Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See

by Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger

"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" is a fiction novel, but it feels so real, it could almost be nonfiction. I came away smelling the dumplings and ginger, seeing all the images before me.

Lily is the narrator, looking back over her life in China with the eyes of the eighty-year-old woman she's become. She tells of her young childhood, when the diviner comes to set the date for her feet to be bound, and being told that her feet were so remarkable, she might have golden lilies, meaning, the smallest feet possible to attain at the approximate length of a thumb. In fact, she's such a remarkable child, she may qualify to have a laotong friendship, meaning a covenanted, lifelong relationship with a girl of her own age and with the same Zodiac signs. This is an honor reserved for the very rich or the very unique, and Lily is, apparently, that unique.

At the age of six, she doesn't understand all that goes into having her feet bound, but she is very excited at the idea of having a lifelong friend. When Snow Flower sends her a beautiful fan, written on the back in nu shu, the women's secret writing, Lily is delighted.

The days of her foot binding begin. I'll admit, I thought they just took the feet when small and wrapped them so tightly they couldn't grow. I wish that's all it was. The girls' feet were bent in half and broken into small bits, and then they took the crushed bones and molded them into the shapes they wanted and bound them while they healed. The feet would infect and emit pus and blood, and one in every ten girls actually died from the process. The girls were made to walk back and forth on their broken feet every day. I can't even imagine the agony.

When Snow Flower and Lily finally meet, they sense a bond right away and covenant that they will never have another close friend but instead, remain faithful to their laotong. They enjoy their friendship until the time comes for Lily to visit Snow Flower's home, where she discovers that everything she's been told about Snow Flower is a lie. Snow Flower doesn't come from a well-to-do family - in fact, she's on the very edge of poverty. Her father is an opium addict who lies around all day, not even bathing, and her mother is completely helpless to care for Snow Flower. Lily does the best she can to help the family, but is angered at the lies she's been told.

The book follows the girls through their lives, right up until death. I was touched at the depth of their caring for each other, but also saddened at the harshness of life they had to pass through. This is a gritty, earthy book, not shying from some of the ugliness of life. However, I found it thought-provoking and educational.

I can't in good conscience recommend this book unless I entreat you to skip the entire chapter called "Catching Cool Breezes," and then also page 143. If you'll promise me you'll skip those, you have my blessing to read it.

(This book was published in 2005 by Random House.)

Related Blogs:

The Ginger Tree

The Good Earth

The Kitchen God's Wife

Learn more about Tristi Pinkston

I am a stay-at-home mom, author of eight published books, a freelance editor, and the mother of four incredible children. I enjoy scrapbooking, watching good movies, and taking naps.

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