Book #1: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
I finished my first book of 2008, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, on Friday, just hours before my book club met to discuss it. I finished it during my lunch break, but was amazed by how guilty I felt, reading at my desk. It was no longer than a normal lunch break, and I even stopped to answer emails when they came in, but it still felt such blatant slackage...
Anyway, the book is the story of two women in 19th-century China, who, at age seven, are paired in a laotong, or "old-same" match intended to last the rest of their lives. Lily, who narrates the story at age 80, is from a poor farming family, but a diviner and a matchmaker determined early on that the bone structure in her feet will allow her foot-binding to create the ideal shape and size for women's feet (seven centimeters!). This makes her eligible not only for marriage into a much wealthier family, but for a laotong match as well. Lily is paired with Snow Flower, the matchmaker's niece, and they send messages back and forth in nu shu, a secret women's writing that men cannot read and which is apparently unknown to them.
It's an amazing story; almost everyone in the book club read it in just a few days. It stayed with me when I wasn't reading it, which is always a sign of an engaging tale. I learned a lot about foot-binding, a truly horrific practice, and culture in general during that time period, of which I knew almost nothing beforehand. Most of all, though, it's a fascinating story of Lily's and Snow Flower's friendship and the ways it changes throughout the different phases of their lives. I definitely recommend this book, but I'll give the same warning that I was given: it's a quick read, but a very sad story.
Anyway, the book is the story of two women in 19th-century China, who, at age seven, are paired in a laotong, or "old-same" match intended to last the rest of their lives. Lily, who narrates the story at age 80, is from a poor farming family, but a diviner and a matchmaker determined early on that the bone structure in her feet will allow her foot-binding to create the ideal shape and size for women's feet (seven centimeters!). This makes her eligible not only for marriage into a much wealthier family, but for a laotong match as well. Lily is paired with Snow Flower, the matchmaker's niece, and they send messages back and forth in nu shu, a secret women's writing that men cannot read and which is apparently unknown to them.
It's an amazing story; almost everyone in the book club read it in just a few days. It stayed with me when I wasn't reading it, which is always a sign of an engaging tale. I learned a lot about foot-binding, a truly horrific practice, and culture in general during that time period, of which I knew almost nothing beforehand. Most of all, though, it's a fascinating story of Lily's and Snow Flower's friendship and the ways it changes throughout the different phases of their lives. I definitely recommend this book, but I'll give the same warning that I was given: it's a quick read, but a very sad story.