Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Over my vacation, I read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.  It was not an overly long book so I was able to finish it in a few sittings on the beach.  The book tells the story of Lily and her friendship with Snow Flower over 19th century China.  During this time, foot binding was a common practice and a woman's worth was how she can serve her husband by bearing him sons.  I was always fascinated by the foot binding practice and this book really opened the gates on the reasoning behind it and how it is done.  I still cringe when I think back on it.

Despite not being the targeted audience for this book, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was a great read and I could not put it down.  It also introduced me to several customs of China that I was not aware of, such as the practice of laotong and nu shu writing.  The story also kept me reading and as I finished the book, I noticed that I had tears running down my cheeks.  I will chalk that up to the fact that it was very windy that day and it blew sand in my eyes.

The movie on the other hand was actually a great disappointment.  Directed by Wayne Wang, who also directed The Joy Luck Club, I was expecting great things.  Instead, they decided to tell the story through the descendant of Snow Flower and how her life experience mirrored Snow Flower's.  Many parts of the book was glossed over quickly or omitted altogether.  Had I not read the book first, I am sure I would not be able to actually follow the plot of the movie.  A straight adaptation of the book would have made a great movie in my opinion.