Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel by See, Lisa - 2005

Random House Publishing Group, 2005, 2005. trade paperback Random House 8th printing. Good. book designed by the story along. oversize paperback cover is glossy green background with a fan small crease on spline some yellowing to the pages due to age, and inexpensive paper it's printed on the interiors unmarked there is no writing inscriptions. Very good reading copy I enjoyed the book immensely along with her other books, all of them to an interesting period of time. Lily is haunted by memories–of who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she recounts the tale of Snow Flower, and asks the gods for forgiveness. In nineteenth-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion, the women in one remote Hunan county developed their own secret code for communication: nu shu (“women’s writing”). Some girls were paired with laotongs, “old sames,” in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. With the arrival of a silk fan on which Snow Flower has composed for Lily a poem of introduction in nu shu, their friendship is sealed and they become “old sames” at the tender age of seven. As the years pass, through famine and rebellion, they reflect upon their arranged marriages, loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their lifelong friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a brilliantly realistic journey back to an era of Chinese history that is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful. With the period detail and deep resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha, this lyrical and emotionally charged novel delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female friendship Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel Author Lisa See Publisher Random House Publishing Group, 2005 ISBN 1588364747, 9781588364746 Length 258 pages Subjects Fiction › Literary Fiction / Historical Fiction / Literary Laxvespa@yahoo.com Ruth Reaser

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