Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

I read this through the haze of sleep deprivation and baby blues that comes with the first two weeks of being a new mom. As such, I found the book both profoundly moving, and palpably, viscerally almost unbearably sad. See is very evocative – I usually do very poorly with historical fiction, especially set in an era about which I had little a priori knowledge, but I found myself very invested in the characters.

So, I'm going to attempt to give my thoughts on this book, but I honestly am still processing all I read, so I probably won't do it justice...

This book affected me deeply, and I couldn't put it down. There are some books that instantly take you in. Instead of reading and turning pages, you are living with the characters, taking in the world with them, thinking like them, being them. And then that book becomes a part of you, and when you are finished, it remains. This was one of those books for me.

I learned so much about the Chinese culture of this time period from this book, and I found it completely fascinating, even though a lot of it was appalling. Let's just say, I am very grateful I didn't grow up a Chinese women during this time! This has definitely spurred an interest in learning more about the Chinese way of life, thinking, history, culture, etc.

But the picture this book painted of what true friendship is, how different levels of friendship are affected by the different stages of life, and the unique friendships women need to feel complete and fulfilled was probably the thing that stuck with me the most. It gave me much to contemplate in my own life.

And isn't that what the very best stories do?

The writing was beautiful, I loved the setting. The main character was equal parts inspiring and infuriating. Another reminder of the importance of communication with your loved ones. Incidentally, I'm not sure several weeks of devoted care is enough to erase decades of mistreatment and callousness. Even in the end, it felt like everything she did was to make herself feel better, and not to benefit Snow Flower.