A Great Read...

I just finished reading SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN by Lisa See and WOW, what an amazing book! It seriously was one of those books that you just can't stop reading, even though you should be working on your own books. A fascinating and beautiful story. I'll admit, just looking at the cover the title was a bit odd to me and the fan image didn't draw me in. Had I just walked by it in the story I likely wouldn't have picked the book up. But it's a word-of-mouth type of book and I'm telling you, you've gotta read it. Here's a description from Lisa's Web site:

"A language kept a secret for a thousand years forms the backdrop for an unforgettable novel of two Chinese women whose friendship and love sustains them through their lives.

This absorbing novel – with a storyline unlike anything Lisa See has written before – takes place in 19th century China when girls had their feet bound, then spent the rest of their lives in seclusion with only a single window from which to see. Illiterate and isolated, they were not expected to think, be creative, or have emotions. But in one remote county, women developed their own secret code, nu shu – "women's writing" – the only gender-based written language to have been found in the world. Some girls were paired as "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 windows to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.

An old woman tells of her relationship with her "old-same," their arranged marriages, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood—until a terrible misunderstanding written on their secret fan threatens to tear them apart. With the detail and emotional resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha , Snow Flower and the Secret Fan delves into one of the most mysterious and treasured relationships of all time—female friendship."