Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

by Lisa See (Random House 2006 288 pages $16.50 softcover)

Set in rural China in the 1800s, Lisa See's novel brings to life a heartfelt tale of female struggle for recognition and love in a faraway land.

It follows the character Lily through her life, from her days as a young child struggling through her foot binding to an arranged marriage, child rearing and aging.

She passes the days and years with consistent, yet long distance support of her friend Snow Flower, her contracted laotong or old same.

The laotong relationship bends and sways as it struggles with pressures from outside the relationship and from internal confusion.

The story simultaneously plunges you into a world of absolute hierarchies -- governed by strict rules and degrees of suffering.

But with all that is different between Lily's ancient Chinese life and our modern western reality, the universal desires for love and recognition remain strong.

This captivating and emotional story reminds us of how alike we all really are.

A Chinese American writer, Lisa See is also the author of Peony in Love: A Novel (2007) and a series of Red Princess mysteries.

Naomi Scapinello is a Guelph writer.