City of Devils
A Shanghai Noir
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City of Devils
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Narrated by:
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Paul Chan
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By:
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Paul French
About this listen
1930s Shanghai could give Chicago a run for its money. In the years before the Japanese invaded, the city was a haven for outlaws from all over the world: a place where pasts could be forgotten, fascism and communism outrun, names invented, fortunes made - and lost.
'Lucky' Jack Riley was the most notorious of those outlaws. An ex-Navy boxing champion, he escaped from prison in the States, spotted a craze for gambling and rose to become the Slot King of Shanghai. Ruler of the clubs in that day was 'Dapper' Joe Farren - a Jewish boy who fled Vienna's ghetto with a dream of dance halls. His chorus lines rivalled Ziegfeld's and his name was in lights above the city's biggest casino.
In 1940 they bestrode the Shanghai Badlands like kings, while all around the Solitary Island was poverty, starvation and genocide. They thought they ruled Shanghai; but the city had other ideas. This is the story of their rise to power, their downfall, and the trail of destruction they left in their wake. Shanghai was their playground for a flickering few years, a city where for a fleeting moment even the wildest dreams seemed possible.
In the vein of true crime books whose real brilliance is the recreation of a time and place, this is an impeccably researched narrative non-fiction told with superb energy and brio, as if James Ellroy had stumbled into a Shanghai cathouse.
(P)2018 Quercus Editions Limited
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Critic reviews
"A fascinating tale of life and death in a city on the brink of all-out war." (Time, on Midnight in Peking)
"He resurrects a period that was filled with glitter as well as evil, but was never, as readers will appreciate, known for being dull." (Economist, on Midnight in Peking)
What listeners say about City of Devils
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- rikki
- 11-10-20
surreal history
a really interesting book of a forgot time ,loads of colorful characters sometimes too many to remember,
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Big Dave
- 08-08-21
Strange choice of narrator
I'm a fan of Paul French and this delivered what hoped it would - well researched tales of the underbelly of China between the wars.
The issue for me was the narrator. His reading seems disinterested at best and bored at worst. There're some minor errors in his delivery, pauses in inappropriate spots etc along with some poor editing. Nothing I'm describing ruins the book but it does stop it living up to its potential. I don't think the narrator is bad at what he does, but he seems to be totally the wrong choice for this story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dan
- 24-10-18
Endlessly interesting
Paul French is a giant among men in the China-watcher community. This meticulously researched and beautifully written story does not disappoint. And if you’ve spent time in shanghai - you will yearn for the world that was before. Warts and all. Fantastic.
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1 person found this helpful