Snow Flower and the Secret Fan in Crazy Challenge Connection

Aug 24, 2017 Cecily Black rated it really liked it

I really quite enjoyed this novel though some of the imagery portrayed, especially of the footbinding, was graphic and intense. My feet hurt just reading about it. It made me feel many things, but mostly grateful that I am not faced with the things that women of china are/were faced with, I just don't think I could handle all that tradition. I do like how they use their horoscope for matching and how that seems to work out. I love getting to know more about other cultures and this was definitely ...more

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Apr 02, 2016 Jan rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, zz-finished-in-2016, book-club-etc

This book was an interesting yet sad account of women in feudal China. I didn't find it truly compelling and thought about putting it aside several times. It was a depressing account of our flawed natures - and I may be in the small minority here but I didn't think Lily was the only person who erred in this longstanding friendship. But what I take away from the story is the importance of forgiveness and most of the time the hardest person to forgive is usually ourselves. ...more

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Aug 14, 2013 Karen rated it really liked it

Sometimes I jump right in and review a book that I have finished and sometimes I read some of the reviews first and think about it for a bit. I finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan a few days ago and decided this is one I had to think about. I read many of the reviews and I agree with both the good reviews and the bad ones. Overall, it was a very good book. Reading Lisa See's notes at the end, it is obvious that China is a subject near and dear to her heart and she spent a good deal of time a ...more

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Feb 19, 2016 Megalion rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ccc-2016-countdown, year-read-2016, recommend-highly, from-shelfari, genre-historical-fiction, loc-china, theme-female-relationships, z-kw-nu-shu, z-kw-secret-language, theme-herstory

Some of the best things about historical fiction are well researched pieces use fiction to bring to life actual history.

Nu Shu was a secret language of women that existed for hundreds of years unknown to men. It formed as a way for women to stay in touch with their natal female relatives.

Footbinding, a horrid archaic practice but I agree with Lisa's approach to it. From the afterword: "Many preconceptions and misconceptions surround footbinding. It's easy to equate it with the horrific practice
Some of the best things about historical fiction are well researched pieces use fiction to bring to life actual history.

Nu Shu was a secret language of women that existed for hundreds of years unknown to men. It formed as a way for women to stay in touch with their natal female relatives.

Footbinding, a horrid archaic practice but I agree with Lisa's approach to it. From the afterword: "Many preconceptions and misconceptions surround footbinding. It's easy to equate it with the horrific practice of female genital mutilation in Africa, the tradition of shrouding women in burkas in the Middle East, or even the strange, peculiar and often extreme cosmetic surgery treatments that so many American women seek. But I didn't want to put my contemporary Western values on the practice. Rather, I wanted to write about footbinding from the perspective of the women and girls who had grown up with it. For me, this brought up a lot of questions: How does a culture decide what is beautiful? How does our worth as women change according to that sense of beauty? How can a mother put her daughter through such agony? And what would it mean to have achieved the socially accepted and acknowledged beauty of three inch feet yet be hobbled or possibly crippled in the process?"

For me, Lisa succeeds beautifully.

Something else that likely led to the very intense and vivid feelings of being there, Lisa had a very bad accident and was laid up for months. "In a strange way, I felt as though my feet had been nound, since I was confined to my home and cut off from the rest of the world. .... The friends I thought would be supportive, weren't, while others brought food and treats, drove me to doctors' appointments and in every way acted as sworn sisters. My confinement and isolation, and the kindness and generosity of the women who cared for me, gave me a visceral experience of the nu shu women and their world."

It's no wonder this is one of Lisa See's more infamous books and one I've also seen on "must read" lists. If you haven't read it yet, don't put it off much longer.

Probably the best book I've read about this era and culture for its success in transporting me there. Felt like I learned and understand much more about it than before.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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Dec 08, 2016 Lindsey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, far-east, hfu2016

Beautiful story about two Chinese girls that are matched at a young age to be laotong (essentially an arranged match for "best friends forever"). Told from the perspective of Lily, a poorer girl who because of her perfectly bound feet is able to marry up and become Lady Lu, we get a clear picture of rural Chinese society, culture and the expectations of women. Absolutely recommended. ...more

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