This new deluxe eBook edition of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan features more than fifty additional pages of exclusive, author-approved annotations throughout the text to enrich your reading experience. You can access the eBook annotations with a simple click or tap on your eReader via the convenient links. Access them as you read the novel or as supplemental material after finishing the entire … the entire story. There is also Random House Reader’s Circle bonus content, sure to inspire discussion at book clubs everywhere.
In Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, #1 New York Times bestselling author 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.
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I picked this up at the recommendation of some reviews I had read here on Goodreads. I really didn’t know what to expect, but as I really enjoyed “Memoirs of a Geisha” and moderately enjoyed “Snow Country” (which I am now planning on re-reading), I thought I would enjoy this book. I am also fascinated with Asian culture and have found myself drawn to books like that anyway.
This book (to me) was AMAZING. I really enjoyed how the author wrote this story. I could feel myself feeling Lily’s grief and happiness and also her anger (though I saw things as they were, not as she saw them), which to me was amazing.
The foot-binding was horrible to read about, but also very informative. I KNEW of foot-binding of course, but I really didn’t know HOW they did it (I DO now) and how excruciating painful it is to the person it is happening to. Also, it wasn’t completely banned in China until 1951. WOW!
I loved the story of Lily and Snow Flower. How they are brought together and how they grow together, even in the midst of really different circumstances. And I can see how things happened to make the end as sad as it was.
I have a friend who I have been friends with since I was in 1st grade (MANY MANY years ago) and we are “estranged” and reading this book just made me sad all over again for my friend and how we cannot be together right now (because of the choices she has made and continues to make, despite my outreach to her)and how I miss her and our talks and such. The book gives me hope. Hope that we will too find our way back to each other.
I highly recommend this book. What an amazing read!
This book is ideal for historical fiction lovers and those interested in a little known aspect of Chinese history.
Lily is only a second daughter of a farmer in an isolated county in early-mid eighteenth century China. Her parents want her to marry well. To this end, her mother will bind her feet as carefully as she can, for without “golden lily” feet, Lily will certainly not marry well. The local matchmaker feels that Lily’s future can be special, and instead of “sworn sisters” – life-long girlfriends who will matter more than a husband – the matchmaker suggests matching her w/ a laotong – an “old same” – a girl who matches Lily in eight important ways. A laotong is to be a more important relationship than any other in the girls’ lives. Snow Flower, a girl from a prominent family in a different village, matches Lily in these eight important ways. “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” is the story of Snow Flower and Lily growing up together, closer than close.
Lily’s mother instructs Snow Flower, Lily, and Lily’s sisters in nu shu – secret women’s writings, done in the upstairs womens’ chambers in village houses. Women were hidden away, not to have anything to do w/ the world of men, other than serving their husbands, fathers, and brothers without question. The women couldn’t walk far anyway b/c of their intentionally-crippled feet, so they spent their days in the upstairs women’s chambers, learning nu shu, and teaching each other the traditional songs. Snow Flower and Lily communicated back and forth in secret in tiny nu shu written on a beautiful fan.
Ms. See packs so much information into this beautifully-written, but heartbreaking, story. The descriptions of how unwanted daughters were treated, and especially the carefully-detailed disgusting foot-binding, were heart-rending. I nearly stopped reading the book b/c I was literally sick to my stomach at the description of Lily’s footbinding, foot-breaking, and recovery. I’m glad I kept reading, b/c the story seems to move so slowly yet covers many years in Lily’s long life. There is a betrayal, and Lily spends most of her life regretting all that she hadn’t known about Snow Flower.
This was an absorbing book, a look at a society and a history that I knew next-to-nothing about before reading this book. This is the first book I have read by Ms. See, but it won’t be the last. 4.4 stars, rounded down to 4, not b/c of Ms. See’s writing, but b/c of the nauseating description of foot-binding.
It’s hard to say anything bad about Lisa See;s books. This one is a wonderful history of Chinese cultural traditions like foot binding and how womwen survived during a difficult time in their history. I strongly recommend this to anyone who ever wondered what life was like a hundred years ago before Mao and the communist regime took over China.
It seems like an unnatural relationship. The books delves way into Chinese customs and the reasons for them
I read all Lisa See Really love her books.
I love all her books, she never fails to make you feel as if you are there.
I have read a few of this author’s books. Always find them extremely interesting and holds your attention.
One of my all time favorite books. Have read it 3 times. Characters draw you in. The story is beautiful & realistic. Love it!! Read it!!!
I like Lisa See’s books. Always informative, charàcters are great, with depth. I like learning more about the Chinese culture.
This is one of the very best books that I have ever read. It is rich in historical detail and the characters are beautifully drawn. This is a classic by an outstanding author.
Loved the book
I absolutely loved this story, so entertaining with great characters and plot.
I loved this book. Fell in love with the characters and learned a lot about Chinese culture. Particularly as it pertains to women and their roles.
I loved this book. It was such a fascinating look into a world that we are unfamiliar as Americans.
The first Lisa See book I read. Was blown away!
Great author
This was the very first novel I chose that wasn’t from the teen section of a book store. I love it
Incredible story
This was like an updated version of The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck. Beautifully written, it’s one of my all-time favorite books.