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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
the best part was the cover (gorgeous) and the historical atmosphere. other than that, its just anger inducing misogyny and painful tragedy after painful tragedy. no satisfaction at anything that happened and a lackluster ending. there was really only one good female friendship in this book and i was pretty disappointed. also the author is only 1/8 chinese???? what authority does she have to write a book like this?
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I always love Lisa’s books and this one was no different. She has such a way of letting you experience and learn about a time and a culture without judging it. This is a story about women enduring a very harsh patriarchy, but while they endure they also find ways to make their lives richer through their friendships. The scenes about wrapping their feet have you just gobsmacked, but it’s presented in a way to just show how it was, not to pass judgement. It was just a crazy time!! I really connected with all of the characters. Beautiful.
I've heard a lot about this author and knew this book in particular was getting a lot of attention. I was craving a historical fiction novel, so I picked this one up. I ended up really enjoying it, but I'll admit that it isn't at all what one would expect from the premise. It concentrates on the title--the circle of women in Lady Tan's life--instead of focusing on her career as a doctor. There are definitely moments of her performing her duties, and there's a lot of talk about medicine in general, but that's not the point of the story. The point is following Lady Tan through her life and showing how the various women surrounding her influenced her, for good or for bad.
My main complaint about this book is the show-don't-tell violations and the narrative skimming over some details that would have been interesting. Lady Tan tells us that she doesn't get to see her husband much and they aren't connecting, but we hardly get to see him in the novel to tell what his character is like. Lady Tan tells us that her sisters-in-law are harsh to her, but we don't get any scenes of them together. There are other instances like that where the reader is told something but we aren't shown it. In a lot of ways, the book is Lady Tan's life on fast-forward, especially near the end. Either make the book longer or focus on a single part of her life. Trying to tell the story of an entire life in under 400 pages was a very strange choice.
One thing I personally appreciated about this book was all the support the women showed each other. There was hardly any moment in the book where there was women hating on women. Even the mother-in-law was shown with enough complexity that her harsh treatment of Lady Tan made sense. The women were shown as looking out for each other in the best way they could. It might not always be the best way, and it might have hurt Lady Tan, but they were coming from a place of love or duty and always believed they were doing what was best. The women were not depicted as being horrible for no reason, which was very refreshing.
Another thing I liked was that Lady Tan was pretty deeply flawed. She made mistakes and questioned herself a lot. She was also very blind due to her privilege, and her friend Meiling constantly called her out on it. I liked that this book read like a feminist story in a way that made sense to the era. The women sought power in the best way they could while still being under the expectations of society. Again, it's so refreshing to have a historical fiction feminist story that doesn't insert twenty-first century attitudes into the characters. There are many ways to be a girlboss, and it was nice seeing that in the way these women worked within their socioeconomic boundaries.
The "plot" of this book is going to be divisive for people. It is very much a slice-of-life story, focusing on different times in Lady Tan's life. There are moments where she learns to be a doctor, and one could argue the "climax" of the story should have been when she was treating an outbreak of smallpox. But it really does read like a fictionalized autobiography, and if that's not what you were hoping for in this book, you'll be disappointed. I was personally captivated and always wanted to see what would happen next. The final bit was the only part that really disappointed me. It felt like it was rushing through the final stage of Lady Tan's life. I would've loved seeing her bring up the next generation, teaching them, and seeing how her influence helped shape the women in her community. It was a decent enough ending, but I would've loved more to really celebrate this woman's life and close her story in a way that honored her and the women in her life.
I may look into more of See's books. This was really nice to read and I'm glad I picked it up.
My main complaint about this book is the show-don't-tell violations and the narrative skimming over some details that would have been interesting. Lady Tan tells us that she doesn't get to see her husband much and they aren't connecting, but we hardly get to see him in the novel to tell what his character is like. Lady Tan tells us that her sisters-in-law are harsh to her, but we don't get any scenes of them together. There are other instances like that where the reader is told something but we aren't shown it. In a lot of ways, the book is Lady Tan's life on fast-forward, especially near the end. Either make the book longer or focus on a single part of her life. Trying to tell the story of an entire life in under 400 pages was a very strange choice.
One thing I personally appreciated about this book was all the support the women showed each other. There was hardly any moment in the book where there was women hating on women. Even the mother-in-law was shown with enough complexity that her harsh treatment of Lady Tan made sense. The women were shown as looking out for each other in the best way they could. It might not always be the best way, and it might have hurt Lady Tan, but they were coming from a place of love or duty and always believed they were doing what was best. The women were not depicted as being horrible for no reason, which was very refreshing.
Another thing I liked was that Lady Tan was pretty deeply flawed. She made mistakes and questioned herself a lot. She was also very blind due to her privilege, and her friend Meiling constantly called her out on it. I liked that this book read like a feminist story in a way that made sense to the era. The women sought power in the best way they could while still being under the expectations of society. Again, it's so refreshing to have a historical fiction feminist story that doesn't insert twenty-first century attitudes into the characters. There are many ways to be a girlboss, and it was nice seeing that in the way these women worked within their socioeconomic boundaries.
The "plot" of this book is going to be divisive for people. It is very much a slice-of-life story, focusing on different times in Lady Tan's life. There are moments where she learns to be a doctor, and one could argue the "climax" of the story should have been when she was treating an outbreak of smallpox. But it really does read like a fictionalized autobiography, and if that's not what you were hoping for in this book, you'll be disappointed. I was personally captivated and always wanted to see what would happen next. The final bit was the only part that really disappointed me. It felt like it was rushing through the final stage of Lady Tan's life. I would've loved seeing her bring up the next generation, teaching them, and seeing how her influence helped shape the women in her community. It was a decent enough ending, but I would've loved more to really celebrate this woman's life and close her story in a way that honored her and the women in her life.
I may look into more of See's books. This was really nice to read and I'm glad I picked it up.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved learning about the Chinese culture during the 15th century. This was a fantastic entrance into the world of many different classes of Chinese women and what was expected of them. The narrator was fantastic and helped make the characters come alive.
I could not put this book down. I am a fan of Lisa See’s writing and she has done it again with this treasure of a novel. This book is a delicate balance of Chinese culture, politics, and history. I felt empathy and yet was equally as encouraged by the strong female protagonists. This book is both a celebration of female bonding and upholding familial traditions, both which allow the characters to prosper while also breaking boundaries.
The history of Chinese medicine is fascinating to me where it seems like they were just guessing at random ingredients without scientific background, the remedy was so bizarre. I love the story of Lady Tan but there were times this book felt a bit sloggish to me, dragging over trivial details but overall it was well done. I’d give it a solid 3.5 stars.