Book Review: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

MY REVIEW:  
I knew nothing about this book before it was handed to me with a vague recommendation. I began reading with no expectations. It wasn't long before I realized I was holding a gem in my hands. Lisa See did an amazing job of researching and describing the life of girls and women in nineteenth century rural China. 

The story begins with 80 year old Lily reflecting on her life as a daughter, sister, friend, wife and mother. Her life unfolds for the reader, revealing an epic story that begins in the Hunan Province, 1823 . At the age of seven, Lily receives the honor of being paired with a "laotong" named Snow Flower - another girl her own age who is mutually committed to being a lifelong friend. Since they live in different villages, their friendship is carried along with occasional visits, but primarily through messages they send back and forth on a folding fan. The messages are written in "nu shu" - a secret language for women only.

Along the way, the reader learns about the intricacies of foot-binding (which typically began at age 6), social expectations, pagan Chinese religion, arranged marriages and much more. I found this book to be completely fascinating and educational.

I was particularly absorbed by the details of foot-binding. In our family there is a pair of tiny shoes from China which were worn by a woman whose feet were bound. They are beautifully embroidered and the sole is approximately the length of my index finger. I have always been fascinated and horrified by them, knowing that although they look like baby shoes, they were worn by a grown woman. This novel gave the excruciating details of how that was achieved. 

I highly recommend this book, especially for women age 18+ since it does deal (in a non-expicit manner) with sexuality and marital relations. 

Book Blurb from the Author's website:

A language kept a secret for a thousand years forms the backdrop for an unforgettable novel of two Chinese women whose friendship and love sustains them through their lives.

This absorbing novel – with a storyline unlike anything Lisa See has written before – takes place in 19th century China when girls had their feet bound, then spent the rest of their lives in seclusion with only a single window from which to see.  Illiterate and isolated, they were not expected to think, be creative, or have emotions. But in one remote county, women developed their own secret code, nu shu – "women's writing" – the only gender-based written language to have been found in the world.  Some girls were paired as "old-sames" in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives.  They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their windows to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.

An old woman tells of her relationship with her "old-same," their arranged marriages, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood—until a terrible misunderstanding written on their secret fan threatens to tear them apart. With the detail and emotional resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha , Snow Flower and the Secret Fan delves into one of the most mysterious and treasured relationships of all time—female friendship.