Yesterday, many friends from school brought me Chinese food for lunch. I’d prepared a centerpiece of baby eucalyptus leaves, supported by river rocks in a crystal vase, hung with about fifteen origami fans I made. Little, miniature fans of many colors and patters. I asked each woman to choose one before she left as a reminder of our time together.
We were meeting as friends, but also for an opportunity to discuss the novel Snow Flower and The Secret Fan. I know what you might be thinking: “She didn’t like Eragon because it was too close to The Lord of the Rings, so she won’t like Snow Flower and The Secret Fan because it’s too close to Memoirs of a Geisha.” Au contraire! I loved this book.
It is the story of two girls growing up in China during the time that foot binding still took place. We learn of their customs, their families, their friendships, and of Snow Flower’s Secret which I’m not going to disclose here. (Email me if you’re dying to know.) What I enjoyed the most is how the author, Lisa See, delved into relationships. She showed us mother/daughter relationships, husband/wife relationships, friendships, and the clash between the rich and the poor. I also loved reading of China, with its food, silks, and landscape. I highly recommend this book.
Although, if you’ve recently had foot surgery, the pages and pages of description about foot binding might make you cringe. Did you know that the smaller a woman’s foot, the more sexually attractive she was to a man? Did you know that the smaller a woman’s foot the better chance she had of making a good marriage? Amazing. I made the comment that many ways women have of making themselves more beautiful involve sacrifice of some kind: elongating one’s neck in Africa, shortening one’s feet in China, slimming oneself in America. Food for thought.
p.s. Thanks to Di, here’s a link to show you what foot binding looks like.
Dolce Bellezza 
When you slim yourself in America to make yourself attractive, you forego all food–even food for thought!:-)
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My poor, larger footed wife…that must be the reason that she was stuck with me! 😉
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You guys are great. California teacher guy, apparently super skinny girls aren't thinking a whole lot about anything else. I can't imagine living in some parts of California where the pressure to be beautiful is only second to being famous. No, I guess they're the same thing in Hollywood.Carl, not stuck with you, lucky she didn't have to "tiptoe" around you on shrunken feet that would benefit no one. If bound feet are called "golden lilies" (which they were, in China) I wonder what our normal feet would be called…
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Great choice! One of my top 13 books of 2006. I'm glad that foot binding has gone the way of chastity belts and those things that Mammy had to tie for Scarlett. I guess boob jobs are the new foot binding?
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Great comparison, di, boob jobs and foot bindings. Although I've experienced neither, which is something to be thankful for. However, I may pick up a corset after a month of sitting around surrounded by Christmas treats.
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I just stumbled across your blog and I'm now interested to read this book. I am a women's studies major and I read a book dealing with footbinding years ago. It's unbelievable how they contorted and mutilated the feet… and how sexy women's lack of mobility is in numerous cultures including our own.
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buttercup, you summarized the footbinding so well with your last statement: "how sexy women's lack of mobility is in numerous cultures including our own." I never thought if that way, and now I'll share that idea with my women friends who came over yesterday. Thanks for visiting and leaving insightful coomments! "Stumble by" again, please. 🙂
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I read SNOWFLOWER this past June and really liked it. However, I did compare it to MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, so I rated it lower (4/5). I really enjoyed it, but it didn't hit me like the other. Sometimes that happens.
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I totally cringed when I read the footbinding chapter too. Yikes! Just like Di said though is cosmetic surgery really that different?
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I guess I'm going to have the worst marraige ever then.. I wear size 11 shoes. LOL
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joy, it's very hard for me to escape making comparisons when I read books which are similar to one another. I would have to say I preferred Memoirs of a Geisha, too, even though I liked Snow Flower very much.tanabata, I think they're both a form of disfigurement essentially. Cutting, and changing oneself for the sake of "beauty."Angela, all the beautiful models are at least a size 11!
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I'm so looking forward to reading this book! I have a copy on my nightstand and might read it between chunksters. I don't know about the rest of you, but it seems like my feet have grown half a size in the past few years (went from 7 1/2 to 8!)
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les, my feet are an 8 now as well. In college, I was 6 and 1/2. In my thirties, 7, and now 8. I'm wondering what size I'll be when my feet are not swollen; I'm afraid to look at sizes other than my shoes from this sitting!I think you'll like this book. I can't wait to hear your perceptions.
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Oh, Bellezza, I cannot even imagine reading this book so soon after foot surgery! Wince, wince. I nearly cried when I was reading about the sister who died because of the infection. And walking back and forth to help break the bones. Those poor mothers who had to do this to their daughters to make them beautiful for marriage. After I read Snow Flower I read an article on the internet telling about women having their little toes surgically removed so they could fit into these really pointy shoes that were so fashionable.I loved this book, too. What a fun setting you provided for the book discussion. Wish I could have been there. You didn't happen to take pictures of your centerpiece, did you?
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Great review – I hop; to get to this one soon! Yikes – I can't imagine reading it right after foot surgery!
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You don't have to have had foot surgery to cringe through those footbinding descriptions! I was horrified. But, I can imagine you empathized in a serious way. Lovely review, Bellezza. 🙂
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booklogged, you comment on the most piercing parts of the book to me as well. I can't imagine binding my daughter's feet, if I had one. But, I could relate to the concept of "mother love" in terms of one's mother doing something hard but for your own good. Although, I had nothing as hard as feet binding. When you brought up the little toe removal for the sake of wearing pointy shoes, it reminded me that some of my friends said how today's stilletto heels are not much different from the shape of a bound foot. One needs to balance on one's toes.Suziqoregon, I hope you enjoy this book as I did; it has much more to offer than just sore feet. I was fascinated by the look at relationships the author focused on.Bookfool, thanks for reading the review; I'm glad you liked it.
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Great review. I loved this book, too. I rated it a 5/5. You're right about how See wrote about their relationships. What an amazing book.
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