Book Report: Snow flower and the secret fan

[vernacular_life]

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See


See's engrossing novel set in remote 19th-century China details the deeply affecting story of lifelong, intimate friends (laotong, or "old sames") Lily and Snow Flower, their imprisonment by rigid codes of conduct for women and their betrayal by pride and love. While granting immediacy to Lily's voice, See adroitly transmits historical background in graceful prose. Her in-depth research into women's ceremonies and duties in China's rural interior brings fascinating revelations about arranged marriages, women's inferior status in both their natal and married homes, and the Confucian proverbs and myriad superstitions that informed daily life. Beginning with a detailed and heartbreaking description of Lily and her sisters' foot binding the story widens to a vivid portrait of family and village life. Most impressive is See's incorporation of nu shu, a secret written phonetic code among women—here between Lily and Snow Flower—that dates back 1,000 years in the southwestern Hunan province.  As both a suspenseful and poignant story and an absorbing historical chronicle, this novel has bestseller potential and should become a reading group favorite as well.

I really enjoyed this book - it reminded me of Memoirs of a Geisha, esp in the way that girls became women.  One of the things that was REALLY apparant was the amount of research that went into it.  The author even included an addendum to detail this (which researcher me eats up :P)

I was more interested in the story of the girls than the actual nu shu writing, and admit that I skimmed over a lot of the poetry/writings, only to have to force myself to go back and read it again. 

Overall grade of A.  Thanks for the recommendation, ee_chick!


Next up:
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain


still plodding through The Fiery Cross....

Comments

[ee-chick.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that you enjoyed it. :-) I think that's one that will stay on my bookshelf for future re-reads. And yeah, I wasn't in love with the nu shu stuff either, but I loved the story of the women.

I just read Kitchen Confidential. It was a mix of horrifying and laugh-out-loud funny, I thought.

I've started The Fiery Cross twice, but it's too darn big to haul around, and I'm a read on the go kind of gal...

Also, I hope Ben is recovering well from the tubes today. Poor little guy.