Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

I just finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.  It was excellent!  I can highly recommend this book and urge anyone interested in womens studies to read it.

It is the story of the lives of two women living in China in the 1800's.  Their lives are bonded together through a Laotong contract, making them "old sames" for their entire lives.  Their fortunes rise and fall and through their lives certain truths are revealed.

Now China in the 1800's was no place for a woman.  As a young girl the torture would start with footbinding, which involved the painful breaking and binding of the feet.  The binding itself killed many young girls.  As you grew older things rarely improved.  You were shipped off to a husband you had never met and your only worth was centered around producing sons -- girls were seen as worthless, so you didn't want to have them.

While men's lives were concerned with the outside world, women rarely left their homes.  Their concerns were with their families and this leads the main character to great introspection.  It is at her advanced age that she looks back on her life and tells us this bittersweet story.

This book was fascinating, and I read it with great intensity -- staying up much too late on a couple of nights.  It was just the right book for me at the time.  I had finished HP6 and was looking for something more intense and this really "hit the spot"!

Next up. . .

Eragon by Christopher Paolini.  I've heard a lot about this book, but will it live up to the hype?

Comments

[Liz]

Ohhh I had Snow Flower and The Secret Fan. I didn't get to read it and before long it was way overdue at the library. I keep meaning to go back for it though. I love these types of books!

[Pat]

Eragon was a great favorite in our family, we all reread Harry Potter and this book. There is already a sequel that is on our reading list. I hope you like it.

[--Deb]

I'll be interested to hear what you thought of Eragon. (I have read it, but won't say whether I loved it or hated it--hype can backfire!) The book sounds interesting, though--and reminded me of a book I read a few months ago, "Searching for Katherine Hepburn," a biography of the author's parents growing up in China, and starting with the decision NOT to bind the girl's feet (shocking!)

[Andrea]

I'm reading Eragon right now... I can tell it's by a new author, but other than that it's been pretty good.

[Jenifer]

Thanks for the links to the books ... I just put a hold on them via my library. :) Like the new look!

[caitlyn]

Thanks for the book review! It sounds like a great read – I’ll have to pick it up.

[BabblingB]

If you liked Snow Flower I would highly recomend Wilds Sawns by Jung Chang. It follows three generations of women in China from the author's grandmother who was a concubine to the mother who was a party bigwig during the revolution to the author who now lives in the west. Really good.

[Laurie]

DH and I enjoyed Eragon and we both have the newest book, Eldest, on our iPods.

Hope you enjoy it!

[Dani]

I read Eragon when it came out and have JUST started Eldest. Cant wait to hear what you think!

[Vicki]

I seriously need to start reading so I can whittle down my Must Read list. It grows WAY faster than I can read.

[Deb]

I've been wondering about Eragon also. I have it waiting for me on Audible. I thought it would probably be a good one to listen to while knitting.
Congratulations on winning the lace yarn! I can't wait to see a photo:)

[stephanie]

Eragon was our "read aloud" book a little while ago (I know. My kids are too old for story-time. Don't mock me. We have a hard time moving on.) It's quite entertaining, but it does show that the author was very young when he wrote it.
(There's a bit in there about "the fork of the legs" that we're still laughing about)_

[Sarah]

Oh! This book looks so good!! I adore Chinese history, and especially women's history in light of everything they had to go through. It's amazing that women are still not seen as quite up to par there, even now.

[Michelle]

The author of Eragon was on the Today show.. he started writing the series when he was a young teen.. very interesting. He was home schooled.. I think he's in his early twenties now... barely.. kinda cute too. He seemed interesting.

[Knittykim]

Eragon is quite good, especially considering it was written by a teen boy who was home schooled in the middle of nowhere (or so i heard). The next part just came out recently, so I am heading to a bookstore this weekend

[Hilari]

I'm in the middle of Snow Flower right now - talking a little break....still trying to wrap my brain around that footbinding!

[rhonda]

I just finished Eragon at the prompting of my 14 year old son. It was a really good book. The sequel is now out - Eldest. If you enjoy stories like Lord of the Rings (fairies, dragons, etc), you'll like this. It was written by a 15 year old!

[Wanda]

Thanks for the recommendation. Sounds like a great book.

[hanhd]

I read book I and II of Eragon and liked the first book very much, though the second was a big disappointment.