Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Kim Tran)

Title~ Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Author~ Lisa See Publisher~ Random House Pages~ 276 Found~ Barnes & Noble

Summary~ Snow Flower and the Secret Fan tells a story about two women and their strong friendship. Lily is haunted by memories of who she once was and of a person, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she remembers the tale of Snow Flower and asks the gods for forgiveness. The novel is set in 19th-century China, when women were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion. They lived in a remote county where they developed their own secret code for communication: nu shu ("women's writing"). Some girls were paired with laotongs ("old sames") in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, to reach out of their isolation and to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Snow Flower and Lily have become "old sames" at the age of seven. As the years pass, they share their arranged marriages, loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. They develop a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their lifelong friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a realistic journey back to an era of Chinese history that is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful.

Audience~ The audience that would enjoy this book most would be women from teens to elders because the novel itself is about a deep and passionate friendship between two women.

Author's Writing Style~ In this novel, Lisa See has a very descriptive and unique writing style. She allows the reader to feel connected to the novel. She also writes this novel like a narrative, telling a story from a character's experiences and events. "We were to be like long vines with entwined roots, like trees that stand a thousand years, like a pair of mandarin ducks mated for life" (Page 5).

Passages~ 1} “I am still learning about love. I though I understood it--not just mother love but the love for one's parents, for one's husband, and for one's laotong. I've experienced the other types of love--pity love, respectful love, and gratitude love.” (Page 5). This quote made me think of what love really was and that there were many types of love as well. This quote also made me think of how in this world today, everyone is still learning about love and its entirety. 2} “My writing is soaked with the tears of my heart. An invisible rebellion that no man can see. Let our life stories become tragic art” (Page 71). This quote struck me in a way because women back in the 19th century had no freedom and writing was not permitted. But there were some women that would secretly learn to write and create their own language and I thought that it was very brave of them. Even though women were silent in the past, they speak out to us today with their courage. 3} “But we kept going, never looking back, burying shame in our empty hearts, shutting out the sounds of agony and sorrow as best we could” (192). I chose this quote from the novel because it made me think of how everyone has their own sorrow in their hearts and how it is difficult for them to even think of it. I think of how there are times when we all run and hide from the reality in this world and conceal our troubles in our hearts.

Interaction~ Snow Flower and the Secret Fan was an amazing book to read. Lisa See brought life not only to a character but an entire culture, and a sensibility so strikingly different from our own. I felt that I could relate to this book because as a young woman, I really look up to what the past women have done and this novel shows such a strong friendship between two women. This is a completely convincing portrayal of a woman shaped by suffering forced upon her from her earliest years, and of the friendship that helps her to survive.