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What Members Thought

I thought most of this book was really beautiful. It chronicles the life of a Chinese woman who rises from her social rank as the child of a poor farmer to the wealthy wife of a merchant, meanwhile fostering a special friendship with a girl of the same age named Snow Flower. The ending was a little abrupt, but I was continually impressed by how fully Lisa See stayed true to the voice of her character, even when explaining cultural customs like foot binding, in which a woman of that time and the
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The story of two young girls in 19th-century China who become lifelong friends. Worth reading just for the descriptions of the practice of footbinding. I had a completely wrong idea of what footbinding actually was, so I found it fascinating in a very disturbing way to learn about. This book details the extremely difficult lives that women lived in China at this time and also depicts the ways that they found love and companionship from the other women around them.

I know this is hailed as a fantastic book, but I struggled with it. However, I will say much of what I struggled with was the restrictive culture and customs of 19th Century China, specifically in regard to women, and the fact that this was so well represented likely means the book was very well written. With all that in mind, I didn't look forward to this book, I didn't particularly like many of the character and I had great difficulty putting myself in their places. I probably wouldn't have la
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I really enjoyed this book - I was touched by the concept of the "old same" and also the "sworn sisters".
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I loved this book! I loved the little girls, the secret writing, the information about foot-binding (but not its cruelty). I love the whole concept of "old same" and wish I had one myself. Read this book.
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Jul 10, 2007
Tina
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Jan 05, 2008
Nicole
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Jan 18, 2008
Jill
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Apr 11, 2008
Katie
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Sep 29, 2009
Clayton
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Oct 27, 2011
Jessica (BlogEared Books)
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Jan 02, 2012
Judith
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