An international bestseller about two fragile women who found the strength to stand up to the cruel customs of 19th century China
A woman named Lily is haunted by memories - of the girl she once was and of a long-dead friend who had a profound effect on her life.
In nineteenth-century China, when wives and daughters walked with their feet bound and lived in almost complete isolation, the women of far-off Hunan province created their own secret "women's" script, the Nushu. Some girls were then paired with lao-tung, their other self, in emotional bonds that usually lasted until death. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and wrote stories to emerge from their solitude to share their hopes, dreams and achievements with others.
When Snow Flower sends Lily a silk fan with the text in nu-shu, their friendship is sealed and they become lao-tung at the young age of seven. They both have to face famine and the hardships of the peasant uprising, reflect on their arranged marriages, their loneliness, the joys and tragedies of motherhood. Above all, their relationship, in which they find comfort, keeps both souls alive. But then a misunderstanding occurs and a lifelong friendship is ruined.
The Secret of the Silk Fan takes us back to Chinese history. This deeply moving novel also impresses with its realistic period colouring and its hidden affinity with Golden's Geisha. The book, charged with lyricism and emotion, delves into one of the most secret human relationships, that of friendship between women.
