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    Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel
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    Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel
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    Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel

    Written by Lisa See

    Narrated by Jodi Long

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Lily is haunted by memories-of who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she recounts the tale of Snow Flower, and asks the gods for forgiveness.

    In nineteenth-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion, the women in one remote Hunan county 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, thereby reaching out of their isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.

    With the arrival of a silk fan on which Snow Flower has composed for Lily a poem of introduction in nu shu, their friendship is sealed and they become "old sames" at the tender age of seven. As the years pass, through famine and rebellion, they reflect upon their arranged marriages, loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing 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 brilliantly realistic journey back to an era of Chinese history that is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful. With the period detail and deep resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha, this lyrical and emotionally charged novel delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female friendship.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJun 28, 2005
    ISBN9780739319826
    Unavailable
    Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel
    Author

    Lisa See

    Lisa See is the New York Times bestselling author of The Island of Sea Women, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, Shanghai Girls, China Dolls, and Dreams of Joy, which debuted at #1. She is also the author of On Gold Mountain, which tells the story of her Chinese American family’s settlement in Los Angeles. See was the recipient of the Golden Spike Award from the Chinese Historical Association of Southern California and the Historymaker’s Award from the Chinese American Museum. She was also named National Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women.

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    Reviews for Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

    4/5

    3,878 ratings274 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This is a story about a friendship that lasts a lifetime and what it meant to be woman in 18th century China. Lily and Snow Flower became sworn sisters at age seven and maintained this relationship through love, foot binding, family disruptions, lies, deaths and a major schism. From different villages, they were able to secretly communicate through the ancient language nu shu on a shared fan. For ten years, they share writing, learning embroidery, sewing cooking and cleaning while they await their arranged marriages at the age of 17.The lives of these women is worthless as they are pawns of a patriarchal society dominated by men. They learn early on, “when a girl, obey your father; when a wife, obey your husband; when a widow, obey your son”This is a really well written and very interesting story of 18th century Chinese rural life. We find a lot of love, intrigue, dishonesty, trauma and insecurity as we witness the development of the girls’ relationships with each other, their families, husbands and children.
    • 3/5
      This one follows the life of a Chinese woman during the 19th century and centers upon her contracted relationship with another woman - an intense friendship that is a source of joy and regret. The story follows them from the pain of footbinding, marriage, childbirth, surviving an invasion, cholera, to the end of their lives. The women write to each other using the women's written language, particular to their region. It was extremely interesting, but I felt a bit distant from the characters - it was always in the back of my mind that this society had child mutilation firmly entrenched it its, um, whatever societies become entrenched in. (I know, I'm a terrible writer) The audio book reader's voice always sounded a little forced - like she was trying to sound Chinese without any obvious accent.
    • 3/5
      In the beginning, I thought the book was rather depressing because it was so much information about women's hardships--footbinding, heavy preference for sons, very little attention for daughters (who are worthless). I, personally, could not thrive in this strict culture.

      Leaving your home to marry into your husband's family sounds tough! I mean, you've grown up surrounded by the women in your family who have taught you everything they know. You marry and hope for sons. If you have sons, the husband's family will care for you and you will join them permanently. I think what bothers me the most is that there are so many restrictions. There's no sense of freedom in the ability to get out, socialize, and make friends.

      The laotong relationship between Lily and Snow Flower sounds very unique. To me, I view it as an arranged "best friend" instead of an arranged marriage. You make the agreement in early childhood to be together and be there for each other for the rest of your lives. It sounds cute, but at the same time, it doesn't sound ideal because people can drift apart over misunderstandings (as what happened in the book) or life's circumstances (also what happened in the book). The sworn sisters mentioned in the book almost sounds like a very distinct sorority group. At least you have more than one person for that. It sounds a little more normal to have a special group of friends.

      Would this be a good book club book? YES. Would I want to re-read it again. No. I'm just going to appreciate this experience and thank God that I wasn't born into this culture!
    • 4/5
      I've really been interested in historical stories more and more as I get older. I was fascinated with this story and what happens to Chinese women back in the 1800's. These women were pretty much raised to become a match for someone so that they will go to that family and pretty much not come back to their own natal family except for certain holidays. They are worthless to their own family because they are a "burden." They learn to take care of a house and have babies and that is their only purpose. The foot binding just sounds absolutely horrible. I can't even imagine going through it.

      When I read things like this, I wonder if these practices are still going on. This was a very beautifully written story about two women who are "sames" and how their lives progress from being born until they die. I really enjoyed the story and will probably read more of Lisa See's work.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book especially the description of nu shu, I found the descriptions of foot binding very interesting and I'll never complain about sore feet again.
    • 3/5
      Not as good as I hoped it would be based on all the book lists and recommendations. This book is on many book lists so I finally decided to try it.



      I did enjoy the read do not get me wrong but to me this was not a 5 star book. It was hard to read about the footbinding but very very interesting. I knew that weirdly enough it is women who do these things to themselves. Like the female genital mutilation, the women are the ones that tell their daughters to do this. But the big reason is why? Why do those women torture in a way their girls?......................... To satisfy men.DUH!



      Lately I have been thinking and reading a lot. Look at the news stories everyday. Most victims of crimes are women. Victims of most serial killers? children and women. Victims of rape. women . Of course men are raped too but you can't compare it to how many times a woman is raped or killed.

      Women are still being thought of by some as bitches and the music of today does not help. No it makes the situation worse. Women are called ho's, bitches and whatever.

      Weird because this began with a minority group in itself. Young black men who began with raps like that.

      I enjoy rap music but I can't stand the lyrics. Look at the video clips. Women are there to be available when the men want sex and to show off with how much stuff was bought for them. Women are degraded and they allow men to degrade them all for money or fame. They sing along with the lyrics.




      Back to the subject of cruelty to women to please men. In Somalia, 98% of young girls suffer female genital mutilation.
      I am glad to be able to say the act of footbinding had stopped according to various websites.

      What I liked was the story that was told through out the book about life in China back then. What I did not like was that I did not feel any connection with the girls. All in all an interesting read and I might try another book by this author.
    • 5/5
      This is a sad story of friendship and tragedy, set in the 19th century in a remote part of China. Author Lisa See, who is Chinese-American, did extensive research in China to provide the cultural and historical background for her story. The narrator, Lily, is an 80-year-old widow looking back from 1903 on her long life. She describes in detail the process of her footbinding at age 7 (which killed her younger sister). She also details her education, particularly in nu shu, or “women’s [secret phonetic] writing.”Shortly after this, a prominent matchmaker suggests for Lily a laotong, or “old same” match with a girl from the clan of a potential husband for Lily. Snow Flower shares Lily’s birthday and other characteristics, but is of higher social standing. As laotong, they can be friends for life, and a close bond develops between them over the next ten years, the only real highlight in lives lived mostly in an upstairs room. They send nu shu messages to each other on a fan when they are apart.At 17, Lily marries into a prominent family from Snow Flower’s village, and a month later Snow Flower marries. Lily finally gets to visit Snow Flower’s family of origin, and learns the truth about her friend. Lily’s feelings of betrayal color her relationship with Snow Flower (and others) from then on, but their friendship continues. Many years later, after a typhoid outbreak and the Taiping Rebellion further changes their lives, a misinterpreted nu shu character on the fan causes even more sorrow and regret.Descriptions of many other Chinese customs, folktales, and the numerous ceremonies and festivals were fascinating. I thought it was particularly interesting that a woman continued to live primarily with her family of origin until she first became pregnant, and even after that spent numerous festivals with her natal family. I also thought it was interesting that in their dialect, the word for “wife” is the same as the word for “guest” (page 165-6), the word for “child” sounds the same as that for “shoe” (page 133), and the first character in the word for “mother love” means “pain” (page 4).Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a fascinating and heart-rending book that was hard to put down, with a message about true friendship that applies even today – accepting your friends they way they are, not as you wish them to be.
    • 4/5
      Great story of friendship between two women in old China. I especially liked how the story was told entirely from the perspective of Lily, until at the end the reader gets a glimpse of how Snow Flower must have viewed the same events.
    • 4/5
      Lisa See has won me over again in her novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Her enchanting and detailed story of the historical cultures of nineteenth-century China as told by an eighty-year-old Chinese woman, looking back as a seven-year-old girl, when she started her foot binding years (the pertinent time in a girl's life of that time that marks the beginning process of preparation of adulthood) was entrancing and endearing. In this novel, Lily recollects major events of her life where she has had to endure a long, exhausting journey of luck and misfortune, vanity and humbleness, and love and regret, all alongside her laotong, Snow Flower. A laotong is an assigned mate, or in current times may be labeled something like a "female best friend", but closer than any other relationship that exists, and bound by a contract. The love that exudes from each page as each girl, young woman, then grown adult as they both endure their own individual struggles is so heartfelt. Very well-written and as always, Lisa See's research and dedication to the historical Chinese culture was flawless and intriguing.
    • 5/5
      I would give this six stars. My all time favorite book.

      An exploration of female friendship in all its ups and downs, jealousies, loyalties, and betrayals; and a comment on the spiritual meaning of tradition, ritual, and ceremony.
    • 4/5
      Lisa See has won me over again in her novel Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Her enchanting and detailed story of the historical cultures of nineteenth-century China as told by an eighty-year-old Chinese woman, looking back as a seven-year-old girl, when she started her foot binding years (the pertinent time in a girl's life of that time that marks the beginning process of preparation of adulthood) was entrancing and endearing. In this novel, Lily recollects major events of her life where she has had to endure a long, exhausting journey of luck and misfortune, vanity and humbleness, and love and regret, all alongside her laotong, Snow Flower. A laotong is an assigned mate, or in current times may be labeled something like a "female best friend", but closer than any other relationship that exists, and bound by a contract. The love that exudes from each page as each girl, young woman, then grown adult as they both endure their own individual struggles is so heartfelt. Very well-written and as always, Lisa See's research and dedication to the historical Chinese culture was flawless and intriguing.
    • 4/5
      Really great!
    • 4/5
      What a beautiful story with so many lessons. I cannot wait to see the movie this summer.
    • 3/5
      This book has been on my reading list for so long, I'm not even sure why I added it in the first place. It's available on OverDrive, which is huge for me actually getting some reading done these days, and I think I might have seen that it was a "most popular" book, and added it to my wishlist. So, I wasn't really sure what I was getting into when I started it. I kind of hate reading descriptions, because I feel like they ruin my discovery of the story, so it's nice that I have such a long to-read list, because it gives me time to forget the book description.Overall, I would say that Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is solidly entertaining. It's not too complex, so it's easy to get through, and the main character is fairly easy to relate to, even if she is a bit judgmental. See does a good job in keeping the plot moving with interesting twists and turns, and the beginning is well developed in terms of detail and the reader is gently led from one conflict to the next. I'm currently reading a book that's incredibly choppy, where we get one huge conflict that takes a chapter to introduce, followed quickly after by a page-and-a-half resolution, and then another huge conflict again. This book is definitely not like that. The beginning and middle take their time to fully develop, which allowed me to become immersed when it was going on.While I thoroughly enjoyed most of it, the end was lacking a little bit. Everything about the culture and way of life is incredibly detailed, and I loved learning about the different customs of these people through the eyes of Lily. However, if a book about the cultures and customs of women in the Hunan Province is what I wanted to read, I would have picked up a nonfiction book. What I really wanted from this particular novel was a good story, and the story/plot elements were lacking for me. I understand that the author spent a lot of time researching, which I appreciate in a novel like this, but she spent too much time showing off that research instead of dedicating space to plot and character development near the end. The climax wasn't as developed as it could have been, which made the resolution fall a bit flat.Again, that's not to say that I disliked this book. I liked it quite a lot -- the ending just wasn't as satisfying as I would have liked. As a quick read, this is perfect. A little gruesome at times (I still can't get over the foot binding scene. Ah!), but easy to get through and entertaining. There definitely was enough drama to keep me interested the entire time.
    • 2/5
      A maudlin pile of anthropological rubbernecking.
    • 5/5
      an incredible read
    • 5/5
      Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a well-written and well-researched historical novel about the lives of Chinese women in the 1800's. Heart breaking and tragic, the "worthless" daughters endure the horrific physical pain of footbinding, harsh living conditions and unreasonable and superstitious cultural practices. As young girls, Lily and Snow Flower are bound together as "old sames" and pledge lifelong friendship. They communicate through a unique women's writing and spend time together throughout the year during feast days and other celebrations. Through the ups and downs of life, marriage, motherhood and political upheaval they maintain their special relationship until they fall out due to misunderstandings. Lily acts maliciously and has many regrets as she lives out her long life.The author is able to tell her story clearly and plainly and with good characterizations even though the book is fairly short. It makes for easy and engrossing reading. Lots of rich and textured detail into the daily life and upbringing of women and their unvalued place in Chinese society. I'm very thankful not to grow up in that time and place.
    • 4/5
      I liked it better than [book:Memoires of a Geisha], to which the book has been compared. The novel follows the life of Lily who is deemed unique and is given a 'same old' -- almost like a 'bff' except that it was more binding than a marriage. Lily tells her story in old China, with footbinding and marriage rituals and life in the women's rooms, weaving the customs of nu shu throughout.

      It's a simple tale, on the one hand -- nothing really profound, many flat characters, but a good story of a culture and a time so different from my own.
    • 4/5
      Reading this book made me thankful that I was not born a Chinese girl in the mid-1800's, when middle and upper class girls had their feet bound and were openly told they were worthless! This story follows the laotong ("old same") friendship between 2 Chinese women, Lily and Snow Flower, and the nu shu writing they used to communicate. It's hard to believe that for hundreds of years, women in the Hunan province of China used this secret language to communicate -- men didn't even know it existed until the 1960's!
    • 4/5
      I finished this book a week ago and it is still sitting with me, haunting me. I have a love/hate relationship with it at the moment so I will have to review it later.
    • 5/5
      What a fabulous book!
    • 5/5
      This was an exquisitly beautiful story and a joy to read.
    • 3/5
      I'm a little torn about this book. On one hand, I devoured it in two days, so it couldn't have been bad. All in all, I enjoyed it. I wasn't completely happy with the ending, though. I can't quite say why...too predictable, maybe?

      I will say, the beginning in particlar was fascinating. I had NO idea what footbinding entailed.
    • 5/5
      I love reading books about women in historical China- ever since reading Pearl Buck in my younger days (and re-reading The Good Earth later- what a great book).

      I was very drawn into "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" and liked the characters. Many of them (including the protagonist Lily) were a sometimes painful mix of kindness and cruelty (written of gently and not with a jackhammer). I did not think this book was heavy handed. Much of the cruelty sprung from a sense of duty, tradition or despair which sometimes led to misunderstandings. Lily's sworn lifelong companion (her laotong) Snow Flower, had more empathy for others and seemed to see situations more clearly- probably because of her background. This did not make her life easier. I can't see that there were any clear heros or villians among the main characters- just humans struggling to live in a culture where fates were very much cast in stone apart from uprisings and overturning governments.

      This book also goes into a fair amount detail about how footbinding was accomplished- what it was really like to go through it for both the mother and daughter. I have to say it made me really think about how something like that can come from nowhere and suddenly be next must-have fashion. There is certainly some womens' footwear (think stiletto heels with pointy toes) that reminds one not only of footbinding, but that women may be willing to give up functionality for fashion. It's a scary concept.

    • 4/5
      A fascinating look at China in the 19th century that made me heartily glad that I was not born then or there. The descriptions of footbinding are particularly hair raising, but the situation for women in general was circumscribed and often brutal. "When a girl, obey your father; when a wife, obey your husband; when a widow, obey your son." Definitely not a philosophy that sits well these days. I certainly prefer Lily's mother-in-law's response: "Obey, obey, obey, then do what you want." See provides a glimpse of just how strong women had to be to survive in this environment and how the pressures and circumstances often led to tragedy. She also shows how the powerful relationships between women could both strengthen and destroy. Book Club selection for June 2008. Previously read 7/1/07.
    • 4/5
      I devoured this book in one day. The story just flew and that was a big postitive and a small negative for me. It kept me interested and never dwelled on anything too long but, at the same time, I wished Lily would just stop once in awhile. Though I suppose that was the point--Lily (and all similary-situated women) did not stop to dwell too often about the meaning of everything around them. A world where you refer to people as their place in the family and can write about them without ever using their names is just so foreign to me. Perhaps I should start calling Casey elder sister? I'm pretty sure she would slap me. And the concept of mother love? (which reminds me of "Motherlover" from SNL) The day my mom shows me mother love...well, she would never do that.

      So much of this book was beyond depressing. I am happy and grateful to be living now and with my family and friends. Though I did not need a reminder, it was nice to have one. I won't be letting any meaningful relationships fall away anytime soon.

      The writing style was great and I will definitely read more by this author--after all, my book club is obsessed!
    • 5/5
      This book is set in China, during a time when a woman's worth is based solely on the size of her feet, which is determined by footbinding. If she has small feet, she will marry well. If the footbinding goes wrong, or doesn't happen at all, the girl will be subjected to a life of slavery. The process of footbinding was horrific, and I found it very difficult to read about. The story follows two girls- Lily and Snow Flower- who are bound to each other from the age of seven. We see them grow up together, and face all the challenges woman of that time faced. The women in this book had no freedom, and were seen as nothing more than a means of producing sons. At times, I found the culture hard to grasp, and found myself disliking a lot of the characters for the way they acted- but that was just the way it was. Overall, I found the book compelling, and extremely interesting.
    • 1/5
      This was one in a series of misery-upon-misery picks from my two book groups. The writing was cheesy. I felt like the author picked the subject just because it could be sold as a Lifetime movie or be suitable for book groups. Blech!
    • 4/5
      There are several relationships described and followed throughout this story; however, two stand out above the rest. One, being the relationship between two laotongs (same-olds, soul mate friends) and the other between the Chinese female population and the cultural practice of foot binding. In the first, the reader watches as the laotongs' dichotomy of classes switches. It is a simple lesson on how perception as you rise may not change as greatly as the perception when you fall. Knowing your roots and recognizing your roots may be two different things, and this is exactly what puts the laotongs' relationship in peril.The latter relationship, the Chinese cultural practice of foot binding, is a strong, consistent theme from beginning to end. Foot binding is not made to be the center of the story, but more so just a way of life, and yet it is such a tortuous and violent practice that it becomes consuming as a main theme. This practice, along with others found throughout history and spread globally, is difficult to understand from outside the time and place (one wonders if it was understood within time and place).
    • 4/5
      A good book, very interesting at times. I found I was riveted during the first half, especially by the descriptions of foot binding, but had a hard time getting through the last half. Things slowed down, and the language became repetitive.