Editorial Review
(from amazon.com)

Too soon after the second Big War and occupation by the Japanese army, Shanghai in 1948 faces occupation by Mao Tse-tung’s army. The affluent foreigners believe business will continue as before; hasn’t it always, after every conflict? But the Russians, the stateless ones who fled the Bolsheviks, believe the Communists will kill them.

For Maria Conti and her family, the executioner wears a different countenance. They will become destitute. Their only income is the little she earns from her share of a saloon catering to American and British servicemen. When they leave China, the business will go with them. Maria's little sister, Nola, helps her father manufacture ersatz liquor in their dining room. Her mother, Ming Chu, knows her family’s Italian citizenship is useless; the Contis are trapped.

On April 20th, 1949, the Communists shell the British frigate HMS Amethyst on the Yangtze River. The Woosung forts are in flames. Maria’s lover, American Army Captain Thaddeus Huell, must evacuate with his unit before he can get the Contis out. Love, a killing, survival--these are Maria’s story.

EXCERPT:

Huell got out of the car. The pile of rags on the ground fluttered in the cold wind. He was aware of people staring but no one stopped walking, pushing, pulling, or pedaling; the automobile behind his was turning out, trying to pass. The man inside the rags was dead, starved to the final flicker of life in his near encounter with Huell's car. He stank of accumulated dirt and sick bowels; the green of grass streaked his cracked lips and a blade still protruded between his front teeth.

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The Year of the Rat can be ordered from:

amazon.com ~ barnesandnoble.com ~ iuniverse.com