An old woman tells of her relationship with her "old-same," their arranged marriages, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood—until a terrible misunderstanding written on their secret fan threatens to tear them apart. ANOTHER MUST READ!!!
This book is so wonderfully written...the story of the deepest possible friendship. I don't typically read the author's notes, but since this story had so much historical information in it, I wanted to keep reading. One of the comments the author made really stuck with me and I wanted to share it with you...
"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a story about friendship and what it means to be a woman. Yes, our lives are completely different from those lived by the nu shu writers, but inside we are the same. We want people to hear our thoughts, appreciate our creativity, and feel empathy for our emotions. As daughters, we have all experienced complicated - and sometimes thorny - relationships with our mothers. As mothers, we have all felt deep terror when one of our children got sick. As women, we have all at one time or another wondered about the true and everlasting mystery of the men in our lives. These are universals, as is the fear women feel during times of political upheaval that occur in what could still be called the outside world of men - whether during the Taiping Rebellion so many years ago or today for women in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Sudan, or even right here in this country in post-9/11 era. On the surface, we as American women are independent, free, and mobile, but at our cores we will long for love, friendship, happiness, tranquility, and to be heard."
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