Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Set in 19th century China, this is the story of Lily, a girl of low birth who becomes a laotong, or “old same” with Snow Flower, a girl of higher birth. A laotong is a lifelong friend who is closer to you than anyone else, and two laotong seem to be essentially regarded as two parts of one person.
The book chronicles their love story (I find it difficult to call it anything else, as their love, rather viewed as platonic or romantic, is the strongest emotion and guiding force in either’s life) from when they meet at age seven, undergoing the footbinding process on the same day, and covers all the highs and lows of love. In addition to the laotong relationship, See also focuses on the intricacies of nu shu, a secret language that Chinese women used to communicate with for centuries. The nu shu is fascinating, especially in its ability to have multiple meanings.
Like Peony in Love, this felt like “the average American’s guide to Chinese history and culture,” and I found it difficult to like any of the characters, but found See to be a good enough writer, and her stories interesting enough, to compensate for that. I don’t think, though, that See does quite as good a job of differentiating her views from those of the characters as she does in Peony in Love, and I should warn that there’s a fair bit of detail given to the footbinding ceremony and its consequences, though it’s not nearly as graphic as it could be.
The book chronicles their love story (I find it difficult to call it anything else, as their love, rather viewed as platonic or romantic, is the strongest emotion and guiding force in either’s life) from when they meet at age seven, undergoing the footbinding process on the same day, and covers all the highs and lows of love. In addition to the laotong relationship, See also focuses on the intricacies of nu shu, a secret language that Chinese women used to communicate with for centuries. The nu shu is fascinating, especially in its ability to have multiple meanings.
Like Peony in Love, this felt like “the average American’s guide to Chinese history and culture,” and I found it difficult to like any of the characters, but found See to be a good enough writer, and her stories interesting enough, to compensate for that. I don’t think, though, that See does quite as good a job of differentiating her views from those of the characters as she does in Peony in Love, and I should warn that there’s a fair bit of detail given to the footbinding ceremony and its consequences, though it’s not nearly as graphic as it could be.