![]() ![]() 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. , 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"). 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. Most impressive is See's incorporation of nu shu 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. Only through suffering will you have peace"), the story widens to a vivid portrait of family and village life. Beginning with a detailed and heartbreaking description of Lily and her sisters' foot binding ("Only through pain will you have beauty. 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. ![]() ) adroitly transmits historical background in graceful prose. While granting immediacy to Lily's voice, See ( Flower Net , or "old sames") Lily and Snow Flower, their imprisonment by rigid codes of conduct for women and their betrayal by pride and love. See's engrossing novel set in remote 19th-century China details the deeply affecting story of lifelong, intimate friends ( laotong A review with a blue-tinted title indicates a book of unusual commercial interest that hasn't received a starred review. A starred review indicates a book of outstanding quality. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |