Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

A Novel

By: Lisa See

Narrated by: Janet Song

Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a brilliantly realistic journey back to an era of Chinese history that is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful. With the period detail and deep resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha, this lyrical and emotionally charged novel delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female friendship.

Lily is haunted by memories of who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she recounts the tale of Snow Flower, and asks the gods for forgiveness.

In 19th-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion, the women in one remote Hunan county developed their own secret code for communication: nu shu ("women's writing"). Some girls were paired with laotongs, "old sames", in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.

With the arrival of a silk fan on which Snow Flower has composed for Lily a poem of introduction in nu shu, their friendship is sealed and they become "old sames" at the tender age of seven. As the years pass, through famine and rebellion, they reflect upon their arranged marriages, loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their lifelong friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.

©2005 Lisa See (P)2005 Books on Tape Inc.

Critic reviews

"Engrossing....Both a suspenseful and poignant story and an absorbing historical chronicle." (Publishers Weekly)

Another great read from Lisa See

I really enjoyed this rich story from far away. The narrator did a great job!

narrator is amazing!

She captures the essence of the story. Just like Memoirs of a Geisha, this shows the reality of women in a different culture and different time.

i could feel this story

the world went away, as soon as Janet Song began. incredibly visual storyteller. thanks for the escape.

Snow flower

I loved this book. I had never heard of this author before and feel very fortunate that I read it. The book exposed a lot of the Chinese traditions. I highly recommend this. The reader was good and very expressive. I will look for more from this author.

Top twenty of all time

How do I review such a beautiful and horrifically painful book? I don’t think I can. All I can say is that this is one of the most amazing books that I have ever read in my life, and I am a bibliophile. Not for the faint of heart. This book will make your heart drop and your face go pale, as well as break your heart. One of the most intense books ever written,in my opinion. Buckle up, this is going to be a bumpy ride.

Brings the past to life

Any additional comments?

It made me wonder how much of this was historical fiction and how much was just pure fiction, but at some level I didn't care. Wonderful characters brought to life by excellent narrator.

A Time in History I Knew So Little About

This was my first Lisa See novel and I love her writing style and voice. The story/book was well researched and I learned things I didn’t know. I will most certainly read other historical fiction by this author.

So great Except…

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women was the first I read by Lisa See, making me an instant fan. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, which I’ve also written about, began to challenge that addiction. Too much like a Lifetime movie….aaaand now, I didn’t even want to finish this one because of one chapter. While no one can dictate what’s right for any given reader, but there are elements in many modern novels which strike me as a cheap cop out—basically, get your reader sexually aroused so they’ll keep coming back. Not my thing nor an ingredient in what goes into a great story, in my opinion. I don’t want that kind of dime-store, paperback pseudo-storytelling smeared in over an otherwise great story.

Lisa See is a highly skilled weaver of immersive, original stories. She has a rare gift with words and insights into life and human nature, a greatness that I generally only find in the works by authors of classics. So, it’s actually confusing to me…how can she write with so much authenticity and unique genius, then periodically lapse into the kind of modern pulp that I despise and avoid? Is she trying to churn out too many novels? Listening to the wrong muses intermittently? What? Why?

I don’t know. I only know that I’m really glad I skipped over the too detailed “girl on girl” chapter and finished the rest of this superb story.

But, in future reading, what can I expect from Lisa See?

More of her real genius, one hopes.

This is a good book (I had to read it for school)

I like how she changed voices when switching from character to character. I didn’t like all the pauses but if you speed it up they aren’t bad.

I really enjoyed this one

This wasn't a great masterpiece but it was an enjoyable story. I found it because I did a search for Women's Historical Fiction. It went into a lot of detail about the circumstances of a woman's life in 19th century China. For instance,I had always heard foot binding was painful and dangerous, but this went into graphic detail so you could empathize a lot more.
I found certain parts of the story underdeveloped. The author could have delved deeper and certain aspects fell flat. But as far as storytelling goes, it was a good story. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this and it was an easy listen if you're multi tasking along with it.
The narrator was decent but very nasally.