In Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See takes us on a journey back to a captivating era of Chinese history and delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female friendship.
In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, an “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 has written 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 the fan and compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together they endure the agony of footbinding and reflect upon their arranged marriages, their loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace in their friendship, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their relationship suddenly threatens to tear apart.
I picked this up after the hype of how good a book this was and also it was a Buddy read with a friend. But unfortunately for me the Foot Binding back in the days isn't for me. Made me cringe. I couldn't fathom why they would do this kind of barbaric thing to girls just for their own violence for their girls to get married.
I'm sorry if people liked the story, but it wasn't for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment