some point it would seem exactly like reading short stories. It is interesting as well as surprising. There could be something for everyone in this book. All a reader needs, is a little bit of patience and good eye to find what interests him/her.
Errors: I didn’t find any errors in the book while reading it. The book is edited professionally.