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Peony in Love by Lisa See
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Peony in Love: A Novel (original 2007; edition 2008)

by Lisa See

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
2,3101122,509 (3.56)181
Member:allsmile
Title:Peony in Love: A Novel
Authors:Lisa See
Info:Random House Trade Paperbacks (2008), Paperback, 297 pages
Collections:Favorites, Read but unowned
Rating:*****
Tags:None

Work details

Peony in Love by Lisa See (2007)

17th century (31) 2007 (17) 2008 (23) afterlife (30) arranged marriage (20) Asian (10) audio (15) audiobook (15) book club (9) China (251) Chinese (12) Chinese culture (16) death (16) fiction (220) footbinding (15) ghosts (76) historical (33) historical fiction (163) history (14) love (43) love story (12) novel (23) opera (36) own (15) read (20) read in 2007 (10) romance (29) to-read (62) unread (12) women (46)
  1. 61
    Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (emib, mcdougaldd)
    mcdougaldd: Both are about women's roles in 17th century China. The author is very good at describing the times and attitudes.
  2. 41
    Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (leahsimone)
  3. 41
    Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (leahsimone)
  4. 20
    The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (leahsimone)
  5. 20
    The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson (PghDragonMan)
    PghDragonMan: Different premise but makes use of what happens to souls in the afterlife
  6. 21
    The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan (loriephillips)
  7. 00
    The Secrets of Jin-shei by Alma Alexander (Yorkist)
  8. 11
    Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan (PghDragonMan)
    PghDragonMan: Ghosts reach into our world to complete tasks left undone
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English (112)  German (1)  All languages (113)
Showing 1-5 of 112 (next | show all)
Really enjoyed this coming of age story of a young girl in ancient China -- the unexpected plot twist added a lot. ( )
  chndlrs | May 28, 2013 |
I didn't really appreciate the story until close to the end. It's much more sentimental than her other books, I'd say. ( )
  JessieP73 | Apr 6, 2013 |
i looked forward to reading this because i heard such good things about her first novel, [book:snow flower and the secret fan]; i think my expectations were too high. i liked this more than i didn't like it, but still. that's not saying all that much. ( )
  cat-ballou | Apr 2, 2013 |
This one was not at all what I expected- it exceeded my expectations in every possible way. It's a love story told in an unusual way, which I really love. Lisa See rules. Find all her books and read them. Like, today. ( )
  psychedelicmicrobus | Jan 16, 2013 |
I am a fan of Lisa See, but this book was just too far out there for me really to enjoy. It started very, very slowly with most of the story giving the background of the Opera, "The Peony Pavilion." a real opera written in China and first performed in 1598. It contains 55 acts and tells the story of a girl who falls in love and dies of love sickness. Obviously this was unheard of as girls then (as for much longer in time) were married off or sold as chattel. The author takes this play and a real commentary written by 3 wives (which also was new to the era as men were the ones with education and women stayed in their inner-chambers) and creates a historical fictional story than contains much about hungry ghosts, the after life, worshiping of ancestors, and the like.
I would only suggest the book for those interested in women literati, the history of China or true Lisa See fans. If I had read this one first I doubt I would have finished it let alone read her others. ( )
  janiereader | Dec 6, 2012 |
Showing 1-5 of 112 (next | show all)
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For BOB LOOMIS, in celebration of his fifty years at Random House
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Two days before my sixteenth birthday, I woke up so early that my maid was still asleep on the floor at the foot of my bed.
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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0812975227, Paperback)

“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”

For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage. Though raised to be obedient, Peony has dreams of her own.

Peony’s mother is against her daughter’s attending the production: “Unmarried girls should not be seen in public.” But Peony’s father assures his wife that proprieties will be maintained, and that the women will watch the opera from behind a screen. Yet through its cracks, Peony catches sight of an elegant, handsome man with hair as black as a cave–and is immediately overcome with emotion.

So begins Peony’s unforgettable journey of love and destiny, desire and sorrow–as Lisa See’s haunting new novel, based on actual historical events, takes readers back to seventeenth-century China, after the Manchus seize power and the Ming dynasty is crushed.

Steeped in traditions and ritual, this story brings to life another time and place–even the intricate realm of the afterworld, with its protocols, pathways, and stages of existence, a vividly imagined place where one’s soul is divided into three, ancestors offer guidance, misdeeds are punished, and hungry ghosts wander the earth. Immersed in the richness and magic of the Chinese vision of the afterlife, transcending even death, Peony in Love explores, beautifully, the many manifestations of love. Ultimately, Lisa See’s new novel addresses universal themes: the bonds of friendship, the power of words, and the age-old desire of women to be heard.


From the Hardcover edition.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:53:43 -0500)

(see all 2 descriptions)

""I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn, only regret." For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage. Though raised to be obedient, Peony has dreams of her own." "Peony's mother is against her daughter's attending the production: "Unmarried girls should not be seen in public." But Peony's father assures his wife that proprieties will be maintained, and that the women will watch the opera from behind a screen. Yet even hidden from view, Peony catches sight of an elegant, handsome man with hair as black as a cave - and is immediately overcome with emotion." "So begins Peony's unforgettable journey of love and destiny, desire and sorrow; as Lisa See's new novel, based on actual historical events, takes readers back to seventeenth-century China, after the Manchus seized power and the Ming dynasty was crushed. Steeped in traditions and ritual, this story brings to life another time and place - even the intricate realm of the afterworld, with its protocols, pathways, and stages of existence, a vividly imagined place where one's soul is divided into three, ancestors offer guidance, misdeeds are punished, and hungry ghosts wander the earth. Immersed in the richness and magic of the Chinese vision of the afterlife, transcending even death, Peony in Love explores the many manifestations of love. Ultimately, Lisa See's new novel addresses universal themes: the bonds of friendship, the power of words, and the age-old desire of women to be heard."--BOOK JACKET.… (more)

(summary from another edition)

» see all 5 descriptions

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