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Peony In Love

by Lisa See (Goodreads Author)

3.52 of 5 stars 3.52 · rating details · 23,443 ratings · 3,208 reviews

“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...more

Mass Market Paperback, International Edition, 383 pages

Published 2008 by Random House (first published 2007)

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Sep 19, 2011 Kay rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gawdawful, historical, zhong-guo, i-give-up

I just couldn't finish it. And I tried. Really, really tried. Even after studying Chinese history extensively in college, I'm usually not very picky about the books that I read. I don't really care about the accuracy or the sequence of events, as long as it's a good story.

But maybe it's the cheesy title. Or maybe it's just too girly. Or maybe, just maybe, the fact that this foolish girl starved herself to death because of lovesickness was the last kick in the butt my usually sleepy (yet very ex...more

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Apr 16, 2008 Becky rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 when she accidentally comes upon a man who has entered the family garden. Unusually for a girl of her time, Peony has been educated and revels in studying The Peony Pavilion, a real opera published in 1598, as the r...more

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Apr 16, 2008 Eleyna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

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 have become completely engrossed. The summary of the book is a little misleading. It describes the book as a love story. I do not find it to be one. Peony in Love is a romantic and tragic story. Love p...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Sandy Tjan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: long-ago-and-never-was, china, 2009

'My eyes were shaped like bamboo leaves; my brows were like gentle brushstrokes limned by a calligrapher'.

The notion that 17th century Chinese characters would speak like this for the benefit of 21st century English-speaking readers is preposterous to say the least. It is obvious that the author has conducted extensive research on the history and culture of late Ming/ early Qing dynasty Hangzhou, and the fruits of that research abound in this historical-supernatural novel. However, the anthropol...more 'My eyes were shaped like bamboo leaves; my brows were like gentle brushstrokes limned by a calligrapher'.

The notion that 17th century Chinese characters would speak like this for the benefit of 21st century English-speaking readers is preposterous to say the least. It is obvious that the author has conducted extensive research on the history and culture of late Ming/ early Qing dynasty Hangzhou, and the fruits of that research abound in this historical-supernatural novel. However, the anthropological details, more often than not, tend to choke the life out of the characters and sometimes even the narrative itself.

The historical fact behind the story itself is interesting, namely that the cultural renaissance that took place in late Ming dynasty Hangzhou gave aristocratic Chinese women unprecedented access to education, and even enabled them to actively participate in the literary scene. Three of these women, all the wives of Wu Ren, wrote The Three Wives Commentary on the Peony Pavillion, apparently the 'first book of its kind to have been published anywhere in the world to have been written by women', according to the author. However, instead of telling us the story of how these women managed to write such a work, the author chose to wallow in questionable exoticism and new-agey philosophizing. The emphasis on exoticism, some of which seem to be contrived for the benefit of Western audiences, reduces the complexity and richness of Chinese culture into a set of cruel customs and absurd superstitions.

SPOILERS

Peony is an insipid 16-year old girl who wilfully starves herself to death after she was betrothed to a stranger, who later turns out to be her paramour, Wu Ren. For some undecipherable reason (morbidity?, stupidity?), she never bothers to inquire about the identity of her fiancee until it is too late. Due to some sort of a shenanigan involving her ancestral tablet, she is condemned to spend her time wandering the afterlife as a hungry ghost. This exploration of the Chinese afterlife is interesting for a while, but it quickly degenerates into a mushy ghost story when Peony decides to stalk her former fiancee. With her ghostly powers, she interferes in his life, including choosing and grooming a three-year old girl for his future wife. The ick factor multiplies when we learn that she also participates (in her ghostly way) in the couple's bedroom activities. Finally, after further trials and tribulations, she is released from her status as a hungry ghost to join her revered ancestors in heaven.

Two stars for the story and writing, an extra star for the research.

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May 24, 2008 Yosafbridg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 the world and it was all just a little overmuch for me.

But then she died, and it got so much better. I had rather eagerly anticipated this novel, because i had loved Lisa See's last, Snow Flower and t...more 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 the world and it was all just a little overmuch for me.

But then she died, and it got so much better. I had rather eagerly anticipated this novel, because i had loved Lisa See's last, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

Set shortly after the fall of the Ming Dynasty in seventeenth century China and based on real historic characters and works of literature, Peony in Love is an involving tale of an often unknown period of women writers.

Soon to celebrate her sixteenth birthday (on the the rather auspicious Double Seven~the seventh day of the seventh month~for which her father has commissioned a very special performance of the opera The Peony Pavilion, her very favorite~and scandalously enough women will be allowed to watch, though from behind a screen.) Peony is also about to embark on young womanhood, is betrothed to a man she has not met (as Chinese tradition of the day dictated) and will soon be marrying out. On the first night of the three-night opera she leaves to take some air and meets a young poet who reminds her of the hero of the opera. It is, but of course, love at first sight. Peony is destined to pine away for her young poet and die of love-sickness before she can be married as have so many young girls before her~victims just like the heroine the idolize in the The Peony Pavilion.

It is only after death that Peony can begin to see the world and her family for what they really are, even though these perceptions go through a couple of changes even then. She continues her growth process even after death. After death she learns of the relationships her family members had with each other, as well as changing her views about the relationships she had with them. She develops a relationship with the grandmother she has always worshiped and respected as an ancestor and learns to see her as a real woman. Peony grows into a woman who makes mistakes and longs to be heard (a problem of many women as they moved from the slightly more liberal Ming dynasty to the more repressive Manchus, even more so for Peony facing the challenges of being a ghost), she also grows to truly love her husband in death and learns to recognize the difference between that and what she felt as a young girl. Though many of the elements of this tale i could see coming i still enjoyed the process of reading about them (and isn't that what it's all about anyway~and there really aren't any new tales to tell~isn't that part of the point?)

See does a beautiful job of depicting the turmoil of the teenage heart, as well as the problems faced with growing older and facing our mistakes, though she did it in a novel way. She also illuminated a Chinese belief system that i knew nothing about. I deeply enjoyed this novel and gained an even greater appreciation for See's artistry. It made me want to learn more about The Three Wives Commentary, the original inspiration for this novel, which was the "first book of its kind to been published anywhere in the world to have been written by women" (the three consecutive wives of Wu Ren) as well as bringing back memories of the wonderful but haunting Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by the incomparable Maxine Hong Kingston.
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Apr 16, 2008 bonnie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: GIRLS

Recommended to bonnie by: Marlene Sachs

I liked this book the same way I liked The Other Boleyn Girl. 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 historical fiction aspect makes it not trashy, but it is just as devourable as trash. It does not disappoint in this respect. And in depicting the afterworld according to Chinese mythology... MAN, it is...more

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Apr 16, 2008 Marissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 extensively but her favorite work is the Peony Pavilion--an opera. Her father stages the opera at her home and the women are allowed to watch through a screen. Peony meets a boy, falls in love, and begins...more 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 extensively but her favorite work is the Peony Pavilion--an opera. Her father stages the opera at her home and the women are allowed to watch through a screen. Peony meets a boy, falls in love, and begins to follow some of the same experiences as the main character in the opera. Convinced that she'll be marrying someone other than the boy she met, she succumbs to "lovesickness" and slowly starves herself to death. Mix-ups happen and Peony's spirit isn't able to move on since her tablet hasn't been dotted yet. A good portion of the novel is her experiences as her ghost waits to be able to move on in the afterlife.

I enjoyed the novel. I don't know a lot of the Chinese beliefs and other traditions, just bits here and there. It was fascinating learning a bit of what the Chinese afterlife would have been like. On dying, Peony's spirit splits into three pieces, one of which is to go into her tablet to stay with her family. As her tablet hasn't been dotted, Peony becomes a 'Hungry ghost." Fascinating.

Another cultural thing I found of interest was the lovesick maidens. While they are mentioned in the story, the comments at the end of the novel by Lisa See brought their stories more to mind. See mentions that in Chinese history, there were a number of girls who, like in the opera and Peony, become lovesick and starve themselves. The idea is introduced through the opera with the idea that the women would gain freedom and control over their lives in the afterlife and choose thier own husbands. This idea of power over oneself is so appealing that many women practiced physical control over their bodies by becoming anorexic to the point of death, possibly hoping for the chance for a choice in love in the afterlife.

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Apr 16, 2008 Caroline rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, read-in-2007

Peony is a 15-year-old girl in Manchu China who falls in love with the opera The Peony Pavilion, 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 men that her father has visiting), and Peony meets a young man three nights in a row. She falls in love with him, but at the end of the third night they know they both must go on to their arranged ma...more

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Apr 16, 2008 Mimo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: chinese historical fiction and opera lovers

Shelves: adult-fiction

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 Flower and the Secret Fan. But after the start of part two, the story really starts to unfold and get interesting. Peony is definitely different than Snow Flower but the themes of the inner world of women...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Nojood Alsudairi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Nojood by: رهام

Shelves: 2011-readings, arabic-books, translations, fiction

فجعني الموت ولم أعرف أنه البداية لعالم غريب من الأسلاف والأشباح الجائعة. كم هو قاس الشرق على المرأة وكم أجرمت الصين في حقها حتى في المعتقدات والأساطير. المرأة التي تموت عند الولادة يحكم على روحها أن تذهب إلى بحيرة تجميع الدم عقابا لها على تركها لطفلها وزوجها وكأنها اختارت الموت بنفسها؟! والمرأة التي ينسى اهلها -أو يتعمدون- عدم وضع نقطة حمراء لها في لوح الأسلاف عند موتها تهيم روحها كشبح جائع لا يتذكره أحد، وكذلك المرأة التي لا تقدم لها القرابين. المضحك في الأمر أن الأسلاف الذين يتحكمون في المصائر...more

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Feb 01, 2011 Connie Cortesi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-best-reads-ever, kindle-purchased, short-tbr-list, audible

The first time I had contact with this book, was by listening to it on my way to work. As soon as it was done, I ran out and bought the book. I just *needed* to view the words that I had heard on the audiobook. As soon as I finished reading the last page, I turned to page 1 and started over again. This is the first and only time that I have ever done that. This is one of my all time favorite books, and I keep a copy beside my bed, so it is never far from my mind...

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Apr 08, 2009 Roossy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Peony In Love
By Lisa See
pages : 284

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 be away from my family but this condition taught me to be strong and independent.
Peony in love was also about fate. Fate of Peony. She was fated to die before her wedding, she was fated to roam around as a hungry ghost b...more Peony In Love
By Lisa See
pages : 284

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 be away from my family but this condition taught me to be strong and independent.
Peony in love was also about fate. Fate of Peony. She was fated to die before her wedding, she was fated to roam around as a hungry ghost because her tablet was not doted by her parents and eventually, she was fated to marry her would-be-husband through a ghost wedding.
Peony was the only daughter of Chen family. Her marriage was arranged since she was young like other girls' marriages. Peony accepted her fate to marry a stranger, however she changed her attitude after she met a young man who captured her heart, Wu Ren, the poet.
The meeting happened when she was attending The Peony Pavilion opera. Peony did not know that the man she met was her future husband.
Peony's life changed after that meeting and after watching the opera. She was obsessed with the opera story and Wu Ren. She then refused to eat and drink. Her mother tried many ways to make her healthy again but it was too late. Peony was weak and was almost dying when her father revealed the truth about her future husband.
Peony in love was also about life after death. Peony tried to help her future husband by possessing his other wife which resulted in the death of the wife.
I was amazed that this story had many points. As I mentioned above Peony in love was about fate, was about life after death and it was also about the women writers.
Peony write her commentary on Peony pavilion when she was dying. She then tried to make the other wife of Wu Ren to finish it but she died before she had a chance to finish it. Eventually, the commentary was done through the last wife of Wu Ren . The commentary was published under Wu Ren's name but after much hardship, it was published under Wu Ren's three wives.
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Jan 11, 2009 Terrie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-historical-fiction

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.
This strangely beautiful love story, set in 17th century China, could also be a ghost story, or a story of women's liberation. It had so many layers it is hard to categorize. Peony's story mirrors that of the Chinese oper...more

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Dec 10, 2008 Abigail rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 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 for her. The opera takes 3 nights. A bunch of people are invited to attend. In the past chinese culture the women can't see the men and the men can't see the women. So the women are placed in a screened ar...more 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 for her. The opera takes 3 nights. A bunch of people are invited to attend. In the past chinese culture the women can't see the men and the men can't see the women. So the women are placed in a screened area and the men cannot see them at all. While they are watching the opera Peony peeks throught the a crack in the screen and sees a very handsome young man. On the first night, Peony, leaves the opera in the middle just to contemplate life. She goes to a garden pavilion and while she is standing there a the same young man she saw walks into the pavilion. The two are not supposed to be alone with one another. They talk for a minute and they leave. They agree to meet there the next night. Peony has fallen in love. She meets him there the next night and he says he loves her. They barely touch and then they decide to meet the next night at a pavilion near the lake where nobody will find them. The next night she goes out there and he wants to show her his house. They wade into the lake a little bit and he lives points out this house. He proclaims his love for her and says that was the best 3 days and he will never forget them. They go back and her mom finds out that she did something wrong because her dress is muddy. As they are getting ready to leave, her dad in the other room with the guys, points out her future husband. She doesn't look because she is too in love with the other guy. Her mom takes her upstairs to her room and locks her in. Soon Peony gets sick because she is lovesick and can't eat. She starts to write all these poems and such. Her mom is upset with her and trys to teach her for her wedding but she still won't let her out. As her wedding date nears, she gets sicker and sicker. She just wants to be with the man she really loves. Her dad comes home to see her off to her wedding and he gives her something her future husband gave him at the opera. It is a dryed flower. The same dryed flower Peony gave the man she loves. All of the sudden she realizes the man she loves is her husband. She is so happy. She begins to eat, but it is too late. Her mom and aunts prepare her for what she thought was her wedding, but in actuality they are preparing for her death. On her wedding day, they stick her out in the cold, winter weather and let her die. That was the custom. Right then, I couldn't read anymore. I cried for 10 minutes. I can hardly even write this review. I was so upset. I can't explain why. I hate her parents for killing her. She was so happy and then they killed her. She was going to have everything she wanted and then they killed her. They just set her and all her stuff out in the cold and let her die. They don't even care. They burned all her books and writings because it wasn't ladylike. They punished her for having a little bit of fun on her birthday. She was a prisoner and eventually died like that too. I hated this book.(less)

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Apr 16, 2008 Stacy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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.

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Feb 10, 2011 Ruba AlTurki rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

زهرة الفاوانيا العاشقة
رواية تتحدث عن شابة صينية في القرن السابع عشر وقصة عشقها البريئة وأحداث حياتها ووفاتها وعجائب اخرى على مدى اربعين عاما واكثر
للمرة الاولى اقرأ عن الصين وفي الادب الصيني واتعرف على تراث وتقاليد وشعائر وخرافات مبهرة لهذا الشعب العظيم
رغم غرابة واختلاف العديد من الامور والثقافات والاديان والمجتمعات في الرواية عن كل ما اعرفه الا ان اوجه التشابه كانت عديدة ووجدت نفسي في كثير من الافكار والمشاعر ربما لان الرواية تتحدث عن الروابط السرية العميقة بين النساء ارتبطت بها ولكن مما لاشك في...more

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Dec 09, 2010 Angela2932 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club-at-home

When the novel begins, Peony is a 17th century 15 year old girl in China. She is watching an opera, The Peony Pavillion, and accidentally launches her fantasy of living the story of the opera through a brief meeting with a mysterious man in the garden. Under the strict rules and mores of the Qing dynasty of ancient China, this meeting is a violation of behavior. Peony's romantic notions run counter to her family's plan to have her marry.

*Spoiler Alert* If you've read other reviews of this novel,...more

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Nov 17, 2009 Chana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: china, historical-fiction, trippy-fiction, favorites

I have so many feelings about this book that it is hard to distill my thoughts into a review.
There are a couple of quotes from the book that can perhaps compress a few of these thoughts into words,

"So many mistakes. So many errors. So much tragedy as a result. In that moment I understood that the cruelest words in the universe are if only."

"Gone were my girlish ideas about romantic love and my later ideas about sexual love. From Yi, I learned to appreciate deep-heart love."

This book is incredib...more

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Jan 30, 2009 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: those interested in a woman's role in Imperial China

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, truthiness

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 centuries. See follows the plot of a famous Chinese opera, The Peony Pavilion, by having her young maiden be so swept away with emotion and desire that she stops eating and loses her chance at earthly...more

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Apr 30, 2008 Colleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 life. See's exploration of the nature of love from a schoolgirl crush to lust to companionship was very well illustrated and touching. I found the description of the female life in dynastic China and Ch...more

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Apr 16, 2008 Nichelle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Lisa See fans.

Recommended to Nichelle by: Library

I read this book after my fascination with Snowflower and the Secret Fan.

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 that of Liniang, the main character of the Peony Pavilion.

Against the backdrop of civil resistance to the newly established Manchu government, Lisa See's gift of storytelling is irresistible, even though I went un...more

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Apr 16, 2008 Rachel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Rachel by: Anna Hoover

Shelves: china

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 somewhat disappointed by the book. This primarily stems from the fact that the book is a bit too "metaphysical" for my taste.

This comes into play beginning in the second section of the story through...more

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Aug 09, 2009 Meghan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: romantics, people interested in China

Recommended to Meghan by: me

Shelves: chinese, own

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 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan A Novel).

What I admire and like about See's writing is her ability to capture the Chinese culture and present it in an informed yet interesting way to Western readers. While she likes to focus on women, es...more

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Jun 19, 2012 tbears rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Even the poor reviews couldn't sway me to give this book anything less than 5 stars. This amazing book was just like the Chinese operas and movies I saw as a young girl. I remember how these stories were so captivating and emotional that my mom would be weeping. My grandma use to tell me similar tales about the afterlife, ghosts and the spiritual world, so often while I was entranced with the story I forgot that this was fiction and not reality. I would then wonder about my ancestors and those i...more

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Jan 10, 2011 Penny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2011

Lisa See writes so beautifully. I have to admit though that I was frustrated with this story....I guess you knew what was going to happen, where it was going to go, but still? Why? :-) I was just frustrated that it had to happen the way it did. It's not one of my favourites by her, but I did really enjoy reading it!

1 like · like · see review

Apr 16, 2008 Julie Ekkers rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

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 "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 exposition of this Chinese opera in the background, and too little (for me anyway) about the main characters. it's also one of these books where everything is set in motion by a COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE misunder...more

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Jun 05, 2008 Joanna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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.

I only have one issue with Lisa See's novels...that without doing your own research on the different Chinese dynasties, it's hard to know the comparable Western time period about which she's writing.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it, however, I felt more of a connection to the characters in he...more

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Apr 16, 2008 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Lovers of Historical Fiction and Romance - it's a perfectly harmonious blend!

Shelves: historical-fiction

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 much about what was happening with the characters, I was literally losing sleep. I wish I could add an extra star to my rating - this is a six-star novel. Kudos to Lisa See for knocking another one out o...more

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Feb 15, 2009 Karen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Peony,a young girl meets, but does not see her soulmate, Wren. He is part of a small theatrical troupe performing scenes from an epic opera, for a few females. The show is given to them by Peony's father. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the daughter of a wealthy family. 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 proprieti...more

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Jan 04, 2009 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bookclub, historicalfiction

From the start we are given an elegant view into the lives of women during seventeenth-century China. Peony is from a noble family and is kept hidden from the world around her. She is educated and very emotional, which worries her mother. Her mother wants her to become a good wife, but all Peony can think of is that she is being handed over to a strange family through marriage. For her sixteenth birthday, Peony's father puts on a production of the opera, The Peony Pavilion, which changes her lif...more

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very good story	5	34	Aug 02, 2012 05:15am
Peony In Love	2	36	Jul 23, 2011 08:21pm
The afterlife of China	5	44	Jun 23, 2011 11:49am
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Cultural > Asia

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About Lisa See

Lisa See is a Chinese-American author. Her books include Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2005), Dragon Bones, and On Gold Mountain. She was named the 2001 National Woman of the Year, by the Organization of Chinese American Women. She lives in Los Angeles.

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On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family

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“He was in my hair, my eyes, my fingers, my heart. I day-dreamed about what he was doing, thinking, seeing, smelling, feeling. I could not eat for thoughts of him.” — 79 people liked it

“In that moment I understood that the cruelest words in the universe are if only.” — 51 people liked it

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