Title: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Author: Lisa See
As a six-year-old, Lily, the daughter of a Chinese farmer, is pronounced to have the most perfect feet seen in her province in years. Because of her high arches, Lily's entire life goes down a different path. First of all, she's arranged in laotong relationship, a friendship with another woman which is supposed to be closer and longer-lasting even than marriage. Her laotong is Snow Flower, a girl from a wealthy home in a nearby city. At first, it appears that Lily has hit the jackpot with Snow Flower, but we watch as Lily's star rises and Snow Flower's falls over the course of their lives.
I learned a lot more about foot binding than I ever wanted to know in reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and that part was gross. I was also highly frustrated by the lack of resources that women had in both their natal and marital homes in Lily's society. Many of the women suffered at the hands of their mothers-in-law, but it appeared that years of abuse practically guaranteed that women would become abusers by the time they were in charge of their households. We're reading The Good Earth for our February book group book, and I think the two books are really good companion pieces.
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