asian women's relationship
I'm not sure about some of the cultural accuracy, but this was a really good story. The women in it are also great. There were some truly sad and moving moments. I'll keep this author in mind for the future.

My few cents
I have been interested in Chinese history for many years and am still reading various works on Chinese history. When NPR recommended this book as a good fictionalized account of an early dynastic period, I was eager to read it. I have not read any of the author's other works.

I have to say I was very disappointed in this. I never felt very connected to any of the characters and most of the details of everyday life seemed to be superficially laid into the plot.

The author's description in the back of the book on how she obtained her historical information provided the evidence that she was not much more than a reporter who dallied for a short time in China, getting translated interviews from an elderly woman. It would seem incumbent on her to have read a great deal of other factual history of the times, but there is little indication from the story of this and she provides no bibliography - something I think would be more helpful to young readers than the list of "study questions" at that back.

As for the lesbian element. I am not Chinese, nor lesbian for that matter. I've never been to China. My understanding has to be based on a number of historical writings and evidence. I've read that gay and bi-sexual interaction did exist in historical Chinese culture, especially in the more prosperous classes. It may not have been promoted, per se, but it was often over-looked. The higher classes had a great deal of idle time on their hands. As long as one produced male offspring, it often didn't matter how one got thru the day otherwise. Check out the quite well-written entry about homosexuality in China at Wikipedia.

I have to take with a large grain of salt any protestation by present-day Chinese that no lao tong relationship was ever lesbian or that this was an "impossible" situation based on Confucian or Taoist laws. Homosexuality was not a "sin" under those rules. Political social conservatism in China will, (as in the US, and Middle East) repress any historical facts that don't fit into certain biased agendas.

Snow Flower is obviously aimed at young adult readers. This would be fine if it was a better written story. It just appears that the author is capitalizing on her Chinese antecedents without doing her homework or having adequate writing talent. I can't really recommend this book.

One of the best
Rich in detail and exquisitely crafted, this is an excellent book which I highly recommend, though some parts are rather graphic (footbinding) and are not for the weak of heart.

Memorable!
I loved this book, it is set in China of a hundred years ago or so and gives a vivid and compelling portrayal of a woman of a certain class growing uo in China during that time. I wont re hash the plot in this review others have done that very well. The poignancy of this story stayed with me for a long time .
The description of the foot binding process was so detailed and graphic that my feet actually ached for days, that chapter is not for the squeamish.

Capitavating historical fiction
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is the story of two young women, Lily and Snow Flower, set in 19th century China. The two are bound together as "Lo Tung" (old sames) as young girls. This connection is their greatest triumph and later their cause for greatest shame.
Lisa See weaves a tale that engages the reader and brings a better understanding of what life was like for women in the 1800s in China, when a good life was considered spending of your days in a single room and nights producing many male offspring.
The descriptions of foot binding were compelling and disturbing. In the audio commentary she discusses meeting women who went through this procedure and how they viewed it. Also she enlightens the reader with discussion of the writing style of "nu shu". Nu Shu was used exclusively by women as a form of ornamentation, song, and written communication.
Overall this was a very moving and enjoyable piece of fiction. I look forward to reading/listening to more from Lisa See. My major disappointment was that the audio book was abridged. The book was concise enough that abridgment seems unnecessary and takes away from the flow of the book.