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"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See (Random House, ISBN 0812968069,
$13.95)

In a language where "shoe" and "child" sound nearly the same, Lisa See's novel,
"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan," does a remarkable job showing how both play
pivotal roles in the lives of 19th-century Chinese women. It is a novel which
delves into the "inner realm" of women-—specifically, into the realm of a
middle-class girl who, through the beauty of her "lotus flowers" (bound feet),
becomes the most respected lady of her village.

Lily conveys her tale after many hard years; at the time of her writing, she's
eighty and a widow. She has survived famine, foot binding, typhoid fever, a
rebel army attack, and the deaths of nearly all those dear to her, and she
writes down her story as a way of asking forgiveness from her laotong (her "old
same" friend) who has died so many years ago. Now that she is a widow, Lily has
no one left to offend; she can not lose face, and so she recounts the story of
her life—-hers and her laotong's—-as closely and candidly as she can remember.

In her childhood, although Lily's family is merely middle class, a diviner from
the village marks Lily as a special child. This is quite remarkable considering
that Lily is a young girl and girls carry little worth in 19th-century China.
Her special quality? Her small feet and high arches; the diviner and matchmaker
develop a plan to use Lily's remarkably bound feet (made seven centimeters in
length through binding) to raise her family's status and change her own fate
forever. Lily's fate, however, is also inextricably "bound" to her laotong match
Snow Flower, a girl who matches Lily almost perfectly. As the two age, and as
their lives change (Lily's for the better, Snow Flower's for the worse), it is
their interactions that keep their lives intact. Despite the distance between
the two, they share their triumphs and tragedies through letters and their
secret fan, using nu shu, a written language developed by women of China.

See's detailed descriptions of hope and loss, of the beautiful yet harsh Chinese
countryside, and of the tales ingrained in Lily's mind are memorable, reminiscent of Jane Austen or the Bronte sisters. I was captivated from the first paragraphs, and as Lily's story unfolded, I was drawn more and more. I was held by the culture she describes, something so drastically different from what I know. But it also made me think about the culture, stories, and female relationships I've had in my life. And it made me thankful. For just as Lily realizes how much everything she's been through—-her foot binding, the birth of her sons, and the loss of her laotong—-has shaped the woman she's become and the legacy she'll leave; so also does she realize the inter-connectedness between her world and the world around her.

For a mesmerizing book that meticulously describes Chinese culture and a woman's place in it, as well as the enduring power of female relationships, "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" is a great choice.

Review by Shelly Walston, May 14, 2007

 

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