I'm back, this time with my A-z Challenge post. (If you've got a second, scroll on down and check out this week's Foodie Friday post. Bang Bang Chicken... yummy!)
We are currently up to the letter L in the A-z Challenge, and I have to say I have really been enjoying finding new blogs, and meeting new authors. Even though I have struggled on occasion to come up with posts that meet my self-imposed criteria, posting about my favourite fictional characters, I'm still having a lot of fun. I have spent a lot of time combing through my bookshelves and searching the internet for books that I have loved but long forgotten. There are so many books that I want to go back and reread now.
Today I want to tell you about a young Chinese girl named Lily from the book Snow Flower & the Secret Fan by Lisa See. Set in 19th century rural China, her story begins when she is seven years old and is approaching the age at which her feet would be bound.
I love books that teach me things about history, about cultures, all while telling me a good story. In this story, Lily and her laotong Snow Flower are matched to be united in a relationship closer than sisters, closer than husband and wife. They are girls who are matched to be lifelong, even eternal, companions, beginning with when they would bind their feet in preparation for marraige.
Their story isn't a happy one, for the most part, but through all the pain... from successful and failed marraiges to the loss of children, from the rise and fall of their families to the trek through the mountains to flee the Taiping Rebellion... these two girls/women are joined by love, by hate, and ultimately by friendship.
Lily isn't an admirable character through most of the story. She's actually a bit of a biotch. She is damaged. But she is redeemable.
Do you like historical fiction or are you more of a present day kind of person? Or do you prefer stories set in the future?
Just one other thing I wanted to note today... big news in the world of books! I'm sure most of you have heard, but J. K. Rowling's first adult novel, The Casual Vacancy, is set to be released on September 27th!! I'm super excited!
I love historical fiction. Or pieces of literature based on history. Contemporary literature excites me too. I am not so much in love with stories set in the future.
ReplyDeleteI am not a Rowling fan - probably the only such person around here, so the new book isn't shaking me with excitement at all.
Super excited for the new book!!!!! :) I am not much of a fan of historical fiction... it's like "reality fiction" LOL. I like my fiction straight. :)
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