A language kept a secret for a thousand years forms the backdrop for an unforgettable novel of two Chinese women whose friendship and love sustains them through their lives.
This absorbing novel – with a storyline unlike anything Lisa See has written before – takes place in 19th century China when girls had their feet bound, then spent the rest of their lives in seclusion with only a single window from which to see. Illiterate and isolated, they were not expected to think, be creative, or have emotions. But in one remote county, women developed their own secret code,
nu shu – "women's writing" – the only gender-based written language to have been found in the world. Some girls were paired as "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 windows to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.
An old woman tells of her relationship with her "old-same," their arranged marriages, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood—until a terrible misunderstanding written on their secret fan threatens to tear them apart. With the detail and emotional resonance of
Memoirs of a Geisha ,
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan delves into one of the most mysterious and treasured relationships of all time—female friendship.
Praise for SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN
“A subtly stirring novel.”
—Vogue
“It’s hard to imagine that someone could write a better novel.
The prose is elegant, the voice sure, the story unforgettable—at times punishing in its authenticity.
With
Snow Flower, See has written a novel that ranks with the best fiction of Amy Tan and Maxine Hong Kingston, the modern luminaries of Chinese storytelling.”
— Philadelphia Inquirer
“This is
a fascinating portrait of a time and place alive with beauty and brutality.”
— USA Today
“The wonder of this book is that it takes readers to a place at once foreign and familiar— foreign because of its time and setting, yet familiar because this landscape
of love and sorrow is inhabited by us all.
SnowFlower and the Secret Fan is a triumph on every level, a beautiful, heartbreaking story.”— Washington Post
“
A beautifully composed work.” —
Boston Globe
“See's translucent prose style gleams with the beauty of 19th century Chinese culture but also makes us burn with indignation at its sexist ugliness and injustice. By bringing the secret world of these Chinese women into vivid relief, See has conjured up an alien world that is the better for being lost.”—
Los Angeles Times
“A stunning setup for describing a culture inside a story, and Lisa See takes full advantage of it. On every page, she provides fascinating details of the lives of women in China.”
—
San Diego Union Tribune
“In her fourth book,
See has triumphed, writing an achingly beautiful, understated and absorbing story of love. . . . Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is so rich in psychology, feminine high stakes and marital intrigue that it evokes the work of Jane Austen. The warring matchmakers are marvelous characters, and the story made me recall the girl closest to my own laotong. See’s novel contains all the elements —joy, knowledge, betrayal, erotica — that give female friends a power over each other that husbands cannot match.”
—Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Exquisitely poetic and thought-provoking.”— New Orleans Times-Picayune
“You can relish See's extraordinary fourth novel as a meticulously researched account of women's lives in 19th-century China, where it is ‘better to have a dog than a daughter.’ (And where the girls' feet are bound in a stomach-turning ritual that See describes with admirable precision and coolness.) But you can also savor See's marvelous narrative as a timeless portrait of a contentious full-blooded female friendship, one that includes, over several decades, envy, betrayal, erotic love, and deep-seated loyalty.”
—Entertainment Weekly (Continued)
“
Fascinating.”—
Detroit Free Press
“See uses a telephoto lens to give us an intimate view of festivals and famine, of customs and superstitions, all through the details of the ‘inner realm’ of women. The cultural insights are fascinating, but in the end this is a love story, with all the passion, betrayal, and regret that comes with the territory.”—
Body and Soul magazine
“See
's fluid language, her re-creation of Lily and Snow Flower's world, is engaging. . . . Seeably illuminates the roots of Lily and Snow Flower's heartbreaking passivity, allowing us to identify with them enough to recognize the meaning of their lives despite the cultural restrictions of their time.”―
San Francisco Chronicle
“A
provocative and affecting portrait of women in 19th Century China.”
—
Chicago Tribune
“See’s writing is
intricate and graceful, and her attention to detail never wavers, making for a lush, involving reading experience. This beautiful tale should have wide appeal.”―
Booklist
“Taut and vibrant, the story offers a delicately painted view of a sequestered world and provides a richly textured account of how women might understand their own lives.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“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. . .. 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.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“
I was entranced by this wondrous book―the story of a secret civilization of women who actually lived in China not long ago. . . .
Magical, haunting fiction. Beautiful.”
—Maxine Hong Kingston
“
Achingly beautiful, a marvel of imagination of a real and secret world that has only recently disappeared. It is a story so mesmerizing that the pages float away and the story remains clearly before us from beginning to end.”―
Amy Tan