Snow Flower and the Secret Fan in Pick-a-Shelf

Mar 15, 2025 Sabrina rated it really liked it

Shelves: literary-fiction, friendship, family-relationships, asia, historical-fiction, mother-daughter-relationships, asian-american-literature, 52in52_2025, china, 100-books-in-2025

"For my entire life I longed for love. I knew it was not right for me – as a girl and later as a woman – to want or expect it, but I did, and this unjustified desire has been at the root of every problem I have experienced in my life."

So many people love this book, and I have seen it suggested as a great read so many times. Even close friends have recommended it. An, I do usually love the Lisa See books I have read. I guess I just expected more from this one.

Don't get me wrong, it is a both a be "For my entire life I longed for love. I knew it was not right for me – as a girl and later as a woman – to want or expect it, but I did, and this unjustified desire has been at the root of every problem I have experienced in my life."

So many people love this book, and I have seen it suggested as a great read so many times. Even close friends have recommended it. An, I do usually love the Lisa See books I have read. I guess I just expected more from this one.

Don't get me wrong, it is a both a beautiful and heart wrenching tale friendship, love and loss, and of the experience of two girls Lily and Snow Flower, growing up in China when a woman's place was still regulated to the inside and daughters were really seen as useless creatures, who were treated only a little better than chattle. Their only real hope was to make a good marriage match, hopefully above their current station, but that all really depended upon the quality of their "golden lilies" or their bound feet.

Lily and Snow Flower were girls who became laotong, which is basically a contracted friendship that was based on their alignments with one another. We follow Lily through the process of foot binding, an ancient practice tied to the cultural belief that the smaller the feet the more beautiful the woman. The process, described in detail by See is horrific and pain-filled. These women endure such a horrific procedure that bends and breaks the bones in the toes and feet to produce smaller feet. It's a dangerous process that can lead to badly restructured feet, crippling to the point of not being able to walk, and even death if done improperly and the feet become infected.

We then see Snow Flower and Lily contract their relationship as laotong and them grow through the relationship until they are both contracted to marry. After they are married, they see less of one another, and since Lily is the narrator, we see more of her daily life but also how she and Snow Flower maintain a friendship through nu shu, an ancient and unique Chinese language preserved by women who used it to communicate in secret.

The most interesting parts of the book to me were the detailed descriptions, though pretty horrific, of the process of foot binding and how the feet were maintained not only throughout the process but also throughout the woman's life and the descriptions of nu shu and how it developed and used.

Overall, though, the book fell a little flat for me. I kind of slogged through some portions of it, and the reminders of how little daughters and women were valued in early China was both frustrating and disheartening, despite the reminders to myself that this was a different time. I think I also wanted more from Snow Flower's perspective, but the book is written from Lily's point of view when she is in her 80s, and she is now determined to share her life and reveal the nuances of her and Snow Flower's lived experience. ...more

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Dec 02, 2016 Rachel N. rated it really liked it

Shelves: friendship, historical-fiction, china, read-in-2024

This was a re-read for me though the first time I read it I apparently didn't write a review. Lily and Snow Flower are matched as laotong , basically a contractual friendship, as young girls. Lily manages to marry well due to her perfect bound feet whereas Snow Flower ends up marrying an abusive butcher. What stuck with me most from my first reading was the foot binding descriptions and what an awful thing that was to make a person do. I still remember looking at pictures of actual foot bindings ...more

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May 13, 2011 Bea rated it really liked it

This is the second book from Lisa See that I have read, and I see that I have another in my TBR. I think I will move it up as she is a writer who engages me in a culture that is unfamiliar to me in a way that captures me.

This is the story of Snow Flower and Lily told from Lily's memory as an old woman. It is Lily's thoughts and feelings about various events of her life and her interactions with Snow Flower. Perhaps because of the one-sided view, I found that my sympathies and engagement was more ...more

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Jul 31, 2013 Cora rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, asia, china, 19th-century, arranged-marriage, friendship, women, lost-in-fire

I really enjoy reading stories that illuminate a different culture or time. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan was the best novel I have read for this in a long time. I really enjoyed reading this novel, in fact I finished it in one day. I felt the characters were real, they had flaws and made mistakes. They learned from their mistakes, but often not as soon as they should. I liked seeing how Lily's character and perspective on events changed at the different parts of her life. I learned a lot about ...more

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May 03, 2010 Becky rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, general-fiction

I recognized parts of myself in Lily.

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Sep 26, 2008 Kellie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2007-reads

The story is about Lily and Snow Flower who are paired as laotongs and communicate through nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created to communicate in secret. The story takes their friendship from the beginning of the laotong pairing to the winter of their lives. See weaves the history of the time in with the novel which makes the story even more intriguing. This was a very unique and interesting read. I have always thought Chinese culture was very mysterious. I think Lisa See reveale ...more

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Feb 01, 2009 Tara rated it really liked it

Shelves: busy-bee

Such a heart-breaking story! Through See's beautiful prose I was introduced to 2 young girls, who become the best friends that anyone could become through a laotong agreement. Their friendship endured many hardships, but it could not endure not all of them.
Through the eyes of Lily, Snowflower comes to life. It is interwoven with stories from chinese culture and gives the reader a graphic account to what women endured during the time that foot-binding was needed to ensure a good husband. The rol ...more

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Mar 30, 2009 Lauren rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, 2009, world-lit

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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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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Jun 07, 2011 Lorna rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-historical, fiction-multicultural

An interesting, worthwhile book to read

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May 14, 2021 Soelo rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audio, movie-not-seen, library, z2021lost, popsugar2021

A wonderful story of a lifelong friendship. A clear accounting of the suffering of women in the early 19th century in China. I enjoyed this quite a bit and the narration was well done.

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Jul 06, 2009 Sara rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical, fiction, read-2009, bee-books

What a beautiful book! I am glad that I finally read it. I learned a lot about old Chinese culture and I can't wait to read some more of Lisa See's books. ...more

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