Reviews - Lady Tan's Circle of Women

6.3k reviews for:

Lady Tan's Circle of Women

Lisa See

4.26 AVERAGE

irenic's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book was such a lovely read and had me in tears at some points when reflecting on how life is for us humans. I loved getting to read through Lady Tan’s life and seeing how everything she learned early in life carried with her in the environment she had to endure as a woman. She was dignified and wise in how she progressed through the adversity she faced as a female doctor and dealing with the woes of wife-life in ancient China.

Content Warnings

gret_ham's review against another edition

3.75

emotional hopeful informative tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

jeanymoreau's review against another edition

4.0

normalde tarihi kurgu pek okumam ama kitap hakkinda hicbir sey bilmememe ragmen ilgimi cekti. okumasi akiciydi ve genel kitabi da baya sevdim meilingle mutlu mesut yasadiklarini hayal edicem <3

_jenniferreads_'s review against another edition

5.0

“Lady Tan’s Circle of Women” is based on the real life Tan Yunxian, a female physician in 15th century China during the Ming Dynasty. She was born into an elite family and raised by her grandmother, one of a few female doctors, who imparted her knowledge to her granddaughter alongside a young midwife, Meiling, who become fast friends. This story tells the story of her life.

At its heart, this is a great story of Tan and her life entering into an arranged marriage, her friendships within her husband’s home and her fight to break free from tradition and treat women and their health issues. But this was also so much more. This was a fascinating look at the life of women in 15th century China including Chinese medicine, concubines, that historical time period, and foot binding. All things that were new to me in my reading life and completely engaging. My healthcare mind was so intrigued with the descriptions of how healthcare was delivered and the beliefs about healthcare. It was amazing to see how those beliefs are translated into eastern and western medicine now. This is a great read for historical fiction and anyone who has interest in the history of medicine.