Buh4Bee
07-01-2009, 11:33 AM
I read this book for a book club I belong to. Our group is made up of 40-60 year old professional women (social workers, therapists, and teachers). I am the youngest by ten years. The group embraced the story enthusiastically. I was more reserved, but I thought it was well written and easy to read.
The setting is located in historic China. Life for women is spent in the woman's chamber found in the upper part of the house. During this time, woman's feet are bound and she is forced to live her married life in the shadow of her mother-in-law under the same roof.
The story spans the life of the main character, Lily. She is able to marry out of her lowly class of tenant farmers into a land owning family. This occurs, because of her beautiful three inch long feet and her relationship to her old-same. She has a contracted relationship to another girl for life. These two woman develop a deep friendship and suffer betrayal in their later years.
If one does read this, you will learn about the excruciating process of foot binding and nu-shu, the secret Chinese woman's writing. I was educated about a different culture, but also saw how similar than different a woman's life can be no matter what culture she lives in.
This is a decent summer read. It's not going to challenge you with deep philosophical notions, but the descriptive language can transport to another time. It also makes one think about how complex woman's lives can be and how hard it can make their personal relationships.
The setting is located in historic China. Life for women is spent in the woman's chamber found in the upper part of the house. During this time, woman's feet are bound and she is forced to live her married life in the shadow of her mother-in-law under the same roof.
The story spans the life of the main character, Lily. She is able to marry out of her lowly class of tenant farmers into a land owning family. This occurs, because of her beautiful three inch long feet and her relationship to her old-same. She has a contracted relationship to another girl for life. These two woman develop a deep friendship and suffer betrayal in their later years.
If one does read this, you will learn about the excruciating process of foot binding and nu-shu, the secret Chinese woman's writing. I was educated about a different culture, but also saw how similar than different a woman's life can be no matter what culture she lives in.
This is a decent summer read. It's not going to challenge you with deep philosophical notions, but the descriptive language can transport to another time. It also makes one think about how complex woman's lives can be and how hard it can make their personal relationships.