Reviews of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Book
At my quondam job, a coworker of mine was floored that I'd never read this book. I institute a copy at a used book sale and it sat on my shelf for a few years. Then I heard that Lisa See was coming to town for a signing! I read her other book, Shanghai Girls, and got a copy of this ane signed. I grabbed the audiobook earlier I had time to pick up the physical ane and I wish I'd grabbed it sooner. This was a great story.
Cover epitome via Goodreads
Snowfall Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Other books past Lisa Run into reviewed on this blog:
Shanghai Girls (with two volume social club reflections and coming together the author)
Summary from Goodreads:
In nineteenth-century Cathay, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of 7, is paired with a laotong, "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's painted a verse form 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 Blossom ship letters on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they suffer the agony of foot-bounden, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two notice solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. Only when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship all of a sudden threatens to tear.
However See did her research for this book, she did information technology right. It was very piece of cake to picture life in early 1800s Cathay. Their culture, and then different from mine, seemed natural subsequently listening to the book for a piffling while. The foot binding scene caused me to gag in the middle of a run. My hubby had to end and inquire me if I was okay. It was so vivid that it was terrifying. The fourth dimension in the mountains was frighteningly vivid, besides. There were a lot of good moments in this book that go back to how talented a writer See is.
I think the marker of proficient writing is seeing a story through i character's betoken of view and not realizing how slanted or biased that view is until it's pointed out. See did a great task of this. Lily's views seemed natural to me as the reader and I never questioned her interpretation or views until Snow Bloom or the Sworn Sisters pointed out how she was wrong. Lily was more than complicated than she at commencement appeared and Snow Bloom'due south many layers are evident in the story. Both are wonderful characters.
I liked Snowfall Blossom all-time because she was easier to analyze and feel sympathy for in the volume. When Lily's flaws were pointed out, I virtually took it personally considering I felt I knew was her. Snowfall Flower'south bad fate and hardships were sympathetic and I could see her struggles and feel for her.
I'm very much like Lily. When things are going badly, I persist. I tend to think that something that's gone incorrect must exist considering I didn't follow a dominion or instruction and I endeavor to get others to suit to this as well. I'm not a great listener much of the time and Snowfall Bloom and Lily's adult relationship reminded me of many of my own.
Lisa Encounter and me
The months in the mountains were very emotional in my mind. I felt bad for Snow Flower and Lily and got a sense of the desperate situation they were in from See'due south writing. Snow Flower'southward mother-in-law was quite wicked and the preference given to her second son was really shocking. Snowfall Flower's husband confused me because he seemed angry and soft moments autonomously only that could easily stem from the difficult situation he was in up in the mountains.
Spoiler warning! Skip this paragraph to avoid it. Lily'southward realization that Snow Flower had non abased her after Snow Flower's death was nearly impossible to listen to. It was so heartbreaking to hear the Sworn Sisters be so cruel to Lily and to hear about Snow Flower's suffering for the many years they were autonomously. Lily'due south realization that she'd never apologized to Snow Blossom was burdensome! Information technology was a really distressing stop to a story that was very sad and while it was plumbing fixtures, it didn't make it easy to get through!
Janet Song narrated the audiobook I listened to and I thought she did a smashing job. She used voices for the characters that were just different enough to tell them apart without whatsoever sounding like a mockery. I thought her pacing and intonation were good and it was to a signal where I didn't notice her, which to me means she's doing a not bad job.
Lily wanted forgiveness and had trouble giving it herself. The message I got from this volume was that friends can be closer than blood simply we have to work on those relationships as much as we work on marriages and family unit relationships. There was a communication breakup between Snow Flower and Lily that neither was able to correct and it created a rift between them that was never healed. They both needed forgiveness and neither was forthcoming with information technology. In the end, it poisoned their beautiful friendship.
Writer's Takeaway:I believe the best historical fiction is when you don't even realize that it's historical. The setting felt then natural that I would forget this was 1850s China. Information technology can exist really hard to work historical context into a story in a fashion that will not shock the reader and See did an astonishing task with this.
A great book that I'chiliad glad I finally read. Four out of V Stars.
Until next time, write on.
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Related Posts:
Volume Review: Snow Flower and the Undercover Fan past Lisa Run across (Audiobook) | Stargazerpuj'due south Book Blog
Review: Snowfall Flower and the Secret Fan past Lisa See | lisasliterarylife
Source: https://samannelizabeth.wordpress.com/2017/04/27/book-review-snow-flower-and-the-secret-fan-by-lisa-see-45/
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