The Shanghai Quartet is a work in progress. Upon completion, this four volume set of interlocking novels will span a quarter century of Chinese history. Each volume is a stand-alone tale of Shanghai. All of them sing an ode to Shanghai, a city too proud to ever be crushed by barbarians or war or revolution.

To read about the genesis of The Shanghai Quartet, look here. For a hint of the volumes yet to come, read on.

The Battle of Shanghai

War with Japan is the backdrop to The Dancing Girl and the Turtle. On the ballroom floor and in the jazz bars, the dancer Song Anyi shines. Yet beneath her fragile appearance lies a dark desire to harm herself. Neither Cho the turtle nor Kang her brother can save Anyi from the fate she chooses as the Japanese occupy Shanghai in the summer of 1937.

Revolution

By 1953, the war against Japan has faded into memory. But the scars of the civil war are still fresh. The Nationalists have been driven out of the country but the Communists continue to fight.

The Pencil God is a battle between Jin and Kang over the fate of their daughter Song Li. Jin believes the nascent Communist state will protect Li. Kang knows that no half-breed can survive in China. A love-sick pencil god tries to intervene on Li’s behalf with disastrous results for all.

Laogai

In 1954, more than two million prisoners have disappeared into China’s vast network of labor camps.

Kang is one of its prisoners. Laogai is the tale of his labor camp, hidden inside a swampy mosquito-infested area called the Great Northern Wilderness, told from the point of view of its inhabitants: a veterinarian turned prison doctor, a common thief, a Buddhist monk, a Uighur.

A prison guard takes an unnatural interest in Kang.  He offers Kang the one thing his heart craves: a way to send a letter to his beloved daughter Song Li.

The Smell of Opium

Song Li arrives at the door of Max Lazerich, former Shanghailander, lover to Jin, and unbeknownst to Max, the father of Song Li. Max has returned to New Jersey to mourn the loss of the love of his life. He dreams of the smell of opium.

The arrival of a girl claiming to be his daughter cracks the illusions Max has concocted for himself of a Shanghai that no longer exists. He is forced to address Li’s needs, which are pressing and immediate. Will Max acknowledge Li as his daughter? Can she find a new home in America?