Thursday, January 3, 2008

Book Review - Snow Flower and the Secret Fan


I just read another great book - and it is along the same lines as The Kite Runner. It is by Lisa See called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. The setting the late 1800s in a remote area of China. It the story of two girls from different classes who are best friends. It is told by one of the girls in her old age reflecting back on her life. It is the story of loyalty, lies, misunderstandings, heartbreak, forgiveness, and repentance. It is also a wonderful story that explains or shed a little light on a culture so foreign to us. Foot binding is a central part of the story and the development of the characters. It is bizarre but fascinating as well. A side story is the relationship of this main character with her husband (an arranged marriage) and I really like that story line. In this Chinese culture these contracted friendships are so different than our friendships in many ways but at the same time we all long to have friends that will always be true to us. It is not a very long book and I felt like it was a pretty easy read. There many be a couple of scenes that are questionable but not too bad. I recommend it!

3 comments:

Kristine said...

thanks for the review! i'll add it to my long list of books to read.

Juliann said...

Yay, Annie! I love you're blog! Books, recipes, photos of your cute kids. . . all kinds of fun. This book looks good, I'll have to pick it up! Danke.

H C M said...

I have read so many books Annie recommends and have never been sorry. I'm grateful to have someone close to me who knows how to refer me to the good ones.