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  <title><![CDATA[Peony in Love]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]></description>
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    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
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    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
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  <read_at>Fri Dec 14 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Feb 19 07:06:32 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 16 08:36:06 -0700 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[<br/><br/><em>Set in 17th-century China, See’s fifth novel is a coming-of-age story, a ghost story, a family saga and a work of musical and social history. As Peony, the 15-year-old daughter of the wealthy Chen family, approaches an arranged marriage, she commits an unthinkable breach of etiquette whe...</em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15779383">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
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    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>3</votes>
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  <read_at>Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Sep 12 06:45:24 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 16 08:36:06 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book is amazing!!! It is beautifully written (lovely descriptions and intricate details), well researched, and unbelievably touching. There were moments where I feel I can't read anymore because I am so overwhelmed with emotion, but I can never put the book down for any real length of time. I h...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6087559">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
  <id>22889250</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
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    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
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    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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  <read_at>Sun Jul 29 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat May 24 16:32:18 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat May 24 16:33:38 -0700 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[As i was making my way through the first section of Peony in Love, i was beginning to think i should have paid more heed to the valentine heart on its spine (my library system's way of signifying that it was of the romance genre) because Peony was mooning like a lovesick girl who knew not enough of ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22889250">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22889250]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22889250]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>18828303</id>
    <user>
    <id>65700</id>
    <name><![CDATA[bonnie]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
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    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[GIRLS]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[Marlene Sachs]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Mar 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Mar 28 04:54:48 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 16 08:36:06 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I liked this book the same way I liked <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/search/search?q= The Other Boleyn Girl" title=" The Other Boleyn Girl"> The Other Boleyn Girl</a>. That is, I had trouble putting it down even at work. Indeed, they are the same kind of book - historical fiction taking a partially true story from a very very long time ago and spicing it up by adding elements of a romance novel. The hi...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18828303">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18828303]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18828303]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>14740519</id>
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    <location><![CDATA[Belmont, MA]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
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    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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  <read_at>Tue Jan 22 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Feb 06 11:44:10 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 16 08:36:06 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I really enjoyed reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Peony in Love has a few of the same elements but is, nicely, a different novel. Peony is the only child of a wealthy couple who experienced some hard times during the Manchu raids. Peony, encouraged by her father, loves to read. She reads exte...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14740519">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14740519]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14740519]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
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  <average_rating>3.46</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>6391</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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  <read_at>Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Sep 02 18:16:18 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 08:28:34 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Peony is a 15-year-old girl in Manchu China who falls in love with the opera <em>The Peony Pavilion</em>, a love story in which the ghost of a girl is brought back to life by the man she loves. Peony's father hosts a production of the opera (which Peony assumes is for her, rather than to impress the powerful...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5550899">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5550899]]></url>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
  </title>
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    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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  <read_at>Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jul 07 14:02:23 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 16 08:36:05 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[4.75 Stars. This is a book that you really have to read a little while to get into. During the first part I thought that it was just going to be a story about a girl in an arranged marriage who was lovesick for a man that she met at an opera, and I would have given up on it had I not loved Snow Flow...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2806499">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
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  <average_rating>3.46</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <date_added>Wed Apr 08 19:45:19 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 08 19:45:44 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Peony In Love<br/>By Lisa See<br/>pages : 284<br/><br/>Do you believe in fate? I do. I believe I am fated to be with my husband. We came from two different countries and yet we were able to meet and be together. I also believe I am fated to live far away from my parents and siblings. It was hard to ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52013222">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52013222]]></url>
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      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
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  <average_rating>3.46</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jan 03 22:03:29 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jan 11 06:18:03 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I don't think I will ever forget the details of this book. Written by Lisa See (SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN) I was expecting a lot.  Reading the author's notes after finishing the book cinched the 5 star rating. Realizing the amount of truth and actual history was astonishing.<br/>This strangely...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41802010">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41802010]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
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    <rating>1</rating>
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  <read_at>Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Dec 10 13:15:12 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 10 13:37:15 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I hated this book.  I couldn't wait to read this book because I loved the first one so much.  I started reading the book and it was just as good.  The story is about a young girl who is betrothed to be married in a few months.  Her birthday comes around and her dad has her favorite opera performed f...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39802376">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39802376]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
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    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
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  <read_at>Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jan 28 13:29:28 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 16 08:36:01 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book sucked....it was trying to hard to be existential and had wierd poetry and the story went nowhere, but pretended that it would. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13852754]]></url>
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    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="trippy-fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jul 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jul 05 00:52:10 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Nov 17 09:51:49 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I have so many feelings about this book that it is hard to distill my thoughts into a review. <br/>There are a couple of quotes from the book that can perhaps compress a few of these thoughts into words,<br/><br/>&quot;So many mistakes. So many errors. So much tragedy as a result. In that moment ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62185094">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62185094]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62185094]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>44898699</id>
    <user>
    <id>689546</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jen]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Beaverton, OR]]></location>
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  <isbn>140006466X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400064663</isbn13>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.46</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>6391</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[those interested in a woman's role in Imperial China]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jan 30 16:41:37 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jan 30 16:53:50 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Lisa See's research comes out in almost every passage of this historical novel of the first Manchu dynasty in China.  Because my daughter is learning about China, I gravitated towards this novel in eagerness to learn more about the power, or lack of power, that women have had in China throughout the...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44898699">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44898699]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44898699]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>21330500</id>
    <user>
    <id>691766</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Colleen]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Vancouver, WA]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.46</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>6391</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Apr 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Apr 30 10:58:22 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 30 11:29:34 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I'll skip over the plot summary since so many other reviewers have already covered those details.  I loved the character of Peony and watching her grow from this young girl chafing at the bonds of traditional familial responsibility to a woman who more fully understands the true nature of love and l...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21330500">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21330500]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21330500]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>18563132</id>
    <user>
    <id>1019413</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Nichelle]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Cedar Park, TX]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1019413-nichelle]]></link>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255845594m/24472.jpg</image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.46</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>6391</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Lisa See fans.]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[Library]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Mar 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Mar 24 20:48:06 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 16 08:36:06 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I read this book after my fascination with Snowflower and the Secret Fan.<br/><br/>Peony in love begins with a bound-footed daughter of a wealthy family awaiting her upcoming arranged marriage. He father has an opera of the Peony Pavilion staged and from there her life, and death begin to mirror t...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18563132">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18563132]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18563132]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>12669045</id>
    <user>
    <id>791006</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Rachel]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Watertown, MA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/791006-rachel]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">24472</id>
  <isbn>140006466X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400064663</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1461</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255845594m/24472.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255845594s/24472.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24472.Peony_in_Love</link>
  <average_rating>3.46</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>6391</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="asia" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[Anna Hoover]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jan 16 10:00:48 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 16 08:36:06 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[After reading the first section of this book, which led me to think that the story was just an update of the classic Peony Pavilion, I was surprised by the turn of events in the second section. However, despite See's impressive research into women's literary culture in 17th century China, I am still...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12669045">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12669045]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12669045]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>5559219</id>
    <user>
    <id>199350</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Meghan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Beijing, China]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/199350-meghan]]></link>
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  <isbn>140006466X</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400064663</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1461</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255845594m/24472.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255845594s/24472.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.46</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>6391</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
  <published>2007</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="chinese" />
        <shelf name="own" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[romantics, people interested in China]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[me]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Aug 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Sep 02 21:19:21 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 08:30:13 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I really would rate this 3.5 stars as I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, See continues to be over-enthusiastic in her research, which is interesting, but it interferes with her story-telling. And thus, the story tends to be a little uneven (although less so than <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1103.Snow_Flower_and_the_Secret_Fan_A_Novel" title="Snow Flower and the Secret Fan  A Novel by Lisa See">Snow Flower and the Secret Fan  A Novel</a>...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5559219">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5559219]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5559219]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>17676905</id>
    <user>
    <id>618796</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Julie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Minneapolis, MN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/618796-julie-ekkers]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1194992389p3/618796.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <id type="integer">1935309</id>
  <isbn>0812975227</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780812975222</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">129</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Peony in Love: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255845590m/1935309.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255845590s/1935309.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1935309.Peony_in_Love_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.53</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>468</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[&#8220;I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.&#8221;<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>Peony&#8217;s mother is against her daughter&#8217;s attending the production: &#8220;Unmarried girls should not be seen in public.&#8221; But Peony&#8217;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&#8211;and is immediately overcome with emotion.<br/><br/>So begins Peony&#8217;s unforgettable journey of love and destiny, desire and sorrow&#8211;as Lisa See&#8217;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. <br/><br/>Steeped in traditions and ritual, this story brings to life another time and place&#8211;even the intricate realm of the afterworld, with its protocols, pathways, and stages of existence, a vividly imagined place where one&#8217;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, <em>Peony in Love</em> explores, beautifully, the many manifestations of love. Ultimately, Lisa See&#8217;s new novel addresses universal themes: the bonds of friendship, the power of words, and the age-old desire of women to be heard.<br/><br/><br/><em>From the Hardcover edition.</em>]]>
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  <read_at>Sat Mar 08 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Wed Apr 16 08:38:47 -0700 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[I just didn't like this book (though I did like Snow Flower and the Secret Fan).  To be fair, I didn't expect to like Peony, but one of the reviews said it &quot;belonged in my beach bag,' which sounded like what I was after at the time.  I just couldn't get into it.  I think because there's SO much...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17676905">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
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  <average_rating>3.46</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
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  <date_updated>Thu Jun 05 07:53:17 -0700 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[When reading Lisa See's books, it's apparent that she knows her subject matter.  I felt I learned a great deal about Chinese beliefs regarding death and spirits when reading this historical fiction.<br/><br/>I only have one issue with Lisa See's novels...that without doing your own research on the...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23755592">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Peony in Love]]>
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  <average_rating>3.46</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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, <em>Peony in Love</em> 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.]]>
  </description>
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  <date_added>Tue Nov 06 15:54:47 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 16 08:36:04 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Occasionally, rarely, I read a book after which I need to take a few days to come up for air, so to speak.  A book that moves me so deeply and which leaves me thinking ...and thinking. Peony in Love is just such a book.  A true work of art.  Amazing, beginning to end.  As I told a friend, I CARED so...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8765325">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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