goldmana 's review for:

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

5.0

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Among her other works, Lisa See wrote the libretto for an opera. She brings that same skill to this novel, providing the emotional and visual richness that we expect from the operatic genre. The book centers on a lifelong relationship between two women that is delicate, passionate, uplifting, and tragic. See does not gloss over or romanticize the travails of Chinese womanhood in the 19th century -- foot binding, servitude, revolution. Amidst it all, the women do what they can to survive. The primary themes of friendship and class raise interesting questions. I was intrigued and absorbed from start to finish.