The Elegant Variation: GUEST REVEW: SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN

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September 20, 2005

GUEST REVEW: SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
By Lisa See
Random House
258 pp.

REVIEWED BY DANIEL A. OLIVAS

If there is one truth that can be gathered from Lisa See’s beautiful and, at times, disturbing novel, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, it is that no matter how oppressive a society may be toward a portion of its population (in this case, Chinese girls and women of the early 1800s), the victims of such oppression will find a way to humanize their existence by searching for love and even creating art. The other truth one can gather is that it takes a talented and discerning writer such as See to shape extensive historical research into characters and narrative that ring true.

The novel is told in the voice of eighty-year-old Lily, a woman born in 1823 in a remote Hunan county. A person of such advanced years is known as “one who has not yet died” and is now in the “sitting quietly” stage of life. Lily writes her life story not for the public or even her family. Rather, Lily’s words will be burned at her death “for those who reside in the afterworld” before she greets them again. In this way, her ancestors and late friends will understand who she is by the life she has led. In other words, this is Lily’s apologia. She begs those who reside in the afterworld: “Please hear my words. Please forgive me.”

Born to a modest farming family, Lily’s worth was diminished the moment she came into this world because she was not male. But if a good match could be made to a boy from a wealthy family and a respectable village, Lily could greatly improve her family’s lot. Before such a match could be made, Lily must have her feet bound so as to shape them into thin, delicate and erotic appendages. Lily’s binding starts when she is seven. One winces with See’s powerful and detailed description of the process:

One day, as I made one of my trips across the room, I heard something crack. One of my toes had broken. I thought the sound was something internal to my own body, but it was so sharp that everyone in the women's chamber heard it. My mother's eyes zeroed in on me. ‘Move! Progress is finally being made!’ Walking, my whole body trembled. By nightfall the eight toes that needed to break had broken, but I was still made to walk. I felt my broken toes under the weight of every step I took, for they were loose in my shoes. The freshly created space where once there had been a joint was now a gelatinous infinity of torture. The freezing weather did not begin to numb the excruciating sensations that raged through my entire body. Still, Mama was not happy with my compliance. That night she told Elder Brother to bring back a reed cut from the riverbank. Over the next two days, she used this on the backs of my legs to keep me moving. On the day that my bindings were rewrapped, I soaked my feet as usual, but this time the massage to reshape the bones was beyond anything I had experienced so far. With her fingers Mama pulled my loose bones back and up against the soles of my feet. At no other time did I see Mama’s mother love so clearly.

Because the rules of arranged marriages did not allow girls to meet their future husbands until their wedding day, the emotional void was filled with special friendships with other females. Some girls were paired with laotongs or “old sames.” Though such pairings had the trappings of arranged marriages, the girls were allowed to build friendships that could last a lifetime. Not surprisingly, when the girls eventually married, they often enjoyed a stronger bond with their laotongs than they ever could with their husbands.

The realm of women also led to the development of a secret written language called nu shu which literally means “women’s writing.” Using nu shu, laotongs could express their feelings for each other as well as share poetry, fables and family lore by painting their words on fans or embroidering on fabric. And this is how Lily is introduced to the matchmaker’s choice of laotong. A fan is delivered to Lily’s home with nu shu that states: “I understand there is a girl of good character and women’s learning in your home. You and I are the same year and the same day. Could we not be sames together?” The beautiful writing enchants Lilly. The author is a young girl named Snow Flower. The match is quickly formalized and Lily learns that Snow Flower is as delicate and enchanting as her writing.

Lily traces her life with Snow Flower with the wisdom of age as she recounts Snow Flower’s secrets as well as her own failures as a true laotong. The arc of their relationship at times resembles lovers who continually fall short and who often wish to erase their transgressions and start anew. See is particularly adept at conveying all the wonder and pain of loving another.

Indeed, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is really a love story told against the backdrop of China’s political upheaval and the impending intrusion—for better and worse—of the outside world. See doesn’t spare us from the harsh realities that Lily and Snow Flower must accept to survive within the confines of their cultural obligations. Nor does she make the unnecessary condemnation of what Chinese women were forced to endure. Rather, See has created a convincing and compelling depiction of one woman’s efforts to maintain her humanity in the face of a social structure designed to benefit men and their economic standing. Simply put, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is an exquisite, heartbreaking novel.

Daniel Olivas is the author of four books. He is currently editing an anthology of Los Angeles fiction by Latino/a writers. Visit him online at www.danielolivas.com.

Posted at 12:01 AM in Reviews | Permalink

Comments

What a cheap and predictable post from a liberal litblogger. No book review of course from the litblogger in question, just farming out his content to one of his loyal liberal minions. One named after an olive, no less.

Like many liberals, Mark Sarvas no doubt denied his independent contractor that pivotal pimento. Olive Man pleaded and pleaded at Sarvas' feet for the pimento-based olive. But did Sarvas give it to him? No.

The liberals speak of books, compassion and the humanities. But if they are cruel enough to deny a regular contributor a pimento, then so much for their common welfare for all, eh?

Posted by: Willie Stark | September 21, 2005 at 05:22 PM

Hello!
I'm almost done reading this book and I can't put it down. It's got to be one of my favorites for this year:)

Posted by: Heather | March 16, 2006 at 04:55 PM

Willie: What a sad position you have in life. I would rather suffer the life of Snow Flower with a postive outlook than be in your world.

I think the book was amazing and feel enriched just by reading it.

Posted by: Pam | October 26, 2006 at 02:02 PM

Snowflower is a beautiful book and will remain with me forever

Posted by: jeff gidlow | January 02, 2007 at 06:31 PM

One of the worst books I have ever read. It was an assignment of a book club I am joining or I would never have finished it. The one interesting aspect that is evoked is the clear message that men were not the oppressors at all, as stated repeatedly, all evil did spring from the women themselves. There is no feminine compassion or real love for their husbands, children or each other. Further, they could have stopped the cruelty at any time and chose, the operative word, to continue to inflict horrors upon themselves and their daughters.

Posted by: Sandra Rieser | February 28, 2007 at 11:39 AM

What an amazing book. It will remain in my collection for the rest of my life.

Posted by: Monika | May 09, 2007 at 08:02 AM

I loved this book, it thought me about the chinese culture in t 19th centuary and the way the book was told is very beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: HOMMEY | June 24, 2007 at 08:16 AM

i love this book

Posted by: ava | November 02, 2007 at 09:10 PM

I too read this book only b/c of the book club I recently joined. The most interesting part of it was learning about 19th century Chinese customs, and I do respect teh author's research into the culture; but I did not find the language particulary beautiful; the characters were poorly drawn - there is surface information there only - and the storyline was weak. I feel that the writing was meant to yank on the heartstrings, but found the book not engaging at all.

Posted by: Isabel Gladwin | May 24, 2012 at 12:01 PM

who the antagonist of the book

Posted by: Bob Henry | April 13, 2013 at 06:46 PM

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The Elegant Variation

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September 20, 2005

GUEST REVEW: SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN

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MY NOVEL

WORTHY READINGS

TEV DEFINED

RECOMMENDED

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SECOND LOOK

Categories

The Elegant Variation

A Literary Weblog. A Guardian Top 10 Literary Blog * A Forbes "Best of the Web" Pick * A Los Angeles Magazine Top Los Angeles Blog "Really brave ... or really stupid" - NPR

September 20, 2005

GUEST REVEW: SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN

Comments

MY NOVEL

WORTHY READINGS

TEV DEFINED

RECOMMENDED

THIS GUN FOR HIRE: Reviews & Criticism

SECOND LOOK

Categories

A Literary Weblog.
A Guardian Top 10 Literary Blog * A Forbes "Best of the Web" Pick * A Los Angeles Magazine Top Los Angeles Blog
"Really brave ... or really stupid" - NPR

THIS GUN FOR HIRE:
Reviews & Criticism