Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (PGO Books)

by Lisa See | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0812968069 Global Overview for this book
Registered by PGO-Books4all of Salt Lake City, Utah USA on 10/3/2007
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6 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by PGO-Books4all from Salt Lake City, Utah USA on Wednesday, October 3, 2007
PGO Books

Journal Entry 2 by tostle from Salt Lake City, Utah USA on Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Wow, this was an intriguing book. I had never read such a detailed description of foot binding. It was interesting to investigate this practice and learn more about it.
I also found the following passage about a woman's place in the Confucian society to be interesting:
"...two Confucian ideals ruled our lives. The first was the Three Obediences: "When a girl, obey your father; when a wife, obey your husband; when a widow,obey your son.' The second was the Four Virtues, which delineate women's behavior, speech, carriage, and occupation: 'Be chaste and yielding, calm and upright in attitude; be quiet and agreeable in words; be restrained and exquisite in movement; be perfect in handiwork and embroidery.' If girls do not stray from these principles, they will grow into virtuous women."
This was a facinating book. I am excited to see this book travel.
I am sharing this book with katielindsay...from her wishlist!

Journal Entry 3 by KatieLindsay from Morganton, North Carolina USA on Friday, November 9, 2007
Tostle,
Thanks for sharing Snow Flower with me. What a great suprise. I enjoyed it so much! Tragic with just the right amount of redemption... and I learned so much about Chinese culture. I had heard that foot binding was terrible but I never imagined just how horrible it really is! I thought the relationships between the different women in the novel were thrilling.
Best quote: "Obey, Obey, Obey. Then do what you want."
I will pass it on to someone who has listed it on their wish list.
Thanks again!

Journal Entry 4 by wingILuvToRead2wing from -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings --, Illinois USA on Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Received in the mail - Thank you!

Journal Entry 5 by wingILuvToRead2wing from -- Mail or by hand-rings, RABCK, meetings --, Illinois USA on Tuesday, January 15, 2008
This was the first book I read in 2008 and it was excellent! This is one of those books that I probably never would have read if it weren't for BookCrossing. (I never noticed it in the bookstore and I didn't know the author, but I saw a lot of people praising it on the forums.) Thanks for sharing!

This book is in the mail as a RABCK to someone who has it on her wishlist. Enjoy!

Journal Entry 6 by Antof9 from Lakewood, Colorado USA on Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Oh dear! It's bad when you've been on so many trips already in a year that you can't tell which pile of mail is from which trip ... and when you look at one of the piles, you see a BOOK in it that you had no idea was in the house!

Thanks so much for sending this, IL2R2! Someone told me about this a year or so ago, and the title has intrigued me ever since. You're a sweetie to fulfill my wish list like this :)

I honestly don't know when I'll be able to read this -- I hope it's soon, but at the moment, I am actually overwhelmed (this is a first!) by my TBR. I have:
  • The Story of Mankind for the Read the Newburys project
  • Then, I still have to purchase and read the first 16 chapters of Under the Banner of Heaven for BBC, my book club
  • I (finally) got an ARC from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program, and of course I'd like to read that quickly and comment on it
  • I just got home to a bookring that I don't want to stall, as it is for a specific time and place
  • I want to read A Thousand Splendid Suns so I can send it to a friend (I haven't read it yet because it's a hardback and I won't carry those with me!)
  • And I want to re-read the Harry Potters for an HP book club (they're already on book 3, but I don't know when they're meeting again)

Fortunately, I finished Wuthering Heights last night, so could cross that off my list.

I realize that no one asked me to read this immediately, but I've been concerned about all the things I had to read lately, and it's good to see them in a list so I know what I'm doing next!

Anyway, thanks to all the BCers before me who shared this book -- I'm excited to read it ... whenever!

Journal Entry 7 by Antof9 from Lakewood, Colorado USA on Thursday, March 26, 2009
First, I will never again wince at leg waxing! Let's start there. Second, because many people compare this to Memoirs of a Geisha, I'll just say that I Don't Think So. I read MoaG quite a while ago, and it wasn't my copy, so I never wrote a review of it, but what I remember of it is that 1. the whole time I was reading, I was thinking, "there are Japanese people who don't understand the geisha -- how can a Western man know anything about it? and 2. there is nowhere near the amount of emotion in MoaG as this book.

This book is a very quick read, even though there are lots of parts where I wanted to put it down. It compelled me to return to it quickly and keep going. Clearly the life of a woman in China was hard, and if I'd been asked that before reading this book, I'd have answered in the affirmative. But this book sheds new light on "hard". And although I'm sure this book still romanticizes some of it, it's also a history lesson, and so well told that I didn't even feel like I was learning.

The relationships in this are ... fascinating and intricate, governed by rules, rules and more rules. They are heartbreaking and heartwarming, and even those ugly at heart are intriguing.

This story is told by Lily, starting with her earliest memories and following her entire life. The author paints word pictures you can see, weather you can feel, smells you can smell, friends you want to hug.

There are so many beautiful phrases and sayings in this -- things that grabbed me or moved me, or made me think -- that I'll just start with the opening line and leave it at that. Lily refers to herself as "one who has not yet died" when she is a widow at 80 years old. What a beautiful and depressing way to refer to someone who feels their life is over. I've always been a fan of strong women ("Steel Magnolias", anyone?), and Lily is the newest one on my list.

I don't know where or to whom this book is going next, but I'll try to find a strong women who will enjoy it.

Journal Entry 8 by RealBookWorm on Wednesday, April 15, 2009
I received this in the mail today and, although I knew it was coming because Ant told me she was sending it, I'd completely forgotten about it so it was a nice surprise. I'll be reading it soon because I can't seem to get interested in the (many) books I already own. Plus, this one looks very interesting.

Thank you Antof9! You're a sweetie! :)

Journal Entry 9 by RealBookWorm on Saturday, April 25, 2009
I read this book over the period of a few days and just finished it today. I found it so interesting and engrossing that I didn't want to stop. I wanted to read it all in one go but I forced myself to take breaks so that I wouldn't become overloaded with what I was reading. I've wondered about foot binding before but this is the first time I've ever read such descriptive explanation of how it was done. I can't imagine how excrutiating the pain must have been.

Throughout the book, I loved Lily's character and loved reading about her life and experiences. Even during the hardest times, I didn't want to stop reading. What a wonderful book. I'm so glad that Antof9 sent it to me. I'll think about who to give it to before I let it go. I want it to go to someone else who'll appreciate it as well.

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