Year 3, Book 59

59. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
I read this book because it’s the first selection for a book club one of my coworkers is starting that I’m going to be in. The book takes place in China around the 1800’s and follows Lily and her laotong (kind of a sworn lifelong friend that is set up by a matchmaker) Snow Flower. I didn’t care that much for the writing style and I didn’t find the plot overly exciting, but it was interesting to read about China’s cultural history during that time period. The chapters discussing the foot binding of the girls was incredibly heartbreaking. It’s hard to imagine how something so horrendous came about, and how it became an accepted and revered practice. The worthlessness of women in the is continuously emphasized throughout the book, which is just really sad. So a good book to read if you are interested in Chinese culture and history, but not especially well written in my opinion. I’ll be interested to see what other people at the book club have to say about it. I give it a 6 out of 10.