Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Published in 2005. 258 pages.


I've had Snow Flower and the Secret Fan on my to-read list for a long time, so I was happy that my sister picked it for our book club back in May.

Lisa See's website has reviews of the book, links to information about foot binding and the secret women's language Nu Shu, and book group discussion questions.

Here are a few of my favorite passages from the book:

For my entire life I longed for love. I knew it was not right for me - as a girl and later as a woman - to want or expect it, but I did, and this unjustified desire has been at the root of every problem I have experienced in my life.

But this is the nature of fate. You make choices that are good and sound, but the gods have other plans for you.

If a man does not value his wife upon marriage, why would he treasure her after? If he sees his wife as no better than a chicken who can provide an endless supply of eggs or a water buffalo who can bear an endless amount of weight upon its shoulders, why would he value her any more than those animals? He might appreciate her even less, since she is not as brave, strong, tolerant, or able to scavenge on her own.

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