Product Description

Lily is the daughter of a humble farmer, and to her family she is just another expensive mouth to feed. Then the local matchmaker delivers startling news: if Lily's feet are bound properly, they will be flawless. In nineteenth-century China, where a woman's eligibility is judged by the shape and size of her feet, this is extraordinary good luck. Lily now has the power to make a good marriage and change the fortunes of her family. To prepare for her new life, she must undergo the agonies of footbinding, learn nu shu, the famed secret women's writing, and make a very special friend, Snow Flower. But a bitter reversal of fortune is about to change everything.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13305 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
'Lisa See has written her best book yet ... achingly beautiful, a marvel of imagination of a real and secret world that has only recently disappeared' Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club 'Only the best novelists can do what Lisa See has done, to bring to life not only a character but an entire culture, and a sensibility so strikingly different from our own ... engrossing and completely convincing' Arthur Golden, author of Memoirs of a Geisha 'The wonder of this book is that it takes readers to a place at once foreign and familiar ... Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a triumph on every level, a beautiful, heartbreaking story' Washington Post 'You can relish See's extraordinary novel as a meticulously researched account of women's lives in nineteenth-century China. But you can also savour See's marvellous narrative as a timeless portrait of a contentious, full-blooded female friendship, one that includes, over several decades, envy, betrayal, erotic love, and deep-seated loyalty' Entertainment Weekly

The Times
'Ladies, buy two copies of this wonderful book, and give one to your dearest friend.'

Cosmopolitan Magazine
'A startlingly vivid novel ... so gorgeous it hurts.'

Customer Reviews

All women, please read
This is one of the most unforgetable books I've ever read, and I've read several books a week for 50 years! There are many books about China, but this one is based on a custom I had never heard about, that of two young girls binding themselves to each other for life at a very early age. They communicate using a secret language known only to women and meet only rarely.
If you have ever thought your life was difficult, reading this will make you realise how very much more difficult, controlled and full of physical and mental pain were the lives of Chinese women until fairly recently. As a little girl the heroine was allowed outside unfettered only once. Repeatedly told girls were absolutely worthless and unloved by anyone except her sworn friend, her feet are agonizingly bound and she is married to a man she has never seen.
Beautiful and interesting though the descriptions of the culture are, the main theme of the book is the unfolding story of the attachment of the two girls (as the title suggests). The final chapters will live with you for a long time.

Poignant tale
"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" is a suspenseful and poignant novel set in nineteenth century China at a time when foot-binding was practiced and women were kept secluded.

Two women in Hunan province establish a deep friendship as laotongs, "old sames." These are girls that are paired off with each other in a friendship that can last a lifetime. Their bond grows over the years as they struggle with famine, unrest, arranged marriages and motherhood. Their close friendship is threatened when misunderstanding arises between them.

This book offered a glance into women's life in nineteenth century China in an absorbing story. I recommend this book along with The Tenderness of Wolves and Nexus: A Neo Novel.

SWEET
This story is so sweet. The relationship between Snowflower and Lily is so beautifully shown. This story is about to friends that are braught together as lastong friends-sisters of the heart. A tradition of old china. This relationship is treated as serious as the relationship of marriage.

They share their thoughts through poetry and writings on special fans that are kept and burnt when one of the pair dies. This way the relationship is taken with you. This is a special woman's language that is shared only through lastong friends and old sames.

When lily first meets snow flower she is mesmerised by the way she portrays herself. She is the daughter of a wealthy father and has all the privaleges (as Lily is told and believes). Still she is dignified and learns to live the life that Lily is living, which is cleaning and looking after the family. As time goes on they become true friends and Lily loves Snow Flower as her sister and shares all her dreams with her. They share foot binding which is the most crucial part of the chinese woman's culture.

Lily is lucky to have two good feet from foot binding and is fortunate to have a marriage proposal from a wealthy family. She togther with Snow flower prepare for their marriage Dowry and Lily starts to luck forward to her new future.

There is a secret that Snow Flower does not share with Lily. This efffects their friendship after marriage. Lily is lucky to have a good marriege, mother inlaw and wealth and a respected honourable family. Snow flower marries into a polluted family. This changes their friendship through misunderstanding and confusion. Towards the end it all becomes clear and Lily is torn for the lost years of her friendship with her lastong. She cares for her and is by her side when she dies of cancer. then Lily is obliged to help to look after Snow flowers family.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to everyone.