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Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Lisa See

Discussion: Any Issue - 2005

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Any Issue - 2005

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
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What Members Thought

Jul 05, 2009 Aylin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, by-of-in-china, _reviewed

I love reading books about women in historical China- ever since reading Pearl Buck in my younger days (and re-reading The Good Earth later- what a great book).

I was very drawn into "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" and liked the characters. Many of them (including the protagonist Lily) were a sometimes painful mix of kindness and cruelty (written of gently and not with a jackhammer). I did not think this book was heavy handed. Much of the cruelty sprung from a sense of duty, tradition or despai ...more

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Jul 22, 2014 Kirsten rated it really liked it

I loved the complexity of the women's relationships, the psychology of it all, the complexity of many of the various characters. That said, the friendships for some reason didn't resonate with me as being AS solid and AS intimate as I would expect for life-long friends. Briefly, they did not even try to dialogue about their hurts but reacted, causing more pain; some of the conflicts simmered for a long time under the surface and weren't talked about till way later in the relationship. I would th ...more

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Jun 29, 2009 Rachel rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2008

The Basics
Book Info: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot Overview: Lily and Snow Flower are sworn sisters for life in ancient China. This book details their friendship- through young footbinding years, each of their betrothals, marriages, and eventually their old age.

Jumping In:

Importance of the Title: When Lily and Snow Flower first correspond, Snow Flower sends her a fan asking Lily to be her laotang (or sworn sister for life). This secret fan has nu shu c The Basics
Book Info: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Plot Overview: Lily and Snow Flower are sworn sisters for life in ancient China. This book details their friendship- through young footbinding years, each of their betrothals, marriages, and eventually their old age.

Jumping In:

Importance of the Title: When Lily and Snow Flower first correspond, Snow Flower sends her a fan asking Lily to be her laotang (or sworn sister for life). This secret fan has nu shu characters on it. Nu Shu was a secret Chinese writing style for women. This was how they shared their true feelings with other women. They passed the secret fan back and forth throughout their lives, chronicling the events in them.

Point-of-View/ Style: This work has an interesting point of view- it’s written in first person through Lily’s eyes. However, she writes as an old woman recording her “true autobiography”, and offers the perspective that only age and hindsight can deliver.

Themes: The most prevalent theme in the book is friendship, but it really focuses on the relationships that a woman has throughout her life. It’s divided into the “daughter days”, “hair pinning days”, “rice and salt years” and finally, “sitting quietly”- the stages of life that every woman goes through, not just women in China.

While friendship is the dominant theme, this work also considers the relationships we have with our mothers (”mother love” in Chinese translation is really “pain love”), fathers, and husbands. It also considers the status of women in general. Women, considered worthless by this society, are in reality the backbone of the culture, but repressed by men.

My Notes:

Likes & Dislikes: This book was really well written and just a terrific read. Lisa See writes in a descriptive voice and her characters are believable. I enjoyed everything about it- I do recommend this as a book club read. I feel it needs to be dissected to be fully enjoyed.

What questions I’m left with: We are left to debate one major question in the story. When Snow Flower and Lily have a misunderstanding, I wonder why Lily doesn’t question her more. I suppose that as a female in ancient China that she is taught not to question anything, so she just makes her own assumptions and carries on with life, not matter what kind of heartache that may bring.

What this book makes me think about: When I’m old, I wonder what I will look back on as my greatest mistake. I wonder what I’m doing now that’s really a misstep, even though I may not feel the consequences until later. Will I regret choices I’ve made? Are there people I’ve alienated, but could have tried harder to keep relationships going with them? It would do me good to remember the two girls in this story who were sworn sisters for life, closer to each other than they were to their husbands, yet unable to reconcile a misunderstanding between the two of them. I hope I have the courage to forgive, and to continue forgiving throughout my life. ...more

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Jan 29, 2010 Joanne rated it it was amazing

I love historical fiction, and this one was no exception. I loved the dynamics between Snow Flower and Lily, and though I sensed the ending, I loved it. I felt for all the characters, and loved the husband for Lily. Great story telling with great characters and relationships throughout. I cannot wait to read another See novel.

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Feb 15, 2011 Kerry rated it liked it

Shelves: kindle, fiction, book-club

I might have read too much hype about this book in advance. The Chinese culture part of it was very interesting, but somehow I really never got involved with the characters. It was a good story, easy read.

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