This book really is a historical novel…not just a novel. The author, with Chinese ancestry, herself, traveled back to China to research into the background of early Chinese customs and culture. She interviewed one of the last known living woman, still alive in 2003, to have her feet bound in the traditional Chinese fashion, and ate the foods mentioned in this novel. The secret writing of women, called nu shu, was real and written in secret code between women, and was often written on fans between their contractual laotong (life friends), such as Lily and Snow Flower were in this novel. Their secret messages were written on this fan and passed back and forth throughout their lives.

Although a small book, this was well written. Her writing style is very fluid. I believe this would be a terrific read for any young teenage girl, as this is a story of deep-hearted love between sisters…friends, coming of age in a time when women were not viewed favorably at all in China.

MOVIE: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011), starring Li Bingbing as Lily; Jun Ji-hyun as Snow Flower; and Hugh Jackman as Arthur, who is not in the book, is set up a little differently and is in the Chinese language, so has sub-titles. You follow three stories: 1) Nina and Sophia (step-sisters) in modern day New York where Nina lays dying in a hospital bed...Hugh Jackman makes a brief appearance as Nina's boyfriend and hopeful book deal; 2) The telling of Lily and Snow Flower; 3) and Nina and Sophia’s early growing up days. I felt like there was a lot missing from the movie. In my opinion, the book, of course, was way better. ( )

Very good.. but very sad at the same time.... ( )

I read this through the haze of sleep deprivation and baby blues that comes with the first two weeks of being a new mom. As such, I found the book both profoundly moving, and palpably, viscerally almost unbearably sad. See is very evocative -- I usually do very poorly with historical fiction, especially set in an era about which I had little a priori knowledge, but I found myself very invested in the characters. ( )

; Excellent. Chinese women lives & foot binding

What a gifted story teller. Another from a book group, this title gave us a lot to talk about. Being a woman–especially in foot-binding era China–is not easy but it can still make for a beautiful story. ( )