Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

I first read this book in 2007, and since it was chosen for our October 2009 Book Club selection, I re-read it in just over 24 hours, and enjoyed it no less the second time. The first time I read it, I was most intrigued by the description of footbinding, but this time it was the "nu shu" writing, a secret script invented by women and used by mothers and "sworn sisters" as a secret messaging system in Hunan province in Southern China. The novel is set in the 19th century.

Snow Flower and Lilly, the narrator, are "sames": chosen by a matchmaker because they share certain attributes that ensure a lifelong friendship. Secret Flower and Lilly, when they are not together, communicate by the means of a secret fan, on which they send messages written in "nu shu". Their friendship spans most of their lives, even though they marry and raise children, and endures through beatings, loss of children, war, and betrayal.

This is a richly detailed book, with vivid descriptions of Chinese life, traditions, and rituals. The foot-binding description made me wince often, and it was surprising to learn that the shape of the bound foot, with the toes turned in to the heel, is considered erotic by men because the deformed foot is basically the same shape as the penis ! Girl children, as we know and as they learn right from birth, are considered worthless, but there are definite patterns which they must follow, and their lives, which are often filled with grief, neglect, physical and emotional abuse, and often starvation, are dignified by the value they place on these friendships with other women.

The author is part-Chinese, and has spent many years researching for this book. It was extremely easy to read, but was also very informative, and nowhere did I sense the author was manipulating her readers, or her characters. I also have the next book by See, entitled "Peony In Love" and she released a third one this year, entitled "Shanghai Girls", which I will also read.