The Two Men Who Ruled the Underworld of Old Shanghai
Paul French
The story itself is a fascinating one of the era between World Wars in a semi-lawless territory; or it would be, if not for the writing. The historical details are fascinating, the people involved the type of characters you rarely see new versions of - classic mobster types. Unfortunately the writing style is erratic, switching partway through the book as far as layout and approach, while the exaggeratedly self-important use of unnecessary slang, both foreign and from the era, seriously detracts from the story. I would accept the foreign slang as atmospheric and conducive to the story, but it is not limited to styles and languages that would set an atmosphere of old Shanghai; instead it veers into rambling Yiddish terms when individuals of Jewish descent are being discussed, unnecessary and distracting military slang from the era, and on several occasions veers dangerously close, and even into colonialist and racist phrasing.
I give the author credit for research, especially given the destruction of the area and loss of resources during World War Two, but I would love to see this story as a well researched and well told volume.
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