“I am still learning about love. I thought I understood it – not just mother love, but the love for one’s parents, for one’s husband, and for one’s laotong. I’ve experienced the other types of love – pity love, respectful love and gratitude love. But looking at our secret fan with its messages written between Snow Flower and me over many years, I see that I didn’t value the most important love – deep-heart love.” (page 5)

This novel was riveting from start to finish. Even the author’s notes and acknowledgements at the end held me spellbound. Each journey into this book captured me completely – it was like entering a different world. I finished it in a matter of days.

The novel tells the story of two women in rural 19th century China, an era when women are considered the property of their husbands, concubines are commen and small girls have their feet bound and broken in order to cultivate the ‘golden lilies’ – tiny feet – required for a good marriage match.

One survival strategy is a thousand-year-old written language called ‘Nu Shu,’ known only amongst women. Lily is the daugher of a farmer, but her Aunt, who has married into the family, knows this secret written code and teaches it to her neice.

It’s this knowledge, along with her perfect ‘golden lilies’ that leads a matchmaker to select Lily as a ‘laotong’ – translated as ‘old same’ – for her neice, a girl from a wealthy family. ‘Old Sames’ are lifelong friends, companions who are committed to one another almost like a marriage. A laotong friendship is a lifelong bond, sustaining women through childhood, marriage, old age and death.

This novel explores the laotong relationship between Lily and her ‘old same,’ Snow Flower. It’s a lovely story with an intricate and fascinating plot. The process of footbinding is carefully and painfully described – I found it both fascinating and horrifying. It intrigued me enough that I searched for more information on the Internet. I’ve become so intrigued by this custom that I’ve borrowed a book about it from the library, to learn more.

The author travelled to China to research ‘nu shu’ and she weaves her knowlege of this tradition into the book seamlessly. As I read the story, I felt like a ‘fly on the wall,’ an anthropologist observing this culture and its traditions through the eyes of the women.

The characters are vibrant and believable. The story held my interest. The main character dropped small hints in every chapter that kept me turning the pages until the last page. The book was interesting, not only for the good writing and great story-telling, but I learned a lot about the lives of Chinese women during that time period. It’s rare that a fictional story inspired me to read non-fiction to learn more – this one did.

Fabulous! I recommend it!