2007 ( )

REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK!!! FOUND IT INTERESTING REGARDING THE HISTORY OF FOOT BINDING... SO RICH IN CULTURE AND HISTORY OF CHINESE WOMEN. ( )

A story of two women surviving strict rules and ancient customs, a novel showing the detail of women's lives in a China of footbinding, nu shu ( a secret women's written language) and 'old-sames' (a more formal kind of kindred spirit) ( )

Our last meeting of the school year-June 09-was held in a Chinese restaurant. Several of us enjoyed this title enough to read the author's other book. Several of us have lived in Asia and better understood the cultural values and beliefs governing the character's actions and events. ( )

Excellent, excellent, excellent! The history, the story, the saga, her prose and writing - all wonderful! A must read! ( )

This story of Lily and Snow Flower in rural China follows their lives from childhood to old age. The two girls become close friends - like sisters they make a life commitment (laotong). For me, the most feeling moments came with the author's description of "foot-binding." I am familiar with this old practice but her graphic descriptins sent chill up my spine. Breaking and rebreaking the feet every few weeks was not only painful but also a cause of death in about 10% of the girls. The object of all this suffering was to have small feet which would be sexually attractive to highly placed men whose control of their women was absolute and often cruel. Not a pretty picture of that culture.

The story follows the two lives thru marriage, childbirth and motherhood, and a revolt in this part of China which caused starvation and illness thruout the region. The girls learned a form of women's writing called "nu-shu" and wrote messages and private thoughts to each other from their isolated rooms on the second floors of their houses. Snowflower's father was a butcher which put him on the lowest social rung and Lily's father, while he had a good position in Federal service, was a gambler and an alcoholic and eventualy put his family in severe straits. In mid life the girls had a falling out and didn't resolve their relationship until Snowflower was on her deathbed.

This was a moving story with beautiful description of the countryside and revealing fact about the customs of Rural China ( )

I enjoyed the novel (I'm a huge historical fiction and Chinese history buff), but it wasn't as good as I'd hoped. I may be unfairly comparing it to Amy Tan's novels, which leave you feeling both emotionally raw and touched. ( )

Starts right in, great read, kept me turning pages to the very last. ( )

his book was pretty much impossible to put down, I only managed to set it down, when I was too exhausted to read anymore. But what a fantastic read! Lisa See did a wonderful job at creating a beautiful friendship between the two characters of the book, filling it with emotional passages and a strong bond between these two girls, who grow together into women. The story is written in an autobiographic sort of way, so we only get to view things through Lily’s eyes, but the author did such a fantastic job in writing in the head of this woman, you almost want to believe she lived years and years ago, and these are her thoughts she left behind. The friendship, and how it was portrayed and written, is probably my favourite aspect of the book, and I was so involved with the characters, it drove me mad to see them hurt, to see them fight, to see them sick etc.

Another aspect of the story I enjoyed was the aspect of Ancient Chinese traditions, the ways woman were treated, the hardships they faced, and how they were perceived in society. Again, the author does a wonderful job at showing this to the readers, the foot-binding process it very, cringe worthy, and grotesque, but handle beautifully, in that it showed a very real out look at what woman had to go through during these times. Lisa See easily is able to paint a very realistic picture in her readers heads, in every scene of what is happening, what our characters is feeling emotionally and what they’re thinking, with words.

One issue I had, was sometimes it moves a little slower then I would have liked it, it moves slow, because it needs to build the relationship up to what it is and how it ends, but at times, I felt like I just wanted to move on with the issue already. Overall, a beautiful read, and another author who I look forward to reading more works by her, this book has quickly become one of my favourite of the year, and the characters in it and their friendship, one that will stick with me (and likely other readers) for a while.

Review also posted at my blog: http://juliebooks.blogspot.com/ ( )

Wonderful portrayal of female friendship in 19th century China. Beautiful and moving. ( )

A powerful and fascinating story of two friends in 19th Century China and the traditions that affect them. ( )

I really enjoyed this book and everything about it. I learned a lot about foot binding traditions and how cruel it was to be a woman then, I fully enjoyed the whole story it was very sad and a little slow at times but I did go and get the authors other books after finishing this one. ( )

I loved this story and it's views into a culture I know little about. Wonderfully paced. I'll recommend to our book club. ( )

See this review on my blog: http://histficchick.blogspot.com/2009...

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a touching, heart-breaking book about love, loyalty, friendship, honesty, and betrayal. I loved this book, the story really resonated with me as a woman, and I think freethinking ladies of the modern era will find this book both compelling and brutally honest in describing a tragic and very inhibiting time and place in history for our sex. Women in 19th century China found solace in each others company sitting in the “upstairs chamber,” learning from each other to stand firm in their traditions and to obey all lifelong protocol and filial obligations. Here in the upstairs chamber, protected from the outer realm of men, women shared their difficult lives by telling stories, singing sorrowful songs, creating symbolic embroideries, and composing writings in their secret women’s language, nu shu.

I almost found myself getting angry and frustrated at points with some of the misogynistic customs and assaults against women mentioned throughout this book. Every time the narrator, Lily, talked about how women were considered “useless branches” of the family tree who must quietly resign themselves to relatively unhappy lives, I wanted to reach through my book into her world and embrace her in a bear hug, explaining that we are so much better than that sad, insulting description. Women just had no idea of their own self-worth, and throughout her life, Lily tries to help other women realize that even though they are trapped in their sheltered bubbles of conformity and harsh customs, they can find little ways to make their lives bearable if they walk the line and follow all the “right” rules, ultimately choosing their battles wisely and winning the ones which truly matter most.

The book’s detailed, graphic descriptions of foot binding make this novel not one for the faint of heart. If you can stomach the chapter on this ancient Chinese practice, you will love the rest of this book. The pains these women went through, for fear of being sold off by their families as sex slaves if they did not obey, were excruciating. After reading further into the novel, I realized that the chapter on foot binding was completely necessary in order to lay the groundwork for what follows, as well as to outline the extreme bravery and stoic disposition these women had to acquire and internalize in order to continue on arduously trekking through their demanding lives.

I highly recommend this book; it was very much enlightening for me, as I have never read a hist-fic book on China. Based on this amazing novel, I think Lisa See is a fantastic writer, and I will definitely add her books Peony in Love and her latest Shanghai Girls to my wishlist. She paints such a clear picture of Chinese culture and its emphasis on themes such as duty and honor; I walked away from this book feeling as though I had a better understanding of a world wholly different from my own, yet her writing is so clear I could feel the characters pains and misfortunes as though they were my own. Lily and Snow Flower’s story of lifelong friendship presents a touchingly human perspective on the trials faced by the human heart, and tells a tale of love and devotion that is certainly not to be missed.

http://histficchick.blogspot.com ( )

I rather liked the truthfullness of the setting, and the obvious research behind it, but the character and the story lacked depth, imo. Not bad, but not a novel to read and reread.
Nonetheless, a good point for historical coherency : the character don't act, talk or think like XXth century occidental people, but are in keeping with their time and place.

Not for the squeamish...the section on footbinding goes into more detail than I needed. ( )

The life of women in early 20th C. China. Bound feet are beautiful and their house is their world. Great writing. All loved. Good discusison. ( )

Set in rural China about a million years ago, Lisa See writes this novel as if it were truly the autobiography of young girl throughout her life. I think that anyone who is even mildly interested in culture differences, feminist issues or friendship would enjoy this book, and and someone who enjoys reading about all three, I'm sitting her telling all of ya'll about it.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is has power equal to East of Eden, and the texture of both Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan) and Memoirs of Geisha (Arthur Golden). It's one of those books that really questions how selective my annotations are- I wanted to highlight about 90% of the book, *that's* how good the writing is. SFatSF is personal on a very human level that made me feel for the characters like they were my own friends and you hate the mistakes you make even as you're making them. (By 'you' I mean the main character, but I also mean the reader. It's the same mistakes just a different setting.) Unfortunately, happy books are never that good, so like always, SFatSF is pretty depressing but definitely worth the read if you don't get bogged down in it.

I think that any book that's this intense and interesting is worth praise, however there are some books that really do broaden your understanding of the world and that of the past. I think this is one of them. SFatSF is your classic historical fiction that no one gives enough credit for it's well researched outline. I think Lisa See did an excellent job of illuminating the reader to the issues of the time so you could fully understand what's really going on for the characters instead of simply grabbing the surface.

Can you imagine having to break your feet to the size of a thumb? Or having to leave your family forever during your adolescence to move into a strangers house where you will be thought of as less than a work animal? What about being raped daily by your husband or having to watch all of your children die in your hands? I think the biggest thing for me was losing Snow Flower. I was talking to Grace about this earlier, but I honestly don't think that most people are as big of assholes as we suspect, I think the biggest problems come from a misinterpreted or lack of communication and that both parties are normally sorry it happened. I hated losing Snow Flower because it reminded me of friends I'd already lost.

Wait, maybe I should talk about the plot? Maybe a little? So basically life sucks because you're a girl and no one loves you except your laotong. You get your feet bound so you can have perfect golden lilies so maybe your parents can marry you off and get rid of you. Then your life sucks some more because you're still a worthless girl and still no one loves you except for maybe your laotong who is your forever friend. But then there's a misunderstanding and your laotong leaves and then you're all alone and you're miserable and again, no one loves you. You watch your children, your family, your husband and your friends die off one by one until finally you're the only one left. Only then do you realize your mistake, but it's too late because your laotong's already dead. The one person you truly loved is dead and you feel responsible.

I think that the best books don't just reflect the life we know (and a lot of books don't even accomplish that, but merely show a weak shadow of the world), but expand upon it and show us areas of the horizon that perhaps we've never known or considered. It really is an amazing thing to be enlightened to new circumstances that you'd never considered and to be able to understand just a little bit more. Four and a half stars! SFatSF is fiction so look under SEE (author's last name). Much love!

Oh, and I think SFatSF is a little bit lesbian, but reading other reviews, most people disagree. See what you thinkkkkk. ( )

I'm not a writer, eloquently describing a beautiful passage or story. I don't think i would do justice in my review of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.

The story is set in the 19th century China, during the reign of Emperor Daoguang. Lily talks about her growing up during this time. The beginning she starts by saying she is a widow, 80 years old and in the 'Sitting Quietly' part of her life.
The Chinese during this time was all about traditions. They live each day with a routine in every minute and hour of their life. Lily starts her story as a 6 year old child who must go thru the agonizing tradition of feet binding . From there she tells of learning nu-shu, meeting her Laotong, preparing and marrying her husband and goes on to tell about her life after marriage.
The author Lisa See states that after doing a review about Nu Shu, doing some research, chatting with a fan she decided she needed to go to Jianguong to further her research and to learn more. She did awesome in her book, describing the details of the Chinese history and the Nu Shu writing.

Like i said i'm not a writer and i wouldn't be able to write a review thats worthy of this book.

Set in 19th century China, this is a tale of two friends and the impermeable social divide that separates them and the ingenious way they connect with each other. An underlying theme that was so fascinating to me to the point that I was compelled to do more research, is that of the Chinese art of footbinding. (Fun fact: not only was this being done for over 1000 years, but did you know that it was done as little as 40-50 years ago?!?) The author's prose truly transports you to another time and place. ( )

Good book about the culture...a little slow at times, but interesting. The foot binding was a little too much...I do believe I read that has been outlawed at this time. ( )

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan was just a pleasant diversion for me. Maybe would have been more gripping if this was the first book I had read about a woman's life in China pre-revolution, including the gory details of footbinding. So, it wasn't shocking, but always sad to think about the difficult lives and lowly status of women--even now--in many places in the world. I enjoyed this book, but wouldn't read it again, so no stars.

I picked this book up in the thrift store because I recently read Peony in Love, also by See, and couldn't really decide if I liked it or not. Having now read both books, on similar topics, with similar protagonists, I've concluded that I do, in fact, like Peony in Love, but that Snow Flower is not really that great. See's approach as an author seems to be to take some actual, little known historical thing and then to base a novel on it. Snow Flower is about nu shu, a form of "secret" writing used only by women, and Peony is about the play, 'The Peony Pavillion.' Both books take this one idea and then examine how they affect the lives of their protagonists- intended to be relatively typical Chinese women as they progress through their highly structured lives. It's an interesting idea, but if you're going to read one book, read Peony in Love. Peony actually said something (I'm still not sure what) about the conditions of life, and she broke out of her restraints and then came to appreciate them. Lily, the protagonist of Snow Flower, came to understand her mistakes, but not much else- and I think the fault is just that nu shu, the secret writing, was not a strong enough historical premise. Still, it was a fun read- I'd give it about 3 stars. ( )

I found this book hard to read in many ways, not because of poor writing, but because of the unrelenting sadness in the life of Lily, a 19th century Chinese girl from a poor country family. It begins by describing in great detail her foot binding at age seven. After that, her life narrows, mostly limited to a second story "women's room". She longs for her mother's love but is told daily she is worthless, her only value that of obedient daughter and wife. She is married off and leaves her home for that of her husband, where she is the lowest member of the household. The redeeming grace in her life is her friendship with Snow Flower, in a formalized relationship called a laotong which is intended to be more emotionally intimate and lasting than marriage. How this relationship transcends the other areas of her life, and is threatened by a misunderstanding, forms the core of the book. Lisa See is a very skilled writer and is able to clearly conjure a physical place and society so alien to ours. The reader is left pondering why a woman's beauty and value in that culture depended upon the smallness and shape of her feet. I was struck by an obvious parallel with breast size, and implants to achieve it, in our society. ( )

One of the best books I've read in a long time. It's just beautiful. Lisa See's narrative style is the perfect compliment to the story she tells. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is about the life-long friendship between two women in cruel, restrictive 19th-century rural China. No matter how much women suffered, they were expected to present a facade of grace and obedience. See shares the deeply emotional story in way that is quiet and restrained, as her characters are expected to be. The settings of the story are limited to women's chambers and similar domestic settings, with few ventures into the wider world. This reflects how separate and irrelevant that world was to the women, yet how much living was done is this narrow existence. ( )