|
 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan : A Novel :: 0812968069
Description
| Product Description |
|
| In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, “old same,” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’s painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men. As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart. Editorial Descriptions are usually submitted by the manufacturers, publishers and authors. Contact us if you are one of them, and wish to change the above description. |
Reviews
Customer feedback
|
|
Voting |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Author: Guest
The writing is lovely and the pace is perfect. The narrator, the 80 year old woman Lily, tells her story from her place in time. I recommend this book, it is a good story and poignantly told.
|
Author: Guest
I love this book! This was the first time I've read anything by Lisa See, and I'm excited to read more of her work. She has a flawless writing style, that enables you to become immersed in her characters lives from the very first sentence. The book had me laughing and crying; it was a tale of love, pain, longing, truth, compassion, jealousy, humility, and most of all friendship and female bonds/relationships. This book is incredibly educational as well- delving into such topics as the art of footbinding, matchmaking, and age-old traditions revolving around weddings, celebrations, funerals, etc. It is obvious that a tremendous amount of research went into writing this story, and I feel much more knowledgeable about the country and people after having read it. You will not want Lily and Snow Flower's story to end.
|
Author: Guest
There are so many strong themes running through this novel and one cannot help being drawn in from the start. The themes of friendship, family, duty, tradition and gender roles combined with Ms. See's beautiful, tight writing produce an incredible story that is rich in detail and emotion.
The story is told by Lily, an old woman looking back on her life with all of the insight that age and hindsight brings. While she married and had several children, the true love in her life is her "old same," Snow Flower. As young girls they were matched by the local matchmaker and began to exhange messages written on a handpainted fan as well as letters. Their relationship continues through foot binding, marraige, births, deaths and war. After years of friendship a simple misunderstanding on Lily's part changes their relationship forever.
The historical detail is facinating and the relationships are both realistic and emotional.
|
Author: Guest
What a beautiful story Ms. See tells. One chapter into the book and I was hooked. This story of friendship, love, devotion, and pain is absolutely charismatic, if one can say that about a book. It transported me back to an earlier time in China and gave me a picture of life in a remote village--yet the relationships between the women were timeless.
Definitely a book I will recommend to my book club!
|
Author: Guest
Set in 19th century China, See tells the story of Lily, and her life-long friendship with Snow Flower. As an 80-year-old widow, Lily is alone and waiting to die. In her story, she explains that the women were born into different classes, they switch roles after each marries. They continue their friendship as laotong (old sames) by communicating using the women's secret writing on a fan.
This is an exquisite story of two women. See is able to clearly share a sense of the history of the time and place. The writing was so good that you can feel what it is like to have your feet bound or trapped on a mountain side waiting for the rebels to leave. The reader should be aware that the description of the foot binding process is not an easy one to read, but it is essential to the story.
|
Send to Friend
Send to friend
|
|
