Jewish Book Month at JCC: Weina Dai Randel, author of “The Last Rose of Shanghai”

In Weina Dai Randel’s “The Last Rose of Shang­hai,” Aiyi Shao, a young heiress and the own­er of a for­mer­ly pop­u­lar and glam­orous Shang­hai night­club, and Ernest Reis­mann, a pen­ni­less Jew­ish refugee dri­ven out of Ger­many, are drawn togeth­er by fate and the free­dom of music in Japan­ese-occu­pied Shang­hai.

When Aiyi hires Ernest to play piano at her club, her defi­ance of cus­tom caus­es a sen­sa­tion. His instant fame makes Aiyi’s club the hottest spot in Shang­hai, and soon they real­ize they share more than a pas­sion for jazz―but their dif­fer­ences seem insur­mount­able, and Aiyi is engaged to anoth­er man.

As the war esca­lates, Aiyi and Ernest find them­selves torn apart, and their choic­es between love and sur­vival grow more des­per­ate. In the face of over­whelm­ing odds, a chain of events is set in motion that will change both their lives forever.

From the elec­tri­fy­ing jazz clubs to the impov­er­ished streets of a city under siege, “The Last Rose of Shang­hai” is a time­less, sweep­ing sto­ry of love and redemption.

Includes book signing and light reception.