Snow Flower and the Secret Fan in Reading with Style

Jul 17, 2008 Joanna rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-read

I enjoyed this book as an effort to look into women's lives in China at the time. I found the characters somewhat flat - they seemed sort of like inanimate objects moving over a beautiful scenery and background and I never developed much feeling for them. Nonetheless, the scenery and background were interesting enough to hold the book together for me. The descriptions of foot binding were both gut-wrenching and sensitively treated - raising important questions about what beauty is and how it is ...more

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Oct 25, 2008 Jenifer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, asia, cried-like-a-baby

This a favorite of mine. A definite tearjerker but so worth the tears.

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Dec 30, 2007 Julia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, historical-fiction, drama, 2011, bookcase

I added this book to my to-read list back in December 2007 shortly after joining goodreads. Now, almost four years later, I finally can say I read it.

I dont really know why it took so long for me to read this. I live relatively close to the library, thus it is really easy to go get a book. I would see it at the top of my to read queue and think "I will get to it." On Tuesday, I was at Borders combing through what was left to see what I could find, when I saw this book. I instantly added it to m ...more

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Aug 07, 2009 Erin (NY) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, books-i-own, read-in-2010

I thought this book was excellent! I love books about other cultures, and this book did not disappoint. It deals with women in China in the 19th century, and I thought the perspective it offers is excellent. It is mostly about the relationship between Lilly and Snow Flower, the two women who were united in order to procure better marriages. I though their relationship is very complex and the characters of the two women are very well developed. Even though the book takes place across the world an ...more

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Jun 27, 2008 Kathleen (itpdx) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A beautiful story set in 19th century China. It features nu shu writing, a system of writing evidently invented by women in one area of Hunan province to use in communications between women..."women write about the inner realm of children, daily chores and emotions" and Lisa See does just that in this story. She focuses on the life and customs of women with bound feet, who are largely confined to the women's room in either their father's, or their husband's family home. She tells the story of tw ...more

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