Snow Flower and the Secret Fan：A Novel

Innineteenth-centuryChina,inaremoteHunancounty,agirlnamedLily,atthetenderageofseven,ispairedwithalaotong,“oldsame,”inanemotionalmatchthatwilllastalifetime.Thelaotong,SnowFlower,introducesherselfbysendingLilyasilkfanonwhichshe’spaintedapoeminnushu,auniquelanguagethatChinesewomencreatedinordertocommunicateinsecret,awayfromtheinfluenceofmen.Astheyearspass,LilyandSnowFlowersendmessagesonfans,composestoriesonhandkerchiefs,reachingoutofisolationtosharetheirhopes,dreams,andaccomplishments.Together,theyenduretheagonyoffoot-binding,andreflectupontheirarrangedmarriages,sharedloneliness,andthejoysandtragediesofmotherhood.Thetwofindsolace,developingabondthatkeepstheirspiritsalive.Butwhenamisunderstandingarises,theirdeepfriendshipsuddenlythreatenstotearapart.