Book Review : Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

This captivating novel - with its plot different then any other I have ever read- occurs in 19th century China; when girls had their feet bound, and their lives were expended in isolation with only a solitary window from which to look out on the world.  These unfortunate women were illiterate, isolated, and lonely and they were not expected to think, or be creative, or even have emotions. But in one far-off county, women created their own secret code, nu shu - "women's writing" - the only gender-based written language to have ever been found in the world.  A handful of girls were paired as "old-sames" in poignant matches that lasted throughout their entire lives.  They communicated by painting letters on fans, embroidering messages on handkerchiefs, and composing stories; thus attaining their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments through sharing.

One elderly woman conveys her relationship with her "old-same," their arranged marriage, the pleasures and heartbreaks of motherhood-until a dreadful misunderstanding written on their secret fan threatens to tear them apart. With the aspects of emotional resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha , Snow Flower and the Secret Fan probes into one of the most strange and unexplained yet treasured relationships of all time-female friendship.