“Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” by Lisa See

“Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” by Lisa See
2006 Random House
ISBN: 0-8129-6806-9

“Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” by Lisa See opened my eyes to the world of women in China of the nineteenth century. I almost didn’t make it past the second chapter which had to do with footbinding, but I’m glad I did. The rest of the book is a wonder of the love, friendship and eventual betrayal and reconciliation between two women that goes from the time they are little girls, to when they marry and begin having children, to moving through war and for one of them prosperity and the other privation.

Snow Flower and Lily became bound at an early age as laotong, lifelong friends of the heart. They had their feet bound the same day, as young girls, living in misery for the two years it took for the bones to break and form again into feet only 3 inches long. Footbinding has long been outlawed in China, but there are women still alive with these tiny feet.

This is a story of how women lived in those times. Lived and tried against terrible odds to prosper and flourish. Against disease and war, against horrible cultural prejudices, against daily violence and grinding poverty these women emerge with stories to sing of and to write of in the secret woman’s language of nu shu. I am amazed that this language could be used in such a repressive society, but it did. If you want to read a sample chapter, Lisa See has made it available at her website.

This is one of those books I just could not put down. If you read it I’m betting you will enjoy it too.

“High Five” by Janet Evanovich

“High Five” by Janet Evanovich
1999 St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 0-312-97134-6

“High Five” by Janet Evanovich is a terrific read. Stephanie Plum is who I would be if I were braver. But, since I’m not I’ll be content reading of her exploits sitting on the edge of my seat as she is in one car after another that gets blown up.

There’s a quirky humor that runs through these stories and the characters in them. Grandma Mazer is a pip as she refers to people occasionally. Stephanie’s mother is so understandable as she tries to cope with a daughter who she is convinced would be happier if she had a job at the button factory instead of being a bounty hunter.

And, Stephanie’s love life? Ah, only in the movies would you have two…count them two guys, Ranger and Joe, who you’ve got the hots for and who have the hots for you. At the same time. And, Stephanie tries to walk the tight rope between them. Well, too, because the same thread is repeated in the other Stephanie Plum stories.

What’s really neat? It’s that Janet Evanovich keep writing them.

Anyway, in “High Five” Stephanie tries to find out what happened to her Uncle Fred who’s gone missing. It’s something with the garbage company’s accounting that has gone wrong. The last time Uncle Fred was seen he was on his way to their offices to prove that he’d written a check for their service.

Stephanie unravels this mystery with much danger and mayhem to herself and those who hang around too closely to her. The bad guys become the good guys and the good guys sometimes look like the bad guys. Just like in real life.

You don’t have to have read the first four books before you read this one. Janet is such a great writer that you know right where you are wherever you pick up the thread of these stories. Haul your bony butt off to the library today and see what they’ve got on their shelf.

“A Beautiful Blue Death” by Charles Finch

“A Beautiful Blue Death” by Charles Finch
2007, St. Martin's Minotaur
ISBN: 978-0-312-35977-5

I settled in to reading, “A Beautiful Blue Death” by Charles Finch some days ago. This reminded me of a Sherlock Holmes story. It is set in the late 1800’s and the manner of the detective, Charles Lenox, is of a gentleman. He is a singularly thoughtful man and has a knack of figuring things out. Although this is Charles Finch’s first published novel there are references in the story of other crimes Charles has had the opportunity to solve. It lent a bit of interest to the story, sort of, “You are here, but we were also there once upon a time and hope to be here in the future as well.” It was like he made a claim through the words of his character that we would be seeing more of Charles Lenox.

In this story Charles is asked by his friend Lady Jane to help solve the mystery of the death of a former maid who, at first glance, appears to have committed suicide. There are deeper underlying mysteries and Charles sets out to solve the crime.

I especially liked the relationship Charles has with his neighbor Lady Jane. Ever a fan of romance, I appreciated the hint of a romance developing between those two characters and would enjoy seeing something happening in subsequent books.

There was also an interesting relationship between Charles and his man servant, Graham, who helped him with a great many points along the way.

The entire cloth of the story, the underlying rhythm, was something that held me throughout the book. It is a slower paced life, a more thoughtful sounding life than the one we sometimes have in the present. Although many of us have more creature comforts and certainly more technological advances and though life itself was certainly harder in those days for people there is just something about the way Charles Finch writes of this period that makes me want to be sure to read anything more he decides to write.

You can read Charles Finch’s blog and have a look at his website. “A Beautiful Blue Death” has just been nominated for an Agatha Award. Congratulations!