Customer Reviews

Shanghai Remembrance

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Mr. Leo's Shanghai Remembrance is a worthy addition to the line of Chinese historical family sagas that would include Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth. Mr. Leo shares with the reader his poignant and fascinating family history through the tumultuous times of the first and second World Wars together with the Chinese Communist Revolution and the subsequent Cultural Revolution. Mr. Leo's focus on his family history is expertly interwoven within the historical context. Mr. Leo's artful interplay of his family history against the backdrop of Chinese history is thematically refreshingly subtle. Clearly acknowledging the personal and social ill effect of the Chinese Communist Revolution and painting an unflattering portrait of the devastating Cultural Revolution, Mr. Leo does not overstate his points, which is a pleasant rarity amongst today's authors.

Mr. Leo's writing team paints a vivid canvas of scenery and settings fully availing themselves of the splendors of the English language. These illustrative descriptions combined with fully engrossing characters draws the reader into the novel and makes one feel like a surrogate family member throughout the course of the book. Mr. Leo's complex characters and characterizations are imminently believable and show a depth of perception and understanding. Even the characters which one gets a sense that Mr. Leo's views with disfavor are, nonetheless, also shown in the occasional balanced positive light.

If there is to be any criticism, it would be that the book is too short. One would have liked to read further as to how Mr. Leo's personal history is reflected in his subsequent professional endeavors since arriving in the United States. Such a criticism is indeed a larger compliment as one reaches the last page of his book with sadness wishing for additional chapters; much like not to come to the end of a marvelous read.

At the start, learning why Mr. Leo wrote this book, is what drew me into it. I found it very fascinating to meet a man through his book who began life as a privileged child, but whose life changed as he lived through the difficult times of tremendous change in his homeland (e.g., the Japanese invasion during WW II, the Communist takeover in the 1950s). It greatly enhanced the small amount of historical knowledge I carry with me of that part of our world history. It virtually came to life from the writer's perspective. Mr. Leo's mother often emerges as a hero, certainly Mr. Leo's hero. Nothing wrong with that. Most of us think of one or both of our parents as a hero. Much of what Mr. Leo writes about are his own memories, but without a doubt his mother fed him information over the years that stirred his memories enough to portray them so nicely in the book. Humor, fear, friviolity, trepidation, levity, innocense, love, glee, grief, these are some of the feelings I remember as being created so well by the author. It is to Mr. Leo's credit that he succeeded in finding a new life after leaving his family and his homeland. That took courage and hard work. Can you tell that I liked the book a lot!

A reflective personal account of the priviledged Chinese life changed forever by fluctuating political forces. In the spirit of Amy Tan, this author also demonstrates throughout his story the strength of his mother. She is revealed as a very modern woman for her time, not only taking charge of her husband's business interests but his "other" children as well.

Mr. Leo's family history is a tribute to his mother, a modern woman living in a tradional society. His moving account about his mother's life from her marriage of choice ( first time in Leo's family that the marriage was not arranged by the parents) to her determination to help her son out of China shows Mr. Leo's high respect and admiration for his mother. His story is interesting and sometimes adventurous(Mr. Leo's own kidnapping experience), his narration floats very well and is easy to read. The contrast of his life at home and that with his kidnappers (four months long) shows a typical parent-child relationship in old China. His description of their family life was so vivid that, while reading, one feels as if one can see those characters moving in front of your eyes. This story provides a historical background for that time period, especially during the Japanese occupation. This book is humorous and fun to read.

Mr. Leo's family history is a tribute to his mother, a modern woman living 9in a traditional society. His moving account about his mother's life from her marriage of choice (first time in Leo's family that the marriage was not arranged by the parents) to her determination to help her son out of China shows Mr. Leo's high respect and admiration for his mother. His story story is interesting and sometimes adventurous. His narration floats very well and is easy to read. The contrast of his life at home and that with his kidnappers (four month long) shows a typical parents-children relationship in old China. His description of their family life was so vivid that, while reading, one feels as if one can see those characters moving in front of one's eyes. Mr. Leo's story is a story of one family yet it provided historical background for that period of time, especially during the Japanese occupation. Mr. Leo's Shanghai Remembrance is also humorous and fun to read. It is a book for all ages.

This is a fascinating story of the collapse of an ancient and honorable Chinese family under the impact of Japanese occupation and Communist perfidy. The author traces his early life, an incredible kidnapping, and his final decision to flee Shanghai. I was glued to every page.

This is an outstanding book. I enjoyed reading about this family . The author does not preach about class differences or go on about the communists but merely tells the story of his life which is filled with drama and excitment. From the stories of his grandfather in the Imperial court to a dangerous and exciting childhood this book reads very well. I hope he writes another book beginning where this one ends. The 200 plus pages seemed to go by very quickly. I enjoyed learning about the life of this man and his family.

This book is outstanding. It is a very insightful and entertaining book about Frank Leo and his family during a time of change in China. From stories of his grandfather in the Imperial Court to dramatic events in his childhood the reader is spellbound. There are all the elements of a great story and everything actually happened in real life. I hope he will write another book and pick up where he left off. I liked this book a lot and the 200 or so pages seemed to fly by. He does not preach about social change or the class system in china or dwell on the communists he just tells his story and in the process entertains you