China Dolls by Lisa See

Lisa See's new novel, China Dolls, brings to life an element of the 1930's and 1940's entertainment world I was not aware of, the Chop-Suey Circuit.  Three unlikely Asian friends, Ruby, Helen & Grace, gravitate to the newly introduced Chinese revues in San Francisco for different reasons.  Although they are from diverse backgrounds, they form a strong bond and the book follows their lives through happiness and heartache.  Woven with a backdrop of the attack on Pearl Harbor, World War II and happier times in the 1940's, the story brings alive not only the glitz and glamor of the stage, but the personal coming-of-age stories of three women whose lives are, for better or worse, intertwined.

Lisa See is a remarkable novelist and I thoroughly enjoyed her other books including Shanghai Girls and Dreams of Joy.  I listened to the book and Jodi Long's narration is excellent. ~~Enjoy~~