Author: Lisa See
ISBN: 9780747583004
I have to admit that I listened to this book on audio... and loved it. I walked day after day while listening to this; I cooked to my hearts content because I couldn't help but listen a little more. I am pleased I got this on audio because listening to the voice and the story made it come alive. It was narrated in first person and the reader couldn't have given a better presentation. I felt like it was Lily telling her story.
This story is one that needs to be told more. There are so many stories out there of other cultures but I haven't come across many, until recently, from this culture. They have a story to tell, especially the women. Lily and Snow Flower were so gracious. They followed tradition to the end of time. They had their feet bound and mothers that thought they were doing the right thing for their families. As I listened I could feel for the girls, and the mothers. I could see the tradition, hardship, love, and beyond the traditions. I saw two beautiful girls who grow to be women based on the past. They made many of the same mistakes of their mothers. Yet, all they all wanted was a better future. Did they get it... I don't know that they did. Maybe. Maybe not.
Misunderstanding became a curtain that divided the girls, to a degree anyway. Love and tradition changed some of this. Even as I finish the book I am still left with Lily and Snow Flower deeply embedded in my heart.
I would like to say read this but I think I would would rather recommend you listen to this one. Hear it from the voice of the narrator is if it was the voice of Lily.
Description:
In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, “old same,” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’s painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men.
As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.
This was available from: Book depository, Amazon and Fishpond
Happy reading
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