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click to enlarge Here we go again. I know I’ve already posted plenty about 1930s Shanghai and how it’s become not just a genre unto itself but a downright cliche. Still, I just love that period and can’t get enough. When I was last in Shanghai 15 years ago, the postcards with present-day images weren’t too [...] click to enlarge I sent this postcard in July, 1991 to my grandma in Albany, New York a week before I boarded the Trans-Mongolian train to Moscow. Dad and I are now in Beijing, China. We are having a nice trip. In Thailand we stayed at a hotel, but in China we have stayed with families [...] click to enlarge Last night I broke the cardinal rule of responsible parents: I kept my child out quite late. Mao’s Last Dancer opened in theaters on August 20, and I was desperate to see it. Last year I stumbled upon Li Cunxin’s memoir of the same name at my public library. His story was incredible. Plucked [...] The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai Earlier this month I came across a new author, Ruiyan Xu, on GoodReads.com. I’m always on the lookout for new Chinese authors, so I entered the raffle for her debut novel, The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai (St. Martin’s, 2010). Lucky me. I won an advance readers’ copy. So [...] click to enlarge When I look at this photo, I want to cry. It’s not because I’m appalled by the living conditions or the monotonous architecture. Or the fact that many people have no choice but to live in these buildings. (In fact I’m not appalled by any of this. I love the architecture.) When I say [...] courtesy of Simon Fieldhouse Continuing the theme of 1930s Shanghai (it’s not going away), I’m excited to see new images of the refurbished Peace Hotel. Three years ago it closed for massive renovations. After much anticipation, it re-opened last month. Built in 1929 by Victor Sassoon, the north building was called the Cathay Hotel back then (image [...] The Man in the Wooden Hat Several years ago I read a highly anticipated novel called Old Filth (Europa Editions, 2006) by Jane Gardam. Filth, the acronym for Failed in London Try Hong Kong, is also the nickname of the novel’s protagonist. My memory is bit clouded, and I can’t remember all the details from Old [...] click to enlarge Oh, for the decadent pre-Communist-era of Shanghai! Vice, glamor, high stakes, and violent outcomes. 1930s Shanghai has become a genre unto itself–novels, narratives, restaurants, films, couture. The latest film in this genre, simply titled Shanghai, is to come out sometime this month if the advertisements ring true. (It’s been in the works for [...] click to enlarge I’ve been polishing and proofreading my memoir and just finished a part in which I stayed in Shanghai 15 years ago. Although I don’t write about the Cathay Cinema, I haven’t forgotten it. The Cathay is an Art Deco beauty, built in 1932. (I recently read that Shanghai is home to more Art [...] click to enlarge This week I read the much talked about debut thriller from Lisa Brackmann, Rock Paper Tiger (Soho Press, 2010). Soho Press has been great to authors who write about China. They’ve published the edgy mysteries by Xiaolong Qiu and Aisling Juan Juan Shen’s riveting memoir, A Tiger’s Heart. And now they have another [...] |
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Copyright © 2010 Susan Blumberg-Kason - All Rights Reserved |
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