What do readers think of The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai by Ruiyan Xu? Write your own review.

This book is about how isolated each character feels when they are unable to communicate with one another. An explosion tore apart the Li family and they had to rebuild, learn how to live with loss, grief, betrayal and redemption. Beyond the family there is portrayed the culture clashes between the immigrants, expats, and the Shanghai population. This first novel shows Ruiyan Xu to be a gifted novelist who understands her subject. I hope we soon find other books by this author. This book is one I could not put down until I finished the last page.

I felt that this was going to be a good book, and I wasn't disappointed!
I take 'communication' for granted, and it was fascinating to see how this story developed in a small family for whom this essential tie was disrupted when the head of the household was afflicted with 'bilingual aphasia'. The author handled the telling in a detailed, yet gentle manner, and each facet of the story compelled the reader to go on to the next.

I found the writing to be quite good in itself.
I will definitely recommend this book to my two book clubs!

This book starts out painfully slowly, but is so worth staying with. The title hints at the basic premise of the book - a man sustains brain damage and suffers from the inability to speak in Chinese; he can only communicate in the language of his childhood, English. He can no longer speak to his wife, only his American doctor. But it really discusses communication on many different levels. It was a complex and lovely book that I fear might be an overlooked. A loss for those who miss it.

"The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai" authored by Ruiyan Xu is one of the most beautiful and absorbing novels I have read. She presents us with multidimensional characters who deal with issues of communication that are both obvious and nuanced. The main story line involves Li Jing, a successful businessman who after an explosion suffers from a form of aphasia that affects the portion of the brain that manages language. Although fluent in both English and Chinese he recalls only English as he begins to recover leaving him unable to communicate with his wife, child, friends and associates.

Dr. Rosalyn Neal, an American specialist is recruited by his wife and doctors to help him relearn Chinese. As the characters and story evolve the reader is gently led through the various forms of language both verbal and nonverbal that can strengthen or weaken relationships. Xu weaves and layers the struggles of Li Jing, his wife Meiling, their son Pang Pang, Dr. Neal and her expatriate friends, and Alan, the translator against the backdrop of language in its various forms. This book is enjoyable on many levels from the intricate relationships to the spectacular descriptions of Shanghai. It will charm readers while provoking thoughtful discussions on a myriad of topics. This novel grips the reader from page one and never lets go.

"The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai" is a lyrical, haunting, and engrossing book about how language and culture, and the understandings and misunderstandings that they engender, both tie people together and break them apart.

When the central character, Li Jing, has a brain injury that suddenly makes him unable to speak a word of Chinese (although he still understands it), his world, and that of his wife, father, and son, is thrown into turmoil. The parallel experiences of his American doctor, Rosalyn Neal, of isolation and connection are compelling, and ultimately heartbreaking. The book chronicles the characters' struggles, moments of connection, and missteps so seamlessly that you feel you are experiencing what the characters are experiencing. This is a book to be savored, and there is much to spark lively discussion.

This is a novel of love and heartache. A book that I couldn't put down until I had finished it. The author shows such insight into the human emotions of the characters that it captures you from the very beginning.

I wasn’t sure that I was going to like this novel when I first started reading. By the time I got to the third chapter, I was hooked. The central character is Li Jing, a bilingual Chinese business man. An accident leaves him with a type of autism which lets him only able to speak English. Most of the story is told through the experiences of Meiling, Li Jing’s wife and Dr. Rosalyn Neal an American neurologist hired to help Li Jing recover his linguistic skills. While the plot revolves around a traditional love triangle, Ruiyan Zu brings some insightful and sensitive descriptions to several emotional scenes. I wished that there had been more description of Shanghai as I enjoy reading about different places. This is a good first novel and I would like to read more by this author.

A man goes has a brain injury and forgets his dominant language. He can only speak in English, the language he learned and used as a child. He can no longer communicate with his family and they enlist the help of a famous US neurologist, who specializes in bilingual amnesia.
The book is about the difficulties of language and how communication is the most important part of relationships. I feel the characters were very real and I could easily sympathize with them. The novel is beautifully written but I feel the ending could have been better.