Madeline
I’ve been studying the Chinese language (specifically Mandarin) for over two years now. Part of getting to know any language is also getting to know the culture and the history. What better way to do this than through my favorite medium, storytelling. I am regularly looking for books to enhance my understanding of Chinese culture and history; however, the number of decent (not dry) stories in English are limited. I have exhausted the list of books written by Amy Tan and needed to find a new author. Thank you Lisa See and for writing Snowflower and the Secret Fan!
The Premise of Snowflower and the Secret Fan
Snowflower and the Secret Fan is about a girl’s marriage journey and, more so, her lao tong (or old same), named Snowflower. In Chinese culture, girls are brought together with other girls in a sisterhood until marriage. But if you are lucky to be chosen to have a lao tong, you will have a single “sister” for life.
These girls are brought together at the age of seven. One visits the other frequently their whole lives until they are married. Once they are married, their relationship changes. They go through bumps all along the way with each other. Later when they marry, they go through some rough patches with their husbands and the families they have married into. The country is also changing and it is reflected in their relationship.
My Thoughts
I enjoyed this book very much; however, there are some gory details that made me cringe. I don’t particularly think of myself as a squeamish person, but my goodness, the details of the Chinese tradition of foot binding makes me wince. The author details what the perfect foot will look like, how it is bowed, how these girls are forced to walk until their feet break. The entire time I’m reading my face is in a permanent scowl. These girls go through such pain, and even the possibility of death, and only to have the possibility of ending up like their mother who can’t walk without a cane. The process of foot binding is brought up again and again and every time, I can’t help but wince.
I’m looking forward to reading another one of Lisa See’s books, The Island of Sea Women, chosen by my book club.
