The Lost and Forgotten Languages of Shanghai: A Novel, by Ruiyan Xu

The idea that loss is not understood until you have gained, what you had is not appreciated until you have not, what now divides us is what once united us, runs deep throughout this novel about the beauty and emotional ties of language, love and betrayal, culture and in the end hope. How important is our spoken language in our relationships? How to explain misunderstandings, regret, guilt, love, loss? How do you move beyond the barrier and find new ways to connect?
I enjoyed the story and liked the analogy of Dr Neal's difficulty with language and culture paralleling Li Jing's.
A nice easy read.