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Erika's Reviews > Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
by
by
I had high hopes for this book, but ended up feeling deflated and disappointed. Two aspects of the book were interesting: descriptions of the practice of Chinese footbinding, and an exploration of 'nu shu,' the written language Chinese women developed to communicate exclusively with each other.
Unfortunately, the book also has two major problems: a boring story, and the use of cheap gimmicks instead of complex characterization.
The story deals with two girls who are matched as 'old sames,' sort of a best-girlfriend relationship that is meant to last for life. Unfortunately, the story of their friendship is just not compelling, and I kept feeling like the author missed the opportunity to tell a really interesting story within the context of the world she creates.
Aside from being boring (the worst sin in fiction) I was also disappointed with the way she handled the intimacy of the friendship between the two women, using what I call the 'cheap and easy Hollywood method for showing intimacy.' In other words, she introduces sexual elements to show us just how 'close' these two women really are, rather than really taking us inside the complex world that is the relationship between two best girlfriends. I thought it was a really shallow treatment of a very deep subject. It was hugely disappointing.
I don't recommend it.
Unfortunately, the book also has two major problems: a boring story, and the use of cheap gimmicks instead of complex characterization.
The story deals with two girls who are matched as 'old sames,' sort of a best-girlfriend relationship that is meant to last for life. Unfortunately, the story of their friendship is just not compelling, and I kept feeling like the author missed the opportunity to tell a really interesting story within the context of the world she creates.
Aside from being boring (the worst sin in fiction) I was also disappointed with the way she handled the intimacy of the friendship between the two women, using what I call the 'cheap and easy Hollywood method for showing intimacy.' In other words, she introduces sexual elements to show us just how 'close' these two women really are, rather than really taking us inside the complex world that is the relationship between two best girlfriends. I thought it was a really shallow treatment of a very deep subject. It was hugely disappointing.
I don't recommend it.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
July 1, 2006
–
Finished Reading
June 11, 2008
– Shelved
October 28, 2009
– Shelved as:
fiction
Comments Showing 1-50 of 57 (57 new)
I totally agree, the author had so much to work with but overall the book just fell flat. I had to make myself finish it.
Very good summation of this book. I had to quit because of this.
i agree with your rec. i found their old same relationship shallow. but the cultural aspect of the book was fascinating. although the book wasn't really THAT good, i wouldn't say it was a waste of time.
I agree. I was waiting for a big crescendo, I guess, a peak for the book, which never came. But the language and descriptions, long and flowing, were quite lovely. So I did finish the book. I just felt disappointed when I finished!
This is exactly how I feel about this book. I am still reading it, not sure if I will be able to finish it.
I completely disagree. I hope your harsh review hasn't turned too many people away from a worthy read.
completely agree.. reading it now and having a hard time finishing it!
There wasn't any sex. Weird.
I have to agree with you. Could not get into this book despite my high hopes for it.
I totally agree.
I came to this book rather late. I did not read it but had it read to me. Audio CD courtesy of the public library. Hearing the story in voice and not in my head helped a lot. The reader, I do not remember her name was able to give color to the main characters which made for a compelling story. I enjoyed the historical aspects of the book. Foot binding, women's place in the family, family dynamics, women relationships and political chaos of the time. When reading books from different cultures we have to have open minds and heart. We are being given a chance to learn something that is not normally offered to us. And although it may not be what we want to here from a female voice there is almost always something to be learned.
There were times when I was angry at the stories narrator for her lack of insight into Snow Flowers life. But then I heard her voice. She was naive and young in the beginning and then as she grew older I came to understand how her up bringing had throughly brain washed her. She could only tell her story from her narrow experiences and shallow up bringing.
I enjoyed the story at face value.
totally agree with Stephanie. This was a great and heartfelt audio read..How must it have felt to grow up as a woman, bewing told all your life you are worthless..having such conflicted feelings and squelching down in oneself basic huma wants for love and companionship? Lilly's world view was small. You can see how her need to conform even tainted her understanding of her best friend. Different people react differentlyto the same things. Snow Flower felt more and forgave more despite the awful life circumstances doled out to her. Lilly never really understood that, without Snow Flower, whose Aunt was Madame Wang Lilly never could have risen to the life station she attained. How random her good fortune and Snow Flower's bad fortune. What AWFUL times to live in and how repressive..I was engrossed in this human tale...
I completely agree. I had high hopes for this book, and I feel See could've done much better in telling the story of their friendship. So many times I'd be expecting something intense, and it just... never really was.
I agree with your review. I was disappointed with the "cheap Hollywood" style of writing. It started out good and then as the story started to unravel there seemed to be little thought in continuing what could've been a good story. I felt like See got tired of the story herself and just started adding cheap relationship connections in order to complete a book.
You're spot on. I kept wishing the author had written a nonfiction book - her research was good, but the characters and plot were insubstantial.
I agree, a boring read - tho I rather liked the little lesbian bit...
completely agree! I couldn't get past page 117 before abandoning it.
I agree with your review.
I agree with Erica's review. I listened to the book in Audio and found myself dreaming off on many of the mundain bits that just seemed like filler and fluff. I did stick with it and felt that the ending was extremely anti climatic. I really enjoyed learning the customs and social rules explained in the book, but for me the story fell short of interesting.
Amen...yes and yes
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I disagree. Hope you did not discouraged people from reading this book. 😔
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Mrs. See actually writes about the “erotic” scene on the FAQ section of her website. She expresses that it was not intended to be sexual, but more that the girls could not find solace in anyone but themselves, if I remember correctly. I appreciate your review though! This is my favorite book ever, but it’s good to see other opinions.
Should’ve read your review before selecting this one!!!
I personally thought the friendship between then was really well described, I didn’t think anything sexual was going on or was ever going to happen, it was about friendship and I loved the story.
It's interesting that so many people are focusing on physical intimacy, that was not what their relationship was about at all nor did the book dwell on it. I saw the story more as a glimpse into cultural customs in China at the time and the complicated way women fit into society in an extremely male dominated time. T
I really disagree with this review, this novel was one of the best novels I've read, the author described the characters struggle and the hardships they faced really well, it wasn't boring in any way actually I finished it within hours, yes, I was THAT into it, I really hope this harsh review of yours didn't discourage people from reading the novel, they'd have missed a lot.
I think you were missing the fact that a lot had to be missing and it was our job, as the reader, to create those gaps the same way the main character did, in her mind. She created a reality completely separate from her actual reality. Not to mention she deals with DEEP codependency issues. Her whole society did. If you don’t see complexity in that, you weren’t reading deep enough into sub context.
I loved the story, but yes the relationship could have been more intense and without the sexual elements, but I do not believe that took away from the story that was being told.
I agree Erika, boring is the greatest sin in fiction, and recently I've been drowning in some truly boring books i can feel 😴 the pain and agony.😪
Also, Lily is a really bad friend and super judgemental I hated her
I completely disagree with this review. Many of you on this thread missed the point of this novel. It's a story about the emotional relationship of women in 19th century China-- when life was hard, brutal and often short. I thought the author used beautiful language to convey the time period and the emotions of Lily and Snow Flower. The author dud a great job in her writing to illustrate the implicit nature of Chinese culture, especially when it comes to emotions. I thought the characters are complex and flawed. I really loved this book .
So boring I couldn’t finish it!
This is an old review but I'll share my 2 cents on the sexual relationship. I'm not saying you are wrong, I just experienced it differently.The society that Lily and Snow Flower are in has such strictly defined rules on what emotions are allowed in each type of relationship. Marriages, friendships, and family. Even responses to common issues are basically scripted. Lily and Snow Flower agree to not be so scripted, and it is Lily's divergence from this that ultimately separates them.
How that relates to the sexual elements:
It feels to me as if this culture takes apart the modern relationship to apply the romantic elements to friends and the physical elements to marriage. The sexual scenes are one of if not the only time that both elements come together and the girls truly go outside of what definitions their society has allowed them to live in (otherwise they sometimes push it a bit but their laotong relationship seems to give them some leeway). I think it speaks to the feeling that their relationship was freeing, a solace in the harsh world they experienced where the rules didn't apply.
When reading historic fiction and cultural books you have to put things in perspective of the time and place not from your own modern day viewpoint. Your review almost made me not read the book and I'm so glad I read it. This book is phenomenal and is about so much more. These girls were brought up in a culture that minimizes their worth and kept them physically stunted which limited their world to their own homes. The friendship is a connection at the soul level. I didn't find this book boring at all and find it interesting how many that agree with you admit to skipping parts or not finishing the book. This story has depth.
I disagree with this review. It's a beautiful book.
I agree! Awful book . Lucky I didn’t pay for it .
I found it to be an awesome book
I found myself skipping through quite a bit!