Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See

Description: A language kept a secret for a thousand years forms the backdrop for an unforgettable novel of two Chinese women whose friendship and love sustains them through their lives.

My Review:

What a breathtaking ride Lisa See takes you on, through 19th Century China like you’ve never heard. Isolation, expectations, degradation, foot-binding, child birth…The women of this society led secret lives through their nu shu “women’s writing.”

From our western eyes, there are countless practices and beliefs that will jar you and rock your senses. There were times I felt a bit queasy in reading. The custom of foot-binding – breaking bones to shape it into what their society saw as beauty – seemed so brutal at first. One in ten women died from this practice and the pain tortured these young girls. But what is beautiful to one society has caused these same practices across the globe, only in different forms. Corsets, plastic surgery and more.

This book will redefine loyalty, beauty, friendship. Read, but with caution. This is not for the faint of heart.

side note: The book is also soon to be released as a movie…