#62 Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

365 Blog Challenge: Post #62

Rating: 4/5 stars

This book was a Christmas gift from Scott, and when I told some of my friends I had received it, they begged me to read it and let me know what I thought.  Not gonna lie. It's pretty amazing.

The book takes place in 18th century China and follows the story of a farmer's daughter, Lily, from foot binding to widowhood.  As a young girl, Lily is matched with a laotong or "old same", another girl Lily's exact age with who she will correspond with letters of nu shu, a written language created by Chinese women.  Snow Flower, Lily's laotong, becomes Lily's closest companion through frequent visits to Lily's home.  Their love is of the deepest type friendship can provide.  However, as marriage and motherhood enter the picture, Lily discovers something about Snow Flower that will change their friendship forever.

Lisa See has a very distinct voice as Lily which is both foreign to an American reader and poetic.  I must say that the chapter on foot binding is probably the most difficult thing I've ever had to read.  I'm a nurse; I can handle blood, guts, poop, pee, sputum, but when bones and tendons are involved, I have a much harder time being stoic.  I could never work on an orthopedic floor.  If you read this book, you'll understand what I mean.

Without giving too much away, the message in this story is what makes it great and universal despite the book's very specific setting.  Just when you think you've decided who is guilty party, you're refreshed with a new point of view that reminds you that we are all human and we all make mistakes and have faults.  We all make presumptions that perhaps should not be made.