Pre-numbered label used for registration.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. See's engrossing novel set in remote 19th-century China details the deeply affecting story of lifelong, intimate friends (laotong, or "old sames") Lily and Snow Flower, their imprisonment by rigid codes of conduct for women and their betrayal by pride and love. While granting immediacy to Lily's voice, See (Flower Net) adroitly transmits historical background in graceful prose. Her in-depth research into women's ceremonies and duties in China's rural interior brings fascinating revelations about arranged marriages, women's inferior status in both their natal and married homes, and the Confucian proverbs and myriad superstitions that informed daily life. Beginning with a detailed and heartbreaking description of Lily and her sisters' foot binding ("Only through pain will you have beauty. Only through suffering will you have peace"), the story widens to a vivid portrait of family and village life. Most impressive is See's incorporation of nu shu, a secret written phonetic code among women—here between Lily and Snow Flower—that dates back 1,000 years in the southwestern Hunan province ("My writing is soaked with the tears of my heart,/ An invisible rebellion that no man can see"). As both a suspenseful and poignant story and an absorbing historical chronicle, this novel has bestseller potential and should become a reading group favorite as well.

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I''ve registered this at BookCrossing.com so that I can keep up on where it goes, who reads it, and what they thought of it. If you like the BookCrossing concept, you might want to register yourself with a screen name, so that you can keep up on this book, and maybe release others also! It’s all confidential (you’re known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address), fascinating, and fun!

Thank you for picking up this book. I''d love to see an entry letting me know it is safe with you. Do with it as you please... read it (or not!), give it to a friend, keep it, leave it in the wild - it''s up to you! Enjoy! If you like you can mention me, booklady331, as the one who referred you.

Wow, what a read. My suggestion is to read "A Note About the Writing of Snow Fower and the Secret Fan" first. I am glad I did. I read it before and after.

I love learning about China = footbinding, nu shu, life of the women, marriage, Chinese family life, and much more. This book was aobut the women in the 19th Century and their toubles, friendships, life.
The author made a good observation - that it is easy to look back at cultures, times, and traditions and make judgments when we are far removed from the era in which the events occured. Lisa See said that she wanted to "see, taste, touch, smell, and here everything." She helps the reader to experience this, too.

Lisa See wrote something that made me think and that I agree with, if fact, it is something I thought of just not in relation to footbinding. She writes, " Many preconceptions and misconceptions surround footbinding. It's easy to equate it with the horific practice of female genital mutilation in Africa, the tradition of shrouding women in burkas in the Middle East, or even the strange, perculiar, often extreme cosmetic surgery treatments that so many American women seek. . . How does a culture decide what's beautiful? How does our worth as women change according to that sense of beauty?..." I often think, "When are we women going to stand up and say enough is enough. We love ourselves for who we are, not what men or other women think we should be?"
I am going to look for more by this author.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Enjoy. the start of a small bookring

RING ORDER
1. purple4 (NC) DONE
2. cbostler (Utah) DONE
3. withoutwings (Arizona) HERE
4. sewcrafty (Indiana)
5. booklady331 (FL)

Will begin to read it today, thanks for including me in the bookring.

Good book, I learned a lot of history about China, and it makes me glad I was born in the USA.

Will pass it onto the next bookcrosser!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

off to the next person on the list. Enjoy.

I received the book today and will begin reading it right away. Thank you, Booklady331, for your suggestion and thoughts in journal entry #3. It will help guide my reading.

This has been a case of having the right book at the right time. My experience with Snow Flower and the Secret Fan has been richly rewarding.

I read this novel with using techniques that would make my college English literature professor applaud in approval. (Thirty-eight years too late to earn that A+, however.)

I read slowly and carefully, visualizing each character and event. The author's marvelous style of writing facilitated that. I made sure I understood every word Lisa See used, and have added filial, kowtowed,
vituperation, laotong, and nu shu to my vocabulary. I made note of powerful passages and quotes, too. My favorite is spoken by Lily, "Obey, obey, obey.
Then do what you want to do."

Most of the ideas presented in the book were completely foreign to me. I spent a good deal of time on the internet learning more about the Chinese social structure in the 1800's. (I agree with Purple4. I'm glad I'm who I am, living when and where I do now!) The practice of foot binding is new and startling to me, and I found several interesting articles and photos about it online. The author has good links from her personal website, too. www.lisasee.com/ I also had an enlightening discussion with my son-in-law. His maternal grandfather is Chinese, and grandpa had a traditional Chinese upbringing.
I used the discussion questions found at the end of the book to guide my reading. I enjoyed mulling over the thought-provoking material there, and know that this compelling novel will be on my mind for a long time.

On Lisa See's website, she has a link for the recipe for the sugared taro dessert she mentions several times in her book. That's our family project for tomorrow. We are going to try an ancient Chinese treat.

I have the address for the next participant, WithoutWings, and the book will be mailed to her Monday morning.

Thanks for the opportunity to read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Booklady331. It has been a pleasure!

The results of the Taro Treat Taste Test are in.
Not surprisingly, 9 out of 9 of our testers preferred raspberry cheesecake to Snow Flower's ancient Chinese dessert.

Received book. Will start reading.