Snow Flower and the Secret Fan in The Complete Idiots Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

Jul 14, 2008 Tara Lynn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: booklist-for-2008, personal-favorites

I've always loved early Chinese culture, and adore many of the more popular "current" novels. (The Good Earth Trilogy, Amy Tan's books,) but I've just discovered Lisa See, and I have to say that her books are phenomenal. I
ve been doing a lot of in depth study on the practice of footbinding, and it's development as a perception of beauty in Chinese tradition. You can actually find current photos of footbound women, since the practice continued despite government protest, in the mountainous region ...more

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Aug 30, 2009 Sunflower rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-read-2009, library

From this book I learned to be grateful that I can walk as far as I want to on my feet. Sounds daft, but this novel skilfully plunges the reader into the world of women in rural China in the 18th century. The secret language of nu shu, footbinding and living a life almost entirely indoors, as well as the subjugation not only to the husband but to his entire family.....so far removed from your everyday life now. It's a pity that the sworn sisterhood hasn't survived, I could surely do with one at ...more

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Jan 05, 2010 Jennifer rated it liked it

I'm a sucker for a historical novel about women in Asia. I'll read them all. While this one was not as good as Pearl Buck or Bette Bao Lord, I still enjoyed it. Okay, not the part about footbinding. But the whole idea of the women developing their own form of writing and then have a pivotal plot point rely on the nuances of that secret language was just brilliant. ...more

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