Ahhh - summer at last

Hello. Well it's finally summer, so I guess I've officially started my summer reading. This week I read Snow Flower and the secret fan by Lisa See. All I can say is wow! Set in 19th century China, it's the story of two girls, Snow Flower and Lily, as told through the eyes of Lily. At age 7 they enter into an arranged friendship, or laotong, that is meant to last them a lifetime. We follow them through the years as they grow up, marry and have children. Together they survive person tragedies, a typhoid outbreak and war, but when Lily feels betrayed, it may be the end of their friendship. Lily sums it up saying "Not only had she not been a faithful laotong, she had not even been a very good friend". Can their friendship survive? It has great descriptions of life in China at that time. Personally I found the description of having their feet found, a little hard to read - "Only through pain will you have beauty. Only through suffering will you have peace". If you haven't read this book, you are in for a treat.